Self-starters and entrepreneurs who are looking to launch a new business have a long and exciting road ahead of them. There is nothing as invigorating as pouring into your creative vision and turning it into a reality. But while this is an incredible new chapter for you and your business, there are many mistakes to avoid making so as not to turn the process into a more challenging or demanding experience. We’ve asked top leading professionals who’ve launched businesses what their advice is on the mistakes to avoid when starting out. Read on to learn their expert advice.
Not Budgeting
When launching a new business, it is so easy to get carried away in your vision for the future of the company and invest all of your funds into your long term goals right away. This is a surefire way to drain the budget before you even get the business off the ground. The long term goals are going to be an amazing part of your company’s success, but first the financial priorities are those costs that provide for the company’s immediate needs. Definitely don’t make the mistake of not budgeting when starting a new business. Place the funds where they are most needed at first, and keep a record of the more exciting expansions you want to make in the future once your business has begun bringing in revenue.
Cody Candee, Founder and CEO Bounce
Not Establishing Policies
Policies are crucial guidelines for companies to keep everything running smoothly. Small businesses, especially, need to place emphasis on creating a clear set of policies. I would advise you not to put this step off for long, because when you’re just starting your business is an important time to establish how you will move into the future. While you may expect that matters of policy won’t come up in business right away, and therefore can be put off for a later date, you never know when customers or employees might have a policy question. Set your guidelines now so that you can be fully secure in the future.
Remon Aziz, Chief Operating Officer Advantage Rent A Car
Not Establishing a Social Presence
A huge amount of business is conducted online these days, which is beneficial in an unstable world where in-person shopping may become suspended at any time. In fact, the recent developments surrounding Covid-19 have pushed the importance of digital accommodations to the forefront. Don’t make the mistake of neglecting to establish a social presence for your brand. Any good marketing team will tell you that establishing this online presence should be prioritized, and even be set up before the business is launched. Why? Because social media is a top way to spread knowledge and information in 2021, and you can begin to attract customers to your business on social media before you even have any products to launch. Getting the public’s attention and exciting them for what is to come is a crucial step to take when your business is just starting out. Set up your social media presence on all relevant platforms (and be sure to market each app for the target consumer base found there) and launch your website even before your business is officialized. You may be surprised how many people you have following your business before it even officially exists!
Mike Pasley, Founder Allegiant Goods
Not Hiring the Right Team
As a small business at the beginning of its career, you might not be thinking about adding any hires immediately, but you will want to expand your team eventually. It’s a great idea to begin thinking about what type of employees you’re looking for from the beginning. The good news about the shift to the hybrid work model, which includes an ease of work for fully remote workers, is that you can search for your team in a large hiring pool–you can hire from all over the country or even the world. Employees make a business what it is, and especially for small businesses just launching, the team that helps create the brand highly influences what the company will become. So, choose your people wisely. One consideration to make before launching your business is whether you aim to be a fully remote company or have in-person office spaces. There is no time like the present to think about the long term questions.
Katie Lyon, Co-Founder Allegiance Flag Supply
Not Creating a Business Plan
Of absolute importance for small businesses is creating a business plan that will guide your company through its journey to growth. Business plans should outline your mission, objectives, intentions for growth, and a detailed guide for how you intend to reach your goals. Not only will your business plan provide you essential direction when you’re starting your business and can get easily confused about where to go next–it also is the document you show to potential investors and partners. This should be one of your first steps when launching a new business, so don’t make the mistake of skipping this task.
Ben Thompson, CEO Hardwood Bargains
Not Investing in Ads
Advertising is the wave of the future, and we’re sitting in the middle right now. Every business needs to be investing in ads if they want to attract customers and grow. There is nothing easier right now than finding places to advertise, since the more digitized our world becomes, the more platforms for advertising are created. Essentially every social media platform has its own form of advertising, from Facebook ads, Instagram ads, YouTube ads, Pinterest ads, and even various search companies with their own advertising, like Google ads. Don’t skip out on television or audio ads, either, as every place you can spread news of your business is a long term win. It would be a big mistake in today’s climate not to spread information about your new business through advertising.
Hector Gutierrez, CEO JOI
Not Following the Procedures of Registering Your Business
Maybe you have the ideas and the drive to start a business, but the process of launching a company is not as simple as merely doing it. There is a procedure that must be followed and steps to take in order to officially begin in business. One mistake I sometimes see made by enthusiastic entrepreneurs is working towards launching a business without a solid foundation of understanding surrounding the necessary registration process. Overall, it is not hard to register your business, just be sure you’re up to date on what you do need. Steps like choosing a business structure, registering your business’s name, getting set up with the IRS for tax purposes, and registering for the correct permits are all things that cannot be delayed and should be completed before anything else.
Jay Levitt, Founder and CEO Lofta
Not Being Aware of Your Target Audience
The new way to reach customers is by understanding your target audience, and then attracting them by communicating in relevant ways/reaching them where they want to be reached. As a new business founder, you need to be aware of the target audience for your product, and take the necessary steps to appeal to them. One of the biggest mistakes I see new business owners (who are also managing marketing and branding) make is being available online, but not properly understanding how to reach their target audience.
Isaiah Henry, CEO Seabreeze Management
Hiring Too Early
If you just launched a business, it may be in your best interests to keep your business small at first. Maybe this means being the sole worker for a while to save on hiring expenses, or because you need to keep the business small to align all business goals until you’re properly established. Whatever the specific reason for keeping the business small at first, I often see new businesses put themself into financial strain as soon as they launch due to hiring too early. Every new business will go through a period of growth where one person has to take on multiple roles, and that’s perfectly okay. If mananing more tasks is the price to pay for keeping your new business on a solid growth trajectory, it is worth it. And remember, it’s just temporary until you have the means to expand.
Guna Kakulapati, Co-Founder and CEO Cure Hydration
Selling Your Product or Business Short
A huge part of running a business is marketing. This is especially true with new small businesses that still need to spread word about their offerings. One form of marketing is pitching your business or product to different outlets, such as media, or advertising, or financing. Be confident in the business you have created and don’t sell yourself short. Your job is to make people want to buy what you’re selling, so tell them boldly why they would be missing out without your business. Confidence goes a long way in small business success.
Dylan Arthur Garber, Co-Founder Audien Hearing
Not Paying Attention to Competition
In every business venture, no matter how original or obscure your offering is, you will always have some type of competition. Many businesses choose to ignore the competition, but this is not wise advice. Instead, you need to keep an eye on your competition to see what they do, how they handle situations, what type of audience they’ve gained, and then learn from their successes and mistakes. Business doesn’t have to be a ruthless avenue, either–you can cheer on your competition and form strong relationships with them, because every small business can use as much help as possible. Whatever you do, pay attention to the competition; you will learn from them.
James Ville, Chief Product Officer GunSkins
Not Using Contracts
I tell every new business owner to befriend contracts. You might think it is unnecessarily official to sign certain contracts when first launching your business, but it would be a huge mistake not to have all services in writing. Binding actions with contracts is like wrapping your vulnerable new business in legal padding–that is to say, signed contracts are a safety net for anything going wrong. Because otherwise, some aspects you thought you could count on might fall apart in an instant without a legally-binding form.
Greg MacDonald, CEO and Founder Bathorium
Being Afraid to Fail
There has long been a toxic mentality around the concept of failure that is now beginning to shift into a more understanding light. All success is born from some type of failure because when you work hard and take risks, not everything will come to fruition. This is perfectly normal, and part of learning and growing. I would encourage all new business founders to not be afraid to “fail.” Great things will come of failure, whether new understanding, new direction, or simply avoiding the wrong path. Don’t view failure as a setback but rather as the best non-win that you can experience.
Noura Sakkijha, CEO Mejuri
