Being an entrepreneur is one of the hardest yet most rewarding experiences of a person’s career. There’s the allure of being your own boss, unlimited earning potential, and creating the business that you envisioned in your head. Yet according to greyjournal.net, around 10,000 businesses start up each year in the United States and 80% of them fail in the first year because they aren’t prepared.
If you’ve embarked on the entrepreneurial journey, you don’t want to fall victim to this statistic. Here are 6 deadly mistakes entrepreneurs make and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1: Trying to do everything by yourself
There’s a viral video floating around social media of Issa Rae, saying “entrepreneur means I did this sh*t myself,” which is true in many ways. As an entrepreneur, you are often the boss and the head of marketing. You are your cheerleader, your investor and wear many hats. And although a majority of entrepreneurs will say they did it on their own, it often takes a village. Delegating and outsourcing tasks will help you achieve your goals faster and better depending on if you recruit the best-skilled people.
Avoid this mistake by playing to your strengths. If you are better talking to people than writing and doing technical work, hire a virtual assistant or a marketing intern—someone who enjoys the more administrative tasks so you can focus on supporting and helping your clients.
Mistake #2: Selling based on facts and not emotions
A common mistake business owners make is not knowing how to sell their product or service. The art of selling isn’t just bout sharing how great your product or service is, or how many features or components it has but being able to connect with the emotions of your customer.
Avoid this mistake by considering buyers’ emotions. Use the advice from sales expert Geoffrey James who says that buyers decide on a purchase based on 6 emotions. These emotions include shame, pride, envy, altruism, fear, and greed. When you tap into these emotions, you have a better chance of making the sale.
Mistake #3: Not knowing your target audience and thinking that you can sell to everyone
There is often the desire for new entrepreneurs to want to sell to everyone because this method seems to help attract more clients. Yet, imagine being in a large room with 100s of people before lunchtime and shouting, “ Is anyone hungry?” Most people in the room would say yes. But if you offered everyone sandwiches not everyone would accept this because everyone in the room has different tastes.
Like the business market, everyone has their own unique needs, wants, and desires. It’s about selling to your clientele.
Avoid this mistake by identifying your target audience and putting yourself in from of them. A common mistake is marketing to the wrong crowd. Getting 8,000 followers on Instagram won’t help your business if none of those people wants to buy your product. Search for where your ideal cliental lives online and put yourself on those platforms.
Mistake #4 Giving in to the fear of failure
The fear of failure is a huge factor that prevents many entrepreneurs from starting. It’s the flat tire on their road to success. Although this fear is normal, giving in to this fear is one of the most common mistakes that entrepreneurs make. However, there is a way to make the fear work for you.
Avoid this mistake by becoming aware of your emotions. When you start to feel nervous or anxious, focus on relieving those emotions instead of giving into them. Use practices such as exercising, going for a walk, and meditating to help calm your nervous system. Once you feel calm you can get back to work.
Mistake #5: Not being aware of the competition
Understanding your competition is vital to business success. Whichever market you are in, it’s important to know the competition.
Avoid this mistake by identifying your top competitors: Identify how you are different and what makes you stand out. Understand the competitor’s product or services, their brand design, and how they market to their clients. Learn from them. See which clients in the market are underserved and assess how you can address their desires, frustrations or problems.
Mistake #6 Undervaluing your product or service
One of the simplest but most dangerous mistakes you can make as an entrepreneur is not understanding your value. In turn, this is reflected in the way you price your products or services.
Avoid this mistake by communicating your value early, to yourself and your ideal clientele.
Introduce yourself to the market as a product or service that solves problems and makes people’s lives easier. Doing this will make it easier to set and raise your prices.
