As a new business owner, you might have a handful of amazing skills and ideas. You could have a fantastic business plan in your head, and a clear vision of a successful future. However, there’s one thing you don’t have; the experience of running a business before. Consequently, it’s very easy for you to make simple mistakes, as you’ve never done this before.
There’s nothing wrong with mistakes if you learn how to fix them quickly. Saying that there are some amateur mistakes that are quite harmful to your business. We’ve outlined them below so you can prevent them from happening in the first place.
Tangled wires can cause accidents at work. Source
Not Looking After Your Premises
Looking after your business premises is probably not high on your list of priorities. However, do you know what can happen when you let your premises go? It can become messy, unclean, and lead to various problems. Too many wires all unkempt and messy could lead to someone tripping over them and injuring themselves. An unclean kitchen area in the office may see spillages cause slips or damage electrical equipment. If you talk to any personal injury lawyer in the country, they’ll tell you they’ve dealt with countless incidents involving people on business premises. Whether it’s an office, store, restaurant; you name it, accidents can happen when it’s not looked after. As such, maintain your premises and ensure it’s always safe and free from any risks.
Why? Because an accident in your office will lead to a lawsuit, which could cost your business a lot of money. This sets you back a bit, and could even drain you of all your money depending on how serious it is. Even if you win your case, it will probably still cost money to pay a lawyer to defend you. Not to mention a lawsuit can be a very lengthy process that takes up alot of your time. This is time that could be spent on being productive but has to be spent talking to attorneys and possibly going to court.
Too many cooks spoil the broth. Credit
Hiring Too Many People
If you’re a lover of great content, then you may have already read a piece we produced that spoke about some of the biggest hiring mistakes. We listed a few things that business owners often get wrong when hiring employees. One thing we didn’t mention was that hiring employees could well be a mistake in itself. Or, more specifically, hiring too many employees all at once. As a business owner, you have to work out the cost of hiring an employee before you go ahead and do it. This is far more complex than you might think. You have to add up all the different costs they’ll bring to your business, while also considering any benefits they might bring. If you figure that hiring someone won’t bring enough benefits to warrant all the costs they generate, then it’s not worth it.
Employees take on a huge chunk of your expenses, and every business needs to keep these low. Don’t make the mistake of hiring too many people when your business may be unable to afford them. It will result in too much money leaving your business, a negative cash flow, and financial issues.
Stubbornness will get you nowhere. Link
Being Too Stubborn
This is perhaps the most common and deadly mistake of all. Most entrepreneurs have an air of arrogance about them. This isn’t meant as an insult, in fact, it’s this slight arrogance that probably made your dreams of running a business come true. You have to be confident if you want to pitch a business idea and get people interested in your company. However, there’s a fine line between being overly confident and being stubborn and set in your ways. Too many business owners are reluctant to change things about their existing business model, as they believe their way is best. This often stems from them having an idea and being, so hell-bent on ensuring this idea works.
If you’re too stubborn, you will miss out on opportunities to improve your business in so many ways. One of the best examples of stubbornness is when you sell a product for a certain price, and sales figures are low. Some owners are too stubborn to lower the price, as they think their product is worth that higher amount. Smart owners drop the price, making the product more affordable for their target market, instantly increasing sales. In short; don’t make the mistake of being too stubborn!
Avoid these amateur mistakes if you want to be a successful business owner. They will harm your company and stop you from reaching your true potential.
