What are the most common mistakes first time entrepreneurs make?

[mmead28]

What are a handful of common mistakes first-time entrepreneurs make, and how can you recognize them early so you can avoid painful and costly lessons down the road.

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Comments

[powerpaul]

I would like to contribute two things from observation: I think what is difficult for many is the complexity of a project, which is sometimes insufficiently explored. And also in the requirements away from the core business, problems can easily arise. A carpenter can create great furniture, but may be uneducated when it comes to tax aspects or marketing. Not only does this mean he can't do it himself, but he also has a hard time assessing third party qualifications or price/performance. How often have people been sold a junk website, absolutely not up to date or fit for the future, and the clients took it off? As a result of a junk website would be losses in SEO us therefore less clicks & sales, annoyed prospects, vulnerability and much more.

Especially fiscal aspects can quickly shatter dreams with insufficient advice/knowledge. One makes oneself here and there faster punishable than one believes (at least in the country in which I live).

Just my subjective opinion...

What helps? Planing, planing, planing and building up a good team/relations/networking.

[awildovasquez]

the main mistakes entrepreneurs make when starting out are the following (I have made them myself and I think others make them too).

1. Starting a project without having sufficient funds, I would recommend at least 6-12 months. This will give you security and avoid fear of losing money.

2. Believing that you are going to make money the next month or that the business is going to be profitable the first year.

3. Focusing only on money and forgetting about important things such as family and your own health (mental and physical).

4. They stop training themselves.

5. Not knowing the important metrics of their business and that leads to spending a lot of time on unnecessary things.

6. They do not invest in a mentor. A person who has been through everything you want will help you have clarity, focus and a broader perspective.

Those are some of the ones that come to mind right now.

[alonicus]

There are a huge number of mistakes an entrepreneur can make. Believe me, I've made most of them !  So I'll focus on just a few key ones.

1. Underestimating the time it will take for a project to become profitable. Whatever the business, it will take time to build your brand and attract the kind of customers who will spread the news by word of mouth. In my business, I invested in Year 1. By Year 2 it was revenue-neutral. It was only in Year 3 that I could start pulling income from it - I was cautious in doing so, because it is far too easy to get greedy and take so much from the business that you starve it of cashflow.
2. When buying software, services or anything else, always independently double-check and sense-check what you are told. Everyone you deal with is  working for another organisation, and their goal is to sell you the product that makes them the most money, whether it is right for you or not.
3. Always watch your cashflow !
4. Your time is precious. Avoid getting drawn into irrelevant side-tracks. A great quote I came across a couple of years ago was from the British Olympic Rowing Team, and it can be applied to your business. They said that whenever they thought of doing something, they asked themselves a single question; "Does it make the boat go faster ?" Unless then answer was a definite yes, they discarded it as irrelevant.