By Abdulmuhsen Fakih, CEO & Founder of Systemize It, a 360° Sales and Marketing automation company.
An entrepreneur is someone who starts a company and takes risks in an attempt to make a profit. While society views entrepreneurs as prosperous, entrepreneurship is not an easy path by any means. There are plenty of challenges, struggles and lessons to be learned along the way. Here are some of the most common missteps I’ve encountered over the years.
1. Giving Up Too Soon
Some entrepreneurs start working on their businesses and are consistent in their efforts, but they are not happy with the outcome. Sometimes, your biggest breakthrough is just around the corner. Stay consistent, and don't give up too soon.
However, you also need to know when to cut your losses. It might be a difficult equation to solve. Ask yourself, "If I continue doing this for the next three years, will I get the outcome I desire?” If the answer is "no" (objectively speaking and after weighing in all the relevant factors), then it might be time to switch gears.
2. Underestimating Time And Money Investments
Social media can make it seem as if entrepreneurs have all the time and money in the world. However, that can’t be further from the truth. Be prepared for sleepless nights. It is OK if you are not committed to that, but you must consider whether entrepreneurship is for you.
3. Falling Into The Delusion Of Success
You set up your online store, you had your first order or you completed your first prototype. You owe it to yourself to celebrate, right? Not just yet; I suggest waiting until you have tangible results. Celebrating milestones is extremely important to avoid burnout and stay motivated, but define your “milestones” correctly. Did you hit your revenue targets, did you increase your valuation or did you successfully complete a funding round?
4. Focusing On The Wrong Things
I've found that many entrepreneurs delay their launch because they want to have the perfect business name, logo, website or packaging. While all those aspects are vital, getting cash flow is even more important. I recommend starting with a focus on revenue-generating activities such as sales, marketing and product fulfillment.
5. Failing To Strategize
Entrepreneurs are goal-setters by nature, but one of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make is not having a strategy to achieve those goals. Learn the basics of strategic planning, contingency planning and forecasting to help you get started.
6. Not Systemizing
Many entrepreneurs have relatively low volume when first starting out, so they do not pay attention to having robust systems in place because they do not need them. Once their business takes off, they usually struggle to run their operation. Eliminate, automate and delegate as much of your processes as possible. In my experience, a good place to start might be to systemize acquisition and product fulfillment.
7. Avoiding New Things
As the idiom goes: “If it isn't broke, don't fix it.” I agree, but what if you can make it better? It can be tempting to keep doing what you’re doing as long as it works. However, to be an innovator, you need to risk being wrong. Make it a goal to try something new every few weeks. It can be a new acquisition method, product offering or even software.
8. Not Listening To Customers Or Employees
Some of the best feedback we have gotten was from our customers and employees. It is free research and development, so take advantage of it by seeking feedback from clients and your team.
9. Hiring The Wrong People
Too often, people hire like-minded individuals. An entrepreneur might end up hiring someone with an entrepreneurial mindset, for instance. This can be useful for certain positions, but in other positions, a worker with a different point of view might be a better fit. Always look at character traits as well as experience and skills when hiring. For example, you might find an extremely talented salesperson, but if they're not motivated enough to follow up with prospects, they're probably not going to be a good hire.
10. Scaling Too Fast
Everything is going well, so why not multiply your acquisition by 10? Many companies go out of business because of this very reason. They scale, and then they face all kinds of issues, such as decreased quality of product and/or service, late fulfillment, hiring too quickly, overworking employees, stopping innovating, etc.
Before scaling make sure you:
1. Have systems in place for sales, fulfillment and customer service;
2. Have a profitable acquisition framework that’s not going to break as you scale. By "break," I mean costs go up or lead flow becomes insufficient.
Entrepreneurship is not easy. Everyone will make mistakes. Perhaps you've already fallen into one of the 10 mistakes I’ve mentioned. Keep in mind that no matter where you are in your entrepreneurship journey, you will still make mistakes. Sometimes these mistakes are expensive, but at the end of the day, learning from these experiences is what will help your business boom in the long run.
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