Starting a business is a challenge! Bringing a product to market, defining its target customer base, implementing marketing, organizing billing and managing growth are just a small part of what the potential entrepreneur needs to understand. And while the sectors vary and each business is unique, there are 5 fairly common pitfalls that a new entrepreneur can easily fall into. With this article, you will be able to identify and hopefully defeat them!
What are the 5 mistakes of start-ups?
Error 1: Not knowing your company’s DNA
All business plans refer to a corporate mission, and this is no accident! In a fast-paced environment where competition is fierce and customers are informed before purchasing, defining a mission is necessary. Why? Quite simply because it’s vital to the company’s development: it’s the company’s DNA. Without it, it is difficult to make decisions that match your identity. Therefore, the corporate mission is far from a formality: a decision that is well aligned with the mission has a better chance of getting you where you want to go!
Alternatively, if you have not defined your mission, imagine explaining the purpose of your business to a potential client, collaborator or employee. In a context of growth, some will need to hire employees. They will certainly be more motivated to invest in an organization that has a mission, vision and values!
In most cases, entrepreneurs struggle to establish and set the mission of their business. You can then attend a workshop with an external expert to guide the entrepreneur in the right direction!
Error 2: of a business start-up contractor: Lack of vision
You have a great idea of products or services and you decide to start a business, but you don’t have a business plan. Many entrepreneurs start out this way. So you start offering your services, and begin the first miles of your business. But over time, you have to face competition and make strategic decisions to break into the market: this is where some people make mistakes. Not knowing what their business is all about, they are in a grey area and are actually hindering their growth! They attract the wrong customer base, overload or underload, suffer recurring financial losses, fail to fully utilize their strengths, etc. These barriers arise when an entrepreneur does not have a comprehensive and accurate vision of what makes him or her unique, as well as the environment in which the business operates. A business canvas is the perfect tool for seeing clearly and using strategy.
In this profile, you identify a clear profile of your current customers, the strengths of your business and what makes it different. You also identify the competition’s strengths and weaknesses. Then you list the most profitable services or products and the ones that cause losses. In a single document, you have the exact profile of your business and get a fresh look at it! Decisions become easier, you gain confidence and you can navigate business more easily!
Error 3: for start-ups: Remaining unknown
Have you ever heard of this entrepreneur whose great idea would revolutionize the transportation industry? No. Since he thought this great idea would make itself known and attract thousands of customers, he did not do any marketing! This scenario is present in many entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, even if the demand is there, they can’t break into a market. Why? Simply because they did not take the necessary steps to position their offering and sell based on a marketing strategy.
Not everyone is good at marketing, so it makes sense to surround yourself with the right people or just delegate! This article provides valuable advice on how to delegate! (insert http: / / www.wizeba.com / deleguer-une-strategy-profitable /)
Error 4: Neglecting social media
Many companies offer excellent products and services. However, they are slow to invest in their brand. These entrepreneurs want to save costs, but they are suffering losses without knowing it! Having a website and investing in the right social networks is not an expense, but an investment. When used properly, Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram are social networks with incredible power to communicate!
Today, you can reach more qualified customers for a fraction of the cost. Just target the right social networks based on the nature of your business.,
your clients’ buying patterns and your ability to manage. Next, build a corporate profile that clearly outlines your products or services, and publish interesting content at the right frequency. Most importantly, don’t flood your audience with useless information! Simply try to publish relevant content more than once a month. This will help you build your brand online and get to market at the right time, but not after 2 days… Be patient and rigorous!
If you are unfamiliar with this marketing and want to be advised by a neutral expert, consult a business analyst.
Error 5: Fear of change
Change is necessary for a growing business. In the past, companies performed many tasks manually and almost never had to change their methods. But with the advent of diversified technologies and applications, today’s businesses are digitizing and modifying their operations to be more efficient! In this context, opposing change can be harmful.
To be more comfortable in a changing environment and better control this phase, it is wise to develop your business intelligence, as explained in this article http: / / www.wizeba.com / business-intelligence /. You’ll have better entrepreneurial reflexes and know how to navigate the wave. And sometimes, to get a better sense of your company’s operations, you can use mapping of your key processes. This document outlines each of your activities, deliverables, tools and processes. It helps identify what creates value in your business and where time is wasted. With this information, it is easier to make decisions to optimize production or even computerize key processes!
Start-ups can easily avoid these mistakes!
As you can see, the WizeBA team is familiar with the business start-up process and has a history of providing solutions to frequently encountered problems! C ⁇ is what gave us the idea of offering a training workshop specifically for new entrepreneurs to help them get off to a good start. The “Navigator” workshop lasts only one day and can help you avoid unfortunately all-too-common errors. Please feel free to contact us or register (insert http: / / www.wizeba.com / contact /).