5 Common Entrepreneur Mistakes

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What Not to Do

It takes time and money to start a new business. Entrepreneurs work hard to get customer or prospects. And given the amount of work and money that is spent getting visitors to your company storefront or web site, it is amazing how difficult it is to keep visitors on site. In fact, studies show that visitors give you less than 10 seconds for them to decide whether to stay on your web site, explore and (hopefully) buy or perform the most desired action (MDA), like opting in for a free newsletter. Yet, many site owners and entrepreneurs - especially site owners who design their own sites - throw a number of stumbling blocks in the path of the visitor on the way to performing the MDA. And what is worse, many entrepreneurs make these common mistakes, which can actually prevent their businesses from succeeding.

Here are some rules to follow if you DO NOT want your new business to be successful.

Avoid these entrepreneur mistakes.

Growing too quickly.

Growing too quickly can be just as dangerous for a new business as moving too slowly. Expansion should only be done to meet the demand of the product, not simply for the sake of growth. It takes time, resources, and more, to develop a new brand or location, which takes away from the successful existing ones. For this reason, it is very important not to grow too quickly.

At times it is much better for the small business just to sit back and build up their capital, instead of borrowing money to try to grow too quickly. The rule should be quality over quantity... always. Make sure you provide the best possible service or product for your existing customers, and can do so for new ones before expanding.

Not staying ahead of the competition.

This should be right on the top of your list of things to do. If you don't blaze the trail, then you are simply following others. One of the issues which can really hurt your business is not taking notice when a close competitor makes an announcement or launches a new product. If competition has a policy that makes it more convenient for your customers to do business with them instead of you, take notice. Always pay attention to the market and make adjustments to your business model. One of the benefits of being a small business owner is having the ability to easily adjust to new market conditions. Do not lose touch of that advantage because it could cost your business in terms of sales.

Not being careful with whom your hire.

Small business owners need to be very careful whom they hire and employ. Each person working for your business should benefit you in some way. Character and a willingness to work hard are sometimes more important than education, experience, or even pay scale. More often that not, the employees who have degrees and experience will slack off, feeling that they no longer have to work as hard. Pay very close attention to the new guy or girl at the bottom your organization.

Not realizing that working hard is a benefit.

Many business owners think that if they go into business for themselves, they can hire people to put in the forty hours a week and then they themselves can just take it easy and let the business run itself. Unfortunately, it does not work that way. The majority of successful business owners actually work more hours than their employees, and do much more because if the person at the top slacks off, the entire organization will slack off.

Not maintaining an interesting web site.

More often than not, a well-designed and correctly developed web sites is just that -- well designed and correctly developed. But the content does not change. Visitors to your web site are there for one major reason -- because you have interesting content. So, remember, that an online entrepreneur always has to provide users with interesting and helpful information on a blog. Also, keep in mind that content of a blog should be updated regularly. Provide users with interesting posts, contests and polls on a consistent basis. The main task of an entrepreneur is to return users back to his blog again and again.

What about your business website needs? Website hosting firms that are professional, experienced and low-cost are not easy to find. The low-cost part is, but professional as in "green hosting" is not something that is really easy to find. Yes, there are many web hosts that pretend to be green. But be sure to check their resume before selecting them as your online partner.

It takes time, effort and marketing dollars to get visitors to your web site, to build a brand, and develop a successful small business. Don't scare away prospects by making design goofs.

That's one key to creating web-based success - and isn't that your MDA (most desired action)?

It sure should be.

Ms. Rosendahl has over 19 years experience in systems analysis, hosted applications, and management as well as 13 years experience in web hosting and Internet marketing. Ms. Rosendahl has a Bachelors from Houston Baptist University with a double major in Computer Information Systems and Business Management. Stephanie is the founder and CEO of website hosting firm - GreenHostIt.com