Guest post by Joyce Wilson
If you’re an entrepreneur who has just started your own company, you’re likely excited and ready to get started selling your products or services. Watch out for the five common mistakes listed below and give your new small business the best chance at success.
1. Not Choosing the Right Business Partners
Hiring your close family or your best friends may be the easiest choice when it comes to starting a company — but this could be a huge mistake. First-time business owners often commit the error of choosing people they enjoy being around socially rather than individuals with good business sense, time-management skills, and the ability to communicate professionally.
2. Not Having a Business Plan
A well-thought-out business plan is an essential component of any successful small enterprise. You don’t need an advanced degree or extensive business experience to develop a good one, either. There are many resources online, including business plan templates, for beginning entrepreneurs.
Sit down with any partners you have and discuss what products or services you will sell, whether you will design a specialty online store, or rent a brick-and-mortar space, and what you expect your return on investment to be. Additionally, discuss how you will pitch ideas to investors and learn more about relevant marketing strategies.
3. Not Making the Most of Finance Applications
Bring yourself up to speed with the latest software apps to streamline and manage your finances. The rest of the world is moving ahead quickly and doing things the old way can drag you down. You can make your finances easily accessible and up to the minute with software that allows you to instantly verify an account number API. With that, you can retrieve account and routing numbers when users connect their checking and saving accounts. It reduces administrative time by giving you an easier way to connect their financial accounts to your software app.
4. Not Hiring Help
One of the biggest mistakes a new business owner can make is attempting to do everything alone. Though being a solopreneur sounds exciting, it can be draining and quickly lead to burnout. Even though you oversee the majority of operations, if your venture experiences growth, you may need to hire employees, contractors, or the occasional freelancer to help fill in the gaps and promote a professional image. For example, you may want to invest in hiring a web developer to create a professional-looking website if you are unable to do so.
5. Not Understanding Investment Risks
If you are a new business owner, you may watch every cent carefully 
and be unwilling to risk a dime on an investment opportunity. It’s wise to be careful with your money, but also understand that being an entrepreneur requires a certain level of risk-taking. Speak with your business partners or a financial advisor if you need help ascertaining whether an opportunity will likely turn out well — or whether it looks like it’s going to be a huge mistake for the future of your enterprise. Similarly, avoid taking too many risks this early in your company’s life.
Starting a new business may be one of the most exciting times of your life. When you finish your paperwork, hire the right people, and plan ahead as much as possible, you are more likely to experience success.
The Gold Life is all about reaching for success and guiding their readers along the path to a more hopeful, dream fulfilling future. Browse their website where you’ll find lots of stories and ideas to help you in your search for your own “gold life.”
Joyce Wilson is a retired teacher and enjoys sharing lesson plans, resources, and teaching tips on Teacher Spark.
