Launching your very own business is an extremely thrilling decision that will inevitably come with a mixture of amazing highs and, in some people’s cases, downright devastating lows.
If you are starting to think about creating a business or are already further along the planning line and are soon ready to launch with the dazzling business plan, then there is a myriad of things you need to know.
Far more importantly, however, are the wide plethora of mistakes you must endeavor to avoid at all costs, so, with that being said, continue reading to learn the seven things you should never do when preparing to get your new company off the ground.
- Avoid Asking Loved Ones for Investment Capital
In some cases, you will know that when a loved one is perhaps taking a year out or traveling abroad and is asking to borrow money for the trip, you will be more than willing to help out.
However, when it comes to starting a new company, the old adage that you should never mix business with pleasure and family should seriously be adhered to in every sense of the phrase – not least when it comes to asking for investment capital.
However, there are a number of more sensible ways to afford to launch your new company, including, but in no way limited to, the following:
- Crowdfunding
- Self-funding
- Loans
- Investors
- Venture capital from investors
- Small business loans
- Never Lose Sight of the Big Picture
You will undoubtedly be aware of the often-quoted phrase that most start-up businesses are bound to fail within a year of their official launch. Now, unfortunately, however bad this statistic feels, it is certainly true to say that the definition of failure itself can sometimes be more than a little misleading.
In the first year, if you have successfully managed to keep your company afloat and have managed to pay any staff you have and are keeping up-to-date with the repayments and business loans you have taken out, this should not be considered a failure – even if the company is making little to no profit.
Slow growth and profit are what you will undoubtedly experience every single working day of your business life and during every trying time, especially in the first few years of running your own company. Still, it is absolutely essential to never lose sight of the bigger picture and keep on pushing forward to attain your goals.
- Do Not Sacrifice Your Own Wage
A frustratingly common decision amongst business managers and those who have just launched their own small business is to forego their own wage packet or salary to enable them to use those funds to build the company instead.
This is one of the biggest errors you could possibly mistake, and actually, quite the opposite may happen to your intended objective – and therefore, it is crucial to ensure that you pay yourself a wage, even if it is smaller than what you would normally receive.
Foundation salaries will enable you to accurately project and predict future costs and are an absolutely essential component of a new start-up business.
- Never Think You Know Everything There is to Know About Business
Another common mistake that people who are working on making their business dreams a reality and launching their own company make is to neglect to pay attention to their own furthering of academic knowledge and hands-on, practical experience in the field.
For business managers and business administrators alike, one exceedingly beneficial higher education program to consider enrolling in would be a reputable and established masters in business analytics program.
As the owner and indeed manager of a business, especially a start-up company, it is important for you to know everything there is to know about each individual department within the industry – and furthering your education, skills, knowledge, and qualifications is an extremely helpful step toward achieving this.
- Never Let Your Paperwork Build-Up
One mistake that is incredibly easy and understandable to make is to let paperwork build up in the corner of your new office while planning to address it yet never making the time to do so.
Any business collaborations or even planned partnerships that have gone as far as contract signing need to be taken very seriously, and any and all documentation must be stored and organized with the respect it deserves.
- Don’t Let Speed Overtake Quality
These days, especially with the advent of the internet, there is a panic and buzz surrounding starting and launching a new company, which can often lead to important mistakes being made – some of which could be of great detriment to yourself and your business.
Instead, take your time and apply caution, and even more so, plan when you are going to launch your company in line with industry events, occurrences, and any other un-related events to business situations that you know are visible on the horizon.
- Don’t Worry About the Finer Details of Your Business Plan
If you read virtually any book that has been written to help an individual work through their business plan and proverbially iron out any supposed kinks, all such reading material tends to place an overly-heavy reliance on the finer details of a business plan.
Obviously, you absolutely need a concise and thoroughly researched business plan – this should go without saying. But as long as your vision and basic concept are both presentable and actively tangible, this is enough, especially in the very early stages of your company.
Instead, try to focus your business plan and its content on a collective that is around ten A4 pages long, which covers each of the most important fundamental bases, including the following:
- Projected business traction
- Advisors and associates
- Solutions to potential immediate problems
- Early accountancy and financial planning
- Rivals and competitors
- Core business needs
- Market
- Workforce
- Identification of potential issues in the far future
- Brand and product development strategy