Starting a business isn’t the easiest path to take. Mistakes are inevitable, especially for startups. Although there is much to be learned from certain blunders, it’s best to avoid some of them altogether. Here is a list of some common startup mistakes that could hinder the growth of your company. If you manage to avoid them, you’ll be that much closer to building a thriving business:
Undervaluing and underpricing your product or service
Many startups fear that they may price their products/services too high because in the early stages of a business venture, the feeling that the offering “isn’t quite there yet” (i.e isn’t good enough) is unshakeable. Underpricing also stems from comparing yourself to the competition, which can be a good thing. But when you begin to feel that you do not measure up to industry ‘experts’ and more established businesses, cutting your prices can only do damage. Businesses should compete mainly on value, not price.
- The fear of marketing
Being a start-up business means that getting your name out there is an essential part of your humble beginning. The fear is not of marketing itself, but of the possibility of your marketing going unnoticed, being rejected, being embarrassing or simply not having the impact that you thought it would. Unfortunately, there’s no telling how your strategy will be received, but failing to execute it will do more harm than good. If you don’t get your product/service/name out there, there can be no growth, since nobody knows about it. Take the leap and market market market.
- Overspending
In the early stages of your business, you may feel that you need to spend excessive amounts of money on making your company and product or service ‘better’. These funds could go to anything from 2000 prints of flashy business cards to lavish office space. The truth is, most new business don’t have that much money to spend, and the things that you spend money on don’t matter as much as you think they do. You’ll most likely rebrand in a few months and those business cards (which you’ve probably only handed out on four separate occasions) will have been a waste. Start small, with only the necessities, and begin to factor in expenses only as you need and afford them.
- Not doing market research
A failure to conduct proper market research is akin to gambling. You might win, you might lose, but the outcome is based on chance and nothing more solid than that. If you are taking a product or service to the market without knowing who that market is, or whether it exists at all, you walk blindly into the world of business and your success is a matter of luck. Market research could therefore save you a lot of time, effort and resources, by showing you whether or not the idea would work.
- Overbuilding
Naturally, every entrepreneur wants their product to be the best it can be. But often, entrepreneurs get stuck in trying to perfect a product before taking it to market. Putting in excessive work and resources in a product that you haven’t even tested in the market could be detrimental. The fact is that even after you’ve built it obsessively, a quick stint in the market will prove that some changes need to be made. So work on a minimum viable product (MVP), which will have just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide enough feedback to make significant improvements.
