Five Business Start-up Mistakes You Should Avoid

With news of both Jessops and HMV closing down just days after the start of the New Year, for people wishing to start up their own business especially, the outlook isn’t good. Though it is acknowledged that both retail giants failed to keep up with the times, they have also been accused of failing to provide adequate online presence or more importantly, competitive prices for their customers; what can be learned from the fall of two former high street giants?

Although there are companies out there that can help your business, here are five common start-up mistakes that you quite clearly want to avoid at the start of your business career:

Fail to value Marketing
Today marketing is easier than ever. Even on the most basic level, all you are likely to need is a Twitter or Facebook account to create a voice for your business. Thanks to today’s technology, you can reach an audience that is pretty much unlimited in scope. At the same time however, it is important that you don’t waste your time on dead mediums such as the Yellow Pages, in 2013 it simply isn’t worth it.

Spend all the money
Though this failure may sound particularly strange, one of the biggest problems that a new business will face is to overspend and therein signal the ‘kiss of death’. Long term contracts such as office spaces and capital commitments can kill a business when the waves become a little ropey. If you can, give yourself a moderate wage at the start of the business, you never know when you will need that extra couple of grand.

Ignore criticism
Although sometimes it is far more convenient to throw your head into the sand, sometimes this just won’t do. If you’re told by a credible professional, such as a business manager, that your business plan contains gaping holes, take that into account and realize where you can improve. The reason at the end of the day, that we feel such pain, is so that we can make improvements in our life.

Underestimate experience
One of the biggest blunders that a managing director can make, to put it politely, is to jump into a business or venture without having enough experience or depth of knowledge to successfully keep the business afloat during the first year. Make sure that before you start out, you have a solid scope of where the business is heading in the next year and aim to move with it. This is where both HMV and Jessops failed, even after decades of being in business.

Skimping on the business plan
Without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest mistake that any business can make is to try and establish themselves without having a solid plan in place. Joanna Shows, a professional business coach says that:

“The business plan is absolutely the breathing embodiment of the business. Business is like a cattle field, you can roam all you want within the field, but once you hit the electric fence it is going to zap you.”

In this you should make sure that if need be, your company can change its direction and is willing to change in accordance with the market. Failing to adapt may not always lead to failure, that is an important thing to acknowledge, but at the same time you could be losing vital ground to the rival companies around you.

This article is provided by Phoenix BSC which is a leading business sales and consulting company in the UK. They provide expert advice and support for businesses in the health and social care sector.

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