Are you thinking about starting a business? Well if you are, make sure you avoid these mistakes or else your business is probably going to fail.
1. Slow and steady doesn’t win the race
Most new business fail because they don’t have enough money. If you move slowly, it will take that much longer before you make your first buck. And even if you are already bringing in some cash, that’s not enough… you have to be profitable.
Time isn’t on your side, so do whatever you can to get your business out there and making money. And I know you probably don’t want to cut any corners, but the reality is, you’ll have to cut a lot of corners to survive.
2. Don’t hire too quickly
Doesn’t it sound nice to kick back, relax, and just watch all your employees do all the work for you while the money rolls in? You know you want to do this, so how do you make this dream come true?
Well, it isn’t by hiring people right away. When you are first starting out you are going to have to do more work than you’ll want to.
Hiring is a great idea, but if you don’t understand what the employees job duties are, how they are going to accomplish their tasks, and what roadblocks they are going to face, you’ll just end up hiring employees that don’t meet your expectations.
Before you hire someone for a new position in your company, make sure you first put yourself in their shoes. Once you understand what they are going to go through, you can then hire someone.
3. Emotions and business don’t mix
Let’s face it, you think with your emotions whether you like it or not. And don’t worry, it’s not just you, we all do it.
You are going to have to train yourself to make decisions based off of logic. Even if your emotions are telling you to do something else, you need to make the logical decision.
Emotions don’t mix well with business because they cause you to do whatever will fix your hurt feelings instead of whatever is the best for the business.
4. It doesn’t matter what you want, it’s what the customer wants
Do you have a cool idea for your new business? Maybe it’s a revolutionary product that is going to change the world, or better yet maybe it’s something that you dreamed about creating since you were a child.
I hate to say it, but it doesn’t matter what you want. You should only be doing what your customers want, as they are the ones who are paying you.
So before you invest too much time and money into a cool idea, find out if your customers really want it. You can do it through surveying them and by trying to understand the problems they are facing.
5. There’s nothing wrong with being in the trenches
Being a CEO sounds sexy, but it really isn’t. Being a CEO doesn’t mean that you get to boss people around and tell them what they have to do. It means that you are responsible for the company’s well being.
And the only way you can ensure that the company is going to do well, when you first start out, is by being in the trenches.
You should be taking with customers, understanding their pain points with your product/service, and even deal with customer service issues. By being in the trenches, you’ll be able to determine what steps your business needs to take to hit profitability.
6. Money doesn’t grow on trees
I know, it technically does grow on trees, but you know what I mean. Because capital is the one thing that new businesses lack the most, you have to be cautious with your spending.
Save every penny you can because you never know when you are going to need it. This may mean that you have to pay employees less than they need to survive, or bargain down your supplier’s prices, even though your supplier is your best friend.
Do whatever you can to save a buck. And don’t be shy, because if you never ask you’ll never receive.
7. The best partner is a business partner
There is only so much you can do on your own. And when you are starting out, you won’t have a ton of cash to hire employees.
So how do you get work done without paying people?
You find a business partner! A business partner will not only work harder than most of your employees, but it won’t cost you a dime to get them… well other than equity in your business.
And if you don’t think having a co-founder is worth it, just for a second think of some of the big companies out there. Now think about whom the company was founded by? The chances are, there were at least 2 co-founders.
8. Stop thinking about tomorrow
One big problem that you’ll run into is that you’ll continue to plan for the future. And although it is typically wise to be prepared, as a new company, there isn’t enough time for you to be thinking about next year, next month, or even tomorrow.
Everyday, you should just be working on things that are going to help make the company more profitable. And that’s it! Don’t waste your time planning for the future.
All that matters is that your company has enough cash to survive, and if you don’t work on achieving profitability, you’re going to be closing down your doors.
9. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help
You’re not a jack-of-all-trades. No one is! You’ll always have questions and hopefully you’ll always be learning how to solve them.
So in the mean time, when you are looking for solutions for your questions, make sure you ask other entrepreneurs. There is nothing wrong with having a few mentors that you can rely on for advice.
The best part about it is that most mentors will do this for free… it’s their way of giving back to the entrepreneur community.
So go out there and look for a mentor, because if you think you already have all the answers you need, you’ll be in for a treat.
10. All work and no play will make you a dull boy
If all you are doing is working, you’ll end up getting burned out. You need to take a break and have some fun so that way when you go back in work, you’ll be productive.
And having some fun doesn’t mean that you have to go to an amusement park. It could be spending time with your family or friends… or better, it could be going to networking events.
Networking events are a great place to meet other entrepreneurs, gain some free advice, and maybe you’ll even end up closing some business deals at these events.
The bottom line
Don’t expect miracles with your first business. No matter what, you’ll make some mistakes, but the key to success lies within learning from your mistakes.
Don’t be afraid of the unknown! We all make mistakes, but what separates the great entrepreneurs from the mediocre ones is that the great ones don’t repeat the same mistakes.
So what other business mistakes do you think people make when starting a business?
Look over my shoulder while I share: 
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This is great advice Neil – I especially like the bit about hiring too quickly. So many new companies who (by luck or backing) become flush with cash decide to grow their team too quickly without considering building the *right*, passionate team.
It happens and it’s just part of the process I’d say.
Definitely felt “true” to the new business struggle. I’d like to add something that may sound ridiculous, but I’ve learned to stick to it, and that is that THE CUSTOMER IS NOT ALWAYS RIGHT.
If you own a service business, don’t get pushed around by customers. I’m not saying you should be rude, but YOU are the expert, not the customer. If your offering is good, you shouldn’t have to cave to demands of picky customers. Craft a fair offering, build a niche, and get comfy. Do what you are comfortable with. That how I try to run my side-business, http://www.newtontents.com. Thanks!
That works to a certain level. If you customers aren’t happy, then you’re really the one that’ll be stuck at the end.
Its true that you don’t have to put up with picky customers, but sometimes its better to bite your tongue, since with no customers, you don’t have much of a business.
I agree, sometimes you do have to bite your tongue when you’re newer in the business.
This can work until one point, but remember that the customers thinks he is ALWAYS right no matter what you are saying. If you don’t want as a customer anymore you can shut his mouth, but if you still need him you have to agree with him.
You don’t have to just agree to agree, be able to explain and sell.
I agree completely with the 10th point. you need to take some breaks in between also which is very important to make you feel rejuvenated.
They help…even a nap here and there
11. Cheaper is NOT always better
This was definitely one of the biggest mistakes I made during the initial roll-out phase. Hiring the cheapest option forced a 2 month development project into a 6 month project and am now faced with a redesign just a few months after launch.
I’m not a technical founder so I knew this was a risk going in. But on the plus side, launching earlier did allow me to have my customers finance this round of design while giving me real-time feedback on the site itself.
Yes I agree.. that you need to realize that going cheaper may end up costing you more in the future.
You can still go cheap and get quality work done, but this depends on luck. If you are in a hurry you can hire cheap workforce, if you have enough time you can spend it searching for the best option.
You need to be lucky yes and need to understand that’s definitely a numbers game.
An excellent list, Neil, and I’m in agreement with all but one of them. Your #3 suggests you should only use the logical brain. Research suggests there are useful inputs coming from your other two brains and all three must be allowed to exercise their appropriate roles.
The problem with using that logical brain is that many bright thinkers will be caught by the Intelligence Trap as de Bono defined it. Make sure you’re not blinding yourself to some obvious fault in what you’re thinking. You can be too smart sometimes.
Don’t over analyze it
12. Your first plan will never be the one that will make your company profitable. In other words, you’ll inevitable need to adapt and change your strategy along the way.
Right… you’ll constantly change.
That is most definitely correct. It’s always a must to adapt to people’s needs through time. Especially on Internet, things change way too fast
Way too fast… that’s why you got to stay on top of it.
If you are not able to adapt you will not be able to survive. Things are constantly changing and people needs are also changing so you must be able to see these changes and apply them to your business.
People are constantly change because the times are changing, so it’s a definite must to “get with the times”
I’ve been burned out before and I agree with your prevention “medicine” so to speak: Diversify your daily routine to avoid repetition!
Repetition boredom will always be a factor, but learn to make fun with it.
Another great article you’ve here. Simple and straight forward. Love it!
Hiring (outsourcing) is really a good way to get great stuff. Yea, I agree what you’re saying. We cannot make the decision. I’ve written a post on how to save a lot of money while outsourcing. Have a look:
http://onlineprofitguru.com/outsourcing/insider-outsourcing-secrets-that-save-you-money/
Thanks for sharing that, definitely worth while to check out.
I 100% agree with the first (most) and other points.
Slow and steady does not win races. You gotta hit the ground running and be ready to put a lot of work before you see any desirable results.
Awesome, what is it that you don’t agree with?
I agree wit you
Too many people don’t realize that “revenue” doesn’t necessarily mean “profit”. A million dollars in sales stinks if your expenses are regularly $1.2 million.
I like when I hear the infomercials that promise that if you start your own business that you can “set your own hours” and “write your own paycheck”. I always laugh and add “as long as they are LONG hours” and “as long as you write really SMALL at first”.
John V – You took the words right out of my mouth. Too many new business owners do not understand the difference between revenue and profits.
I have been offered two partnerships this year that I turned down because the owners could not understand that price point must exceed expenses by at least a penny. Selling more and more and more at a loss (even a teeny, tiny loss) only drives a business into failure faster.
Right, it speeds up the process… of failing.
And an even commoner misconception is that putting a website on the internet will generate recurring revenue for years to come.
Ever wonder why those people still do those “Quit your Day Job” tradeshows at hotels? They push those money making, push button websites while people have no idea the amount of work it takes to create a profitable website.
People underestimate how much hard work is involved with websites. It’s not as easy as 1 2 3.
Exactly!! People always forget things like a striking design, the work involved with SEO to attract customers, and most important of all ROI optimization!
At the end of the day, that’s what counts.
Hard work is reallye ssential to start any business.. Every tom, dick and harry can not become a businessman.
Yep… it takes dedication at the least.
Hard work is the key to success and you will surely get the rewards in long run.
lol… yes that’s very true. Most of those are get rich schemes anyway… they don’t work.
Wow. Most of these points made me smile because I was guilty of all of them except #5 and #7. I quit a 7 year career to go full time into business for myself about 3 years ago. I did it with almost no plan and pretty much just made it up as I went along. I had a few early wins but a lot of embarrassing mistakes as well. Thankfully I found a way to keep it going and find funds when I needed them. Now that I have some battle scars, I have stopped making all of these mistakes. While I am not mistake-free, you nailed it in this post. Most new entrepreneurs will simply have to go through these things.
Good for you… you’re definitely a prime example of the process. It takes time, effort, energy, and mistakes.
in point number 5 you placed #talking with customers with #taking with customers or maybe I’m wrong but it reads better with talking. Great post neil. You made some solid points throughout it. Even though some points within the article seem a bit rushed, but I know you’re busy making history so keep the articles coming. #Solid!
Thanks black media properties, I’m glad you were able to pick up the message I’m trying to convey.
Thats a great post indeed
Very helpful advice. I’m considering starting a business and this list has given me a lot to think about before going in. Thanks!
Haha, Good luck Samantha, I wish I had this list when I started my first business. Neil’s been through it all, so its great to see what his take on many aspects of being an entrepreneur is.
Well at least you have access to it now
Glad you were inspired, thanks!
Very good points cleared for a business starter. Great things to keep in mind when starting a business. Because a small company cannot become a big venture untill this big things and many small things are kept in mind and implemented.
Very true, thanks for sharing that. You need to get the basics down first.
Now this is what you call a profound piece of advice. I liked your blog, more so because I too am a self-made man and that’s why i totally agree with most of the points you’ve highlighted!
Thanks Tej, I only talk about what I’ve done myself.
Neil, nice list to keep around. What’s your take/approach on finding a co-founder in regards to #7?
Talk to several people before you settle down with someone.
Yet another great post. I’m so glad I found this blog before I started my own company. Now I just need to manage work+school for a year, and then I’ll be able to invest far more time in my company.
Managing your time is the hardest thing to do… you’ll go through a few mistakes, which is okay. Just do your research before jumping into anything.
Having a proper research before starting any business venture helps a lot. A lot of thinking/analysis is required how to move ahead.
People think it’s just a night day for making money…. they is just too much more involved.
Finding a great business partner is indeed very essential. If your partner does not shares the same values and ideals that you have for your company, then there will be conflicts.
I have very bad experience for partners. Partners should be chosen very practically and should have professional approach. Personal and professional life should be kept different and both should get mixed. If you think personally you are gone from that very second. But this is not compulsory everywhere.
It should be kept separate, but it’s even better if you can combine the two and actually live that way.
Since a small company can not become a big venture untill this big things and many small things are kept in mind and implemented.
Exactly… it takes time.
Yes, in the long run, it especially works that way.
Hi Neil,
Slow and steady may not always win the race, but neither does rushing.
There’s an important distinction between RUSHING and feeling a healthy SENSE OF URGENCY.
Here’s the difference, as I see it:
RUSHING: When you try to make things move faster than they’re meant to move. For example, trying to make a sale before you really understand your prospect. Or throwing someone on a job without proper training because you “don’t have a choice.”
A SENSE OF URGENCY: When you’re committed to not let things take any longer than they absolutely need to. All this while acknowledging and respecting the reality that some things do need to evolve, mature and ripen.
I wrote more about this here: http://bit.ly/dACZ7h
Dov Gordon
Rushing isn’t always necessary and I find that the more you try to hurry things along, the less gets done. Focus on the smaller things before you try to go big.
Exactly!! People always forget things like a striking design, the work involved with SEO to attract customers, and most important of all ROI optimization!
Yeah, which is what counts at the end of the day!
Thanks for sharing that Dov, I’ll take a look. I agree, you can’t “RUSH” something, but you can’t take your sweet time either.
An important point to consider is that sometimes slowing down as much as possible and eliminating the unimportant distractions can be the one thing that allows you to complete the most important things faster and more efficiently.
Yeah and it’s hard but always keep your eye on the prize.
Thanks so much for the data…
My experience is, most business’s, (Small) don’t have a centralized process (CRM) for work to flow seamlessly… A Value must be placed on a DB, and making the investment to mirror that value is mission critical… This “clears your mind” to work on relationships… Best, Brian-
You definitely need the right systems in place to run a successful and smooth operation.
The first point that I was not following, even don’t have money. But don’t like to do job anymore. The thing that I follow is to meet people as spread and enlarge my contacts and network. That is really profitable and a sitting reset too.
Thank for the advice now I will not wait for anything and move fast like rocket.
Best Regards
Jay Khatri
Lol, good, Find something you’re interested in and go out there and make it happen.
I think number 3 is an important point. As well as never do business with family and friends(in general). Most of the time it doesn’t work out and can ruin relations. Also number 10, you can’t always make it but you can learn and try again the trick is to never give up!
It’s not even a trick, it’s a belief you must inherit.
If you own a service business, don’t get pushed around by customers. I’m not saying you should be rude, but YOU are the expert, not the customer.
Right, your object should be learning how to be able to communicate to your people effectively.
It is advisable to avoid doing business with family or friends because if the business will not succed you will end-up lossing a friend, or even worse, to not talk again with a familz member.
Right, that’s why it’s always best to simply avoid it in the first place.
I agree with all the above points except for number 1.
As an owner of seversal businesses of the years I believe that you cannot cut corners, a business has to have solid foundations to survive, if that means breaking even or making a small loss in the first year so be it – but get the foundations right first.
Profit is essential for business growth but not at any cost – believe me I speak from experience.
Apart from that I’d say #4 is an excellent point as is # 10.
Good advice is to never give up and always learn from your experiences and mistakes.
It depends a lot on the segment you are in. If you building a business on the web, for instance, you’ll need to act faster, because the environment is changing even faster.
Very much true and I completely agree with you. Internet is changing a lot daily. We have to add something daily so that we can stay in this competition.
If you slack just a little, you’ll be left in the dust.
Yaa .. So many bloggers try to achieve this and fail miserably because of lack of SEO or poor content.
Blogging is a lot harder than most people think.
Exactly.
I don’t mean that you have cut all corners, but you can’t just slowly make your attempt. The reason why is because in an industry like ours, if you take too long, someone else will probably beat you to the idea.
I agree with until some point. If competition is fierce and you don’t have enough time to wait you will have to cut some corners in order to succeed or even survive. There are moments when you have to take it slowly but sometimes you have to move quick because everything is advancing ar a very fast pace these days.
Yep, no risks no rewards… I would just be careful and understand that there a big costly risks involved.
I’m on my third, this time going it my own and let me tell you it’s a slow crawl.
One mistakes is missing…
When going in with a partner(s), define the terms sooner than later. You will lose an incredible amount of trust when things start to get stressful and not having things reasonably defined will give everyone an excuse to start pointing the finger.
Plus, don’t confuse asking for help with hiring someone. Free or favors can really work against you. Don’t ask anybody to do anything you wouldn’t do yourself, and don’t hand over important tasks to someone who will do it half assed for free when you could drp a lousy few bucks and get it done professionally. Accounting comes to mind…
just my opinions…
Especially accounting! Run a business for a couple of years with slackadaisical accounting and see what fun you have trying to get everything fixed for that audit! I’m speaking from personal experience here!
Also make sure that there is absolute transparency regarding monies and the like when in a partnership. Defining the parameters earlier rather than later in the relationships will save everybody a lot of grief!
Ouch, that sounds like a terrible experience to go through.
Stressful or successful… if you don’t come up with something from the get go, then you’re really just asking for it.
I really like this, Neil, especially #3 because it can be so tempting to “fix hurt feelings” when profits are hurt as well. I’m also wondering how #4 applies to an affiliate marketing business that doesn’t have customers in the traditional sense. I guess you could consider advertisers or site visitors to be the customers.
Site visitors …. why are they on your site, what kind of value can you provide
Its true that you don’t have to put up with picky customers, but sometimes its better to bite your tongue, since with no customers, you don’t have much of a business.
It all depends on what your standards are.
“You should be taking with customers…”
I think you may want to add an el in that fourth word.
Otherwise, a great list. One item I would add is to be very, very clear about implementation. We wasted a lot of time and effort in our product development because we underestimated the complexity of the task. Put in the extreme: You can’t use a world map to navigate to your local supermarket. You need to map out the route in fine detail and be ready to adjust it based on traffic and road construction. Now we have a product with which we are very pleased, but it took us some time to get there.
Thanks for that, I’ll get it fixed. Yes, it will definitely take time to get there, no doubt about that.
I have definitely learned to keep my emotions at bay. If you let them get the best of you, you make mistakes that could easily be avoided.
Learning to control your emotions is HUGE. Controlling those alone will get you far ahead of our competition.
Keeping your emotions in check is extremely important. It’s understandable how people can get emotionally involved in business given the effort, time and hard work they put in. Having the ability to seperate emotion from business is an extremely valuable skill.
It is a skill… but instead of keeping them separate, learn to combine the two together.
Rushing isn’t always necessary and I find that the more you try to hurry things along, the less gets done. Focus on the smaller things before you try to go big.
I agree, you don’t have to rush, but then you can’t take forever either.
Simply, having proper goal and launch, get started, take action, move will be the most important key to achieving great success in any business. So I believe all that involves in your success is only by the way you think. So if we have control over our mind and with a passion in exploring and implementing various strategies we will be successful!
Narrowing down your focus from everything to something in particular can be huge for your success. Mindset is the key to success.
From personal experience, having been self employed for many years, and having dealt with loads ofs mall to medium sized enterprises through various businesses, ranging from signage to printing and promotional gifts (not to mention websites) I can only but agree on the cashflow issue, especially initially. I’ve seen far too many good businesses flounder because of a lack of capital. Going out aggressively from the word go, and pumping the marketing and advertising is definitely the best approach to get your cashflow rolling quickly.
lol being aggressive is a good idea, but you got to play it smart or you’ll empty your pockets if done the wrong way.
Yes Agree, That’s why all successful people always repeating Words that Work Smart not only Work Hard, aggressiveness with smart idea can produce unexpected result.
Those should be some of the most important words in your vocabulary.
Smart work is the need of the hour in todays time and not only hard work.
Hard work is something people already do, you need to learn to work more efficiently and effectively.
The civil engineer quip made me spit my drink out my nose – almost makes me want to switch to milk. I know about these mistakes, yet I made atleast four of them this month. Nº2, 4, 8 and 10. should aim one less each month or summat.
Or for 2X profits next month…
lol, sounds like something a civil engineer would say
Neil
I would have liked you to include another rule: iteration.
This rule states you should ship and get products out the door sooner rather than later, even though they may not be perfect, then receive the feedback, make changes based on customer responses, then ship again – until you find that product/market fit everyone is searching for.
This isn’t new: Steven Blank and Eric Ries concepts; I believe if implemented would greatly increase entrepreneur success by actually building something someone wants sooner than later.
Good post.
Carl
Yes.. that way you truly understand what exactly you need to do to make this product close to perfect.
I believe all that involves in your success is only by the way you think. So if we have control over our mind and with a passion in exploring and implementing various strategies we will be successful!
It’s definitely more easier said than done and at the same time, it’s true.
Another Great Post Neil!
It reminds me of of Produce Market Business I got involved with last fall. I loved the experience and we followed a similar set of principles. Long story short we rolled $400 bucks in initial produce purchase into just over 50 k in about six weeks. We had a top piece of property and a three way partnership. I didn’t want to do a long term deal with one of them so I’m starting another market in a different town with plans to do 4 more. Same strategy. No employees this year, one business partner, keep it simple on expenses. We’ll drive revenues for 5 years and try to sell before this big food buzz goes away. Either way it all works. Not much for downside and it’s great association. It is also an easy business to staff in our area when we’re ready for that.
Great post.
J. Crawford
At the end of the day, you get what you put in. You definitely got a good return on that investment.
yaa the amount of hard work u will put in the more close you get to your success.
The harder you work, the quicker you’ll achieve success.. that’s right!
Truly great motivating post here. It is indeed wise to remember that making mistakes is not a crime. Use your mistake to better build your business.
Thanks for sharing
It’s not a crime and in fact normal and a part of the process.
Yaa making mistakes is a learning curve and try not to learn from the mistakes and not to repeat them again.
That’s the imprortant part of mistakes…. make one mistake learn from it, make two, shame on you.
If you aren’t making mistakes then you are working on hard enough problems
Making mistakers is all part of hte learning process.
Exactly… well said. Making mistakes is part of the business and if you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing something right.
Making mistakes is part of running a business, in fact is part of doing anything in your life. We are human beings and to make mistakes is in our nature. The good thing is the fact that we can learn from our mistakes and try not to repeart them.
Yes we can and by doing so it allows us to keep pushing forward.
I wanted to thank you for this great information!! I definitely enjoyed every bit of it and I have you bookmarked your blog to check out the new stuff you post in the future.
I have definitely learned to keep my emotions at bay. If you let them get the best of you, you make mistakes that could easily be avoided…
Thanks..
Exactly… you always got to keep your emotions in check.
In order to be successful in business you have to forget your emotions because it might affect you at some point and can influence your decisions in a wrong way.
Focus on being logical rather than emotional.
I personally think that many people fail because of point 4. Businesses are about fulfilling customers needs. It means demand. If there is no demand, no points for one to supply. We should always do market research before running any business.
Yes, that’s very important for people to understand and it unfortunately ends up being the demise.
I have definitely learned to keep my emotions at bay. If you let them get the best of you, you make mistakes that could easily be avoided.
It’s too easy to let them get to you… then you’re in an emotional spiral before you know it.
Extremely useful information. A must read for all entrepreneurs, as this can help avoid common mistakes. I think doing the research first a long way to prepare for the survival of businesses and better preparation growth.Its as with all hand made and learn from failures and successes of others.
When you start progressing in your business, you need to become more careful an clear about what you do.
I’d have to say there’s one that should have made the list…Conquering Fear.
I just wrote a post about this on my site because I’ve seen so many driven and able-minded people fall into this trap.
People need to learn you can’t let fear paralyze you or worse yet coerce you to choose inaction over taking action. When approaching a new business or other challenge a little bit of fear or nervousness is healthy…You just have to make sure you don’t bottle up your great ideas because you’re afraid to pull the trigger!
That’s my take on it anyway….Great post Neil!
Fear is a great thing… it gets you to feel uncomfortable. Be comfortable with feeling uncomfortable…it helps you grow.
If you know exactly what you want and what you need to do fear doesn’t have any place in your agenda. You have to conquer all your fears before starting a business and not after you started it.
Just take action and move forward… it’ll be the only way you can create courage.
Exactly, that’s why it’s imperative to careful.
2. Don’t hire too quickly:-
I’ve hired Assistance as well as Virtual Assistance and I learnt a valuable lesson that I’d like to share.
A position is simple a a person employed to do a group of tasks.
When the person is an assistance, as in the flesh – standing beside you. You teach them by show, let them do then be available for questions.
A Virtual Assistant (VA) requires more preparation with detailed instructions as you need to email them or call to communication the task.
I personal had the VA sitting around 80% of the time as I did not have time to prepare tasks to send them.
Then the light bulb went off…
Outsource tasks, I don’t need to have someone filling a position, sitting there waiting. Just outsource the 1 hour task, and no more.
The repetitive tasks pay back the fastest, example, If I have a 1 hour task that needs to be performed daily. To prepare the task with detailed instructions takes 5 hours to prepare over say 2 weeks. Then the outsourced task pays back the time invested in 5 days.
Documenting the task may take some time, with screen shoots of where to click on the screen. This is the painful bit and I assume why people don’t do it.
The up side is you can us it over and over again and it cuts training time down by 50%.
Try making a video with packages like Camtasia and send the video or a link to it as the task description. If doing this, level out the log-in and password details so you can reuse the video for multiple people & have the user-name and password on a separate PDF. Change or make new user-name and password for the assistant, don’t give them yours.
Once you have a group of tasks, and the time to do them equals a weeks work – that equals a position.
May I also suggest that once you have a person in a position that they continue to document the tasks, you could even let them outsource them. So your assistant has an assistant.
That’s true, especially when you take that route, you need to be as descriptive and detailed as possible.
Having a partner have a lot of positive sides. The most important to me is that you remain motivated while motivating him.
You need to be both uplifting and inspiring.
Can you please explain what you mean by uplifting here>?
uplifting …by not putting people down, but rather making them feel good.
I agree with you at all of them Neil.Esspecially, “There’s nothing wrong with asking for help”.Because if one is rich or fells clever or different himself,he doesnt need any another opinion but it is totaly wrong.I experienced that many times and I did many mistake.After all bad experiences,now I even ask my grandmother for her opinions
Hey you never know where you’ll get good advice.
I don’t see nothing wrong in asking for help. We have to admit that we can’t know everything and a even a little advice can help a lot.
1 pieice of advice can take you in a completely different direction
Ya i agree with that. Quick or more Hiring sometimes makes a entrepreneur in difficulty.
That’s why you need to be aware and careful.
I agree with this one. Planning in terms of making sure business process and pocedures are clearly defined and documented as well as full and complete plans and documentation for the hiring process itself are both extremely important.
Yeah, it’ll go a long way and it just really depends on what you learn from your experience.
I’d offer a bit of advice on the first point, while slow and steady doesn’t always win the race there is some level of prudence that must be shown in plotting a course of action. As a start-up myself I can speak from experience that the first year I rushed things, I had a great product, a great market, and the opportunity/timing was perfect. But my inexperience in the business side of things, and how to properly market and handle things led to some great difficulties. If I had slowed down a little bit and reached out to those that could offer advice and planned things a bit better I wouldn’t be in the position I am in now which is rescuing a company from bad PR and a negative image. Although I still want to push as hard and fast as I can on a new idea, I think there is something to be said for slowing down, taking count, and planning a strong course of action before jumping full force into something.
Just my thoughts, what do you think Neil?
It obviously works in a certain way… just keep in mind that a brand new idea you have today could be old and used by tomorrow…especially with how fast the web works.
Number 5 – “there is nothing wrong with being in the trenches” is very valid. But it is also valid for dealing with your own members of staff.
I once worked with a Father and Son combo. Father left school at 16 to start his own business, which he then sold for millions. Has been a serial entrepreneur since. Son joined Father’s business almost straight out of university.
Neither have ever had a *real* job in my opinion and because of this found it difficult to relate to the feelings and pressures of their employees.
So, I agree with you Neil. But I also think that ‘being in the trenches’ can also apply to being more empathetic to the jobs your staffers do for you.
Brian
It all depends where you’re at and what you’re doing. There are obviously always exceptions.
great list of things.. i am posting after a long break… nice to visit neil’s post.. they are so balancing for your business…
i agree on being in the trenches part.. thats true…
Thanks Machbio, I’m glad you’re back.
Well, as you said, becoming not a civil engineer or having the ability to calculate risks and mistakes is a common mistake for business beginners. To succeed in business, we need precision.
Yes, as well as motivation, drive, and persistence
Yaa along with precision you need to have a lot of patience and determination in order to succeed.
Patience will go along way and one of the hardest skills to acquire.
Precision, patience and the ability to adapt quickly are required in order to succeed and survive. If you are not able to adapt you will fail eventually.
You need to learn how to adapt and overcome.
I like your point about getting a business partner on board. When I started my most successful business I did it all by my self and although the business has been going well sometimes I fell like I’m running out of ideas and I’m totally burn out because after 15 years of hard work I haven’t taken more than 5 days of vacation at the time. The final result is that I hate my business now. I’m talking about a wholesale distribution business that I own, but the good news for me is that I’m now working on my true passion that is building Web applications. Twitterlive is the latest one and has become my favorite pet project.
Cheers Neil.
-S
Well good for you… it’s awesome to hear someone going from something they hate to something they love.
#3 is a big one. Most people tie their decision too closely to how it will make them feel rather than what produces the best bottom line result. =)
Emotion can be one of the biggest pitfalls for a business owner.
I couldnt agree more. There is very little place for emotion when it comes to running a business.
Emotion will only set you back from making proper decisions.
#4, I learned the hard way. I have been working on a SEO company project for a couple of months and there have been a couple of time, where I could have saved a lot of time and energy, if I just have tried to look at the problems, from a customer POV. Often, as an expert, it is easy to forget, how valuable a customers inputs can be.
Well the good news is that you learned from your mistake… that’s what counts.
Customers give you all you need in order to improve your business, you just have to be able to admit that your are flawed and every opinion counts.
It’s the whole letting go of your ego that’s most important.
Again awesome post. I could not think of any other mistake at the level you have talked about in the post.
Neil it is really remarkable that even till this point you are actually replying to almost all the comments.
I always say, if you spend the time to comment on my post, it’s the least I can do to communicate back.
I agree- it’s alright if an entrepreneur commits mistake. Just make sure that a certain lesson has to be learned and never do the same mistake in the future. Also, if the business has just started then better not to hire bunch of employees rather maximize whatever human resources available like family members who can help doing the business. As soon as the business grows, then it’s time to hire employees.
Yes, the most important thing is that you learn from what you didn’t do correctly.
You can have customers in your home. Too many home business owners have had to find excuses for their home, children, dogs and lawn sprinklers before sitting down with their customers. Setting up the office portion of the house for business only.
Yeah, but you will be much more productive if you actually get an office.
This is good information and timely since the economy has produced more people who are starting their own business out of necessity. I will link this to my blog.
Thanks for info !
LaVergne
Thanks LP, I always like links
Neil,
I’ll be the first to agree that learning how to control your emotions is a big deal. But, don’t you think emotions can DRIVE you?
For example, being fearful of failure driving you to succeed. Without any emotion, where does your drive come from…
- Kate
It can drive you but it’s temporary so it can also knock you down. Be careful with how you use it.
This is very nice post to follow. Something to remember. thanks Neil.
It reminds of my friend who started a restaurant in our place yes he did some networking with other entrepreneurs, did the first things which are supposed to be done by other employees. The point is know your business because it is the only way that your employees will not pull your other leg.
Right, you need to always be aware of what’s going on to make sure no one takes you off your balance.
Ok, I have haired 3 guys. I will control on Hiring and will focus on getting more business.
good for you, let us know how it goes
You want to become a businessman… You already know what’s business you’ll do. But you don’t know how to start.
Someone may tell you that you must looking for money. A lot of money. You must invest many money in your business to make it work. BUT THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!
So. What you need to properly start a business? After 5 years of study at Economics University I realized: business – this is a risk. The man who has never engaged in business risk to losing a lot of time and money if make mistakes. That is mean that our task is to minimize mistakes and rash decisions.
Now define.
We have:
1. The desire to become a businessman and make many money.
2. The idea on what to earn.
3. Little money.
You don’t believe, but this is quite enough!
The whole principle of a successful business is concluded in psychology. Becouse the end consumer in the end – the man. And all the people obey of psychology.
Where do we start our business? (And remember – we need to minimize errors.) So! To start a business without fear, we must explore the market. From that starting any business. But as we’ll have done it? You can order statistics from the companies that are doing this. Or do a more practical way. How I did it.
Today the Internet is developing
very fastly. And does it at a rate of geometric progression. This is our chance to try out our business on practice. This means that we must create a website and fill it with all necessary information about the services we provide. Next we have to lure the customers. And watch… How many people went to the website and how many of them become customers.
What I did in this step? I ordered a website from a company Buzzazz. After 5 weeks I start my exploring =)
I will not tell how I advertise my site (Ads from Google or facebook), but eventually I realized that I have a few clients. Here I began experiments. First, lowered the price. But did not see a tangible result. Then speed up performance. Clients increased, but not much. And then I UNDERSTOOD!
The best way to increase sales.
________________________
First of all I had to become competitive. This means that I should become a solid and prestigious. Then people will trust you and prefer you. Here I again reminded about psychology.
The next step was to find a company that will make me a really modern and high-quality website. Namely flash website. I was looking for a long time. Since they are very expensive. But finally I found it! I turned to the company “RestoreTheWeb”.
AND IT WORKED!! Increase of clients has increased significantly.
That’s when I realized that the most important thing in business – it’s appearance. When you open a shop you must take care of appearance. It should be better than its competitors, or At least on the level. Yes! It costs money, but if you try, you can find a very profitable option.
Then, all this can be repeated with the real store. But now you’ll be confident. Or maybe you not have to open up shop, because selling via the Internet you will not have to spend money to rent a shop, and therefore the price of the goods may be reduced.
Interesting… thanks for sharing this story with us. All businesses are purely risk. The lower the risk, usually the lessor the award would be and vice versa. It all depends on you… whether you’re up to tackle on that task or not.
When I first started in the business, I also had one ‘bad’ client that sticks out from the rest of my customers. An unplasant lady in her fifties that wanted the lowest priced computer that I could provide, but that could do ‘everything’…
Well, to make a very long story short, she kept doing improper software uninstall (among many other things), and calling me to complaint about the computer. At one point, she even accused me on purposely infecting her machine… Being the new guy, I submitted to her constant abuse for the duration of the warranty. Those were the three longest years of my life! In conclusion, I highly recommend to anyone thinking of starting a computer business to be wary of very demanding customers. Some of them may not be worth your time – and their money.
Very true, when you’re dealing with people like that in the computer business, it’s very difficult to deal with them at times.
I really like point #9 — there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. Actually, asking questions is the number one way to get help, and people are super happy to answer questions as long as they have time. Asking the right expert can save you from doing hours of research. Spot on, Neil!
Asking for help is definitely the right thing to do, especially if you want to grow.
“Don’t expect miracles with your first business”, I think we all have high hopes when we start a new business.
Yeah.. it’s normal… just remember it’s not about how many times you fall down, it’s about how many times you get up.
Neil, Whatever you have said over here is true. First I have belief that Slow and steady will win the race and spend only 6 hours actively. But today 24 hours is not enough for me.
I disagree. Everyone on the planet has 1 thing in common… time. So you and people like Donald Trump, Bill Gates, etc. have the same amount of time, they just know how to use it effectively. Learn from people like them
love this post.. Not too sure about point 3 though. Sometimes I think thats what makes the great businessmen special the fact that they use a little bit more than cold hard logic. Point 10 I am in total agreement. This jack is getting a bit too dull! Need to start playing
Right, if you don’t add a little fun to your life, you’ll quickly become miserable.
Neil, I gotta ask…are you one of the mentors who offer free mentorship as a way of giving back to the entrepreneurial community?
I am.
When my wife was starting her tutoring business, I thought she should hire tutors before she had clients. My thoughts were that she was only paying them when they worked, and that she’d have them ready when she needed them.
Thank goodness I talked to my boss first. He told me that trying to find people to cover our business would be a good problem to have. My wife tutors and has since hired more people, and she knows exactly what they are facing because she’s been there the whole time.
That’s perfect because she has the experience and know-how to make it happen.
Probably the biggest mistake I made running my first business is not working with a partner. Even if you look at bouncing ideas back and forth can make a whole lot of difference. Let alone that your work hours are doubled.
People don’t want to work with partners because they want to keep more cash, but what they don’t understand is that by having a partner, you get more perspectives, not to mention contacts.
Any advice for starting a business on a more service related level? I want to start my own design/photography business. So far i just have the idea! Any help would be much appreciated. Hey we could do business one day, you never know!
Yes, maybe haha. I suggest you do some market research in your area. Find the demand for your product, which will be relatively high, then go out and make it happen. If it’s web-based get a website. If it’s not, utilize other avenues for spreading information about your product. Good luck!
I’d prefer to start out as a consultant. That way, you have some clients in hand and then after you gain some traction, you can form a company.
The biggest mistake I see people make is not planning enough. Sometimes they have a great business idea, but it fails. Other times, they have a poor business idea, but it goes through OK. The difference in these two, is planning.
Do market research carefully and your efforts will be rewarded. Solutions sell, not products.
Most people start online business thinking they don’t have to meet other people like in normal business. While it’s true to some extend, to really be successful, you need to network a lot
Very good points. I like: solutions sell, not products I hope you don’t mind if I use it. Thanks!
You are right Neil, customers are blood life of any business, if a business does not have customers, then it is waste. We need to take care of our valuable customers.
Great point! The customer is what drives the business.
Very helpful advice. I’m considering starting a business and this list has given me a lot to think about before going in. Thanks!