It is difficult to start a business, and it is more challenging to create a startup company. In addition to the challenge of building a company from scratch, many entrepreneurs lack experience in the business field. Even if they have incredible ideas, they will still face many complicated problems, such as how to manage young enterprises, how to deal with financial problems, how to hire employees, how to avoid unnecessary expenses and so on.
Due to lack of experience, many start-ups have failed-of course, if they really founded the company. In order to ensure that these disaster stories will not increase, the following are 10 mistakes that you should avoid at all costs in the initial stage of your business:
1. Work alone. How many successful startups have only one founder? Larry Ellision's Oracle Bone Inscriptions (Oracle Bone Inscriptions Software System Co., Ltd.) is an exception.
It is really hard to set up a company, and it often takes more than one person to start a business. Everything has its ups and downs, not to mention those tasks that few people can undertake alone. Heavy blows and setbacks sometimes make it difficult for you to continue without encouragement from others. You need someone to help you plan the market and build products or services. You must raise funds to start a startup.
In most cases, it is incredible and daunting to deal with all this alone. A little help from friends and partners can help you start a business.
2. Don't make a business plan, and don't reduce the useful content. Having a reliable business plan plays a vital role in future success. In the final analysis, the business plan is to guide the startup company to develop in the right direction by answering the following questions:
What is the purpose of our company? Who are the potential customers? What is the mission and value? What direction does the company need? Who are the competitors of the company and what are they doing? How does this company measure success?
In other words, a sound business plan determines all aspects of a startup. When the company is stagnant or about to start a new business, you can always refer to the business plan.
There is no need to create a business plan in a formal way like in business school. But it is suggested to have a business plan, because in the long run, it will help to determine the development direction of the company.
3. Improper handling of funds. When it comes to starting a business, finding funds is a very big thing, and you need to properly handle the money.
One of the biggest mistakes of many entrepreneurs is to spend too much money, which often happens when the founders become too anxious and hire a large number of employees. First of all, entrepreneurs may think that they need all new employees, but this may only mean that the startup's funds will run out faster. In order to avoid this situation, we should only hire those employees who really need it at the beginning and gradually equip them.
The founder may be tempted to spend a lot of money and spend unnecessary expenses quickly, instead of making full use of these funds, it is just a waste.
If a venture capital company gives a company a lot of money, it may expect to get rich returns soon. You can't fool around like this anymore. Time to get to work.
You have to set aside some money and consider these questions: what should you do if the enterprise suddenly has to bear the expensive cost of reform, lack of funds and put the problem on hold? If you must make a backup plan, what will happen to the original plan? What if the investor withdraws or the customer does not pay? What should I do if I suddenly find that the cost of key links in the enterprise is too high? Do you have the money to deal with this situation?
Without proper capital management and use, new enterprises may never set sail. To be sure, people who are good at numbers can help in this respect.
4. You can't change your business focus as soon as possible. Every entrepreneur will say that nothing can go according to plan. But being able to change the focus of work in time is part of success. Nokia used to have a paper mill that produced rubber boots. Finally, it is a telecommunications company.
Odeo used to be a podcast platform. But when Apple launched its own podcasting platform, Odeo had to change its focus. Now Odeo is Twitter's social media channel.
In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you should prepare a backup plan for every worst case, but you can also change your focus flexibly in case the original proposal doesn't work.
5. The original goal was too small. If an entrepreneur jumps out of the traditional thinking mode too much (meaning aiming at a niche market), then success may be unattainable. Paul graham, founder and investor of startup incubator Y Combinator, explained in "18 mistakes in killing startups" that many entrepreneurs think it will be safer to target smaller groups because the competition will not be so fierce. But "if you really make something good, you will definitely have competitors, so you'd better face it", paul graham said. If you want to avoid competition, you must give up really great ideas.
6. Start a business in the wrong place. Site selection has always been very important for enterprises. Opening a store in the right place is the key, and at the same time, we should consider the cost, the geographical location of potential customers and the whole industry.
For example, Rowland H. Macy initially opened a store in Massachusetts, but it didn't succeed. So, he learned from his mistakes and moved the company to the Sixth Street in new york. This enterprise succeeded and produced a retail giant called Macy's.
Let's look at this again. Many successful high-tech companies often appear in high-tech centers such as Silicon Valley, Seattle, Portland, Oregon and Boston.
But there is another reason to emphasize the importance of location: Paul Graham observed that "most venture capital start-ups" are located about an hour's drive from investment institutions. This may be because investors learn about startups through others in their social networks. Therefore, in order to obtain funds, it is best for start-ups to locate near venture capital companies.
7. Ignore intuition. Entrepreneurs have different instincts. This may be the reason why many people have made great progress in starting businesses. So don't ignore intuition. This can be used well.
However, we should ensure the perfect balance between this interesting intuition and digital operation, pay attention to key performance indicators, and formulate business strategies on the basis of research.
8. Start a business at an inappropriate time. Time is everything when starting a business. But some situations are beyond our control (such as economic or natural disasters), so we need to arrange to start a business at the right time. Not to mention the detailed scientific methods. Just make sure the company doesn't start too early or wait too long.
Starting too fast may put the whole enterprise at risk. Consider the following questions: Is this a product or service that people really want? Are you ready to go public? After all, there is nothing worse than rushing to put products on the market out of the desire to beat competitors or start making profits. Before offering products or services to the public, make sure that the startup company is ready.
On the other hand, don't wait long. Otherwise, it is possible that all funds will be exhausted or competitors will take the lead in introducing this product to the market. Make sure everything is ready without any delay. Set a deadline and finish it before the deadline.
9. There was an error in the recruitment process. Make sure the recruitment doesn't start too soon. This will run out of business funds. But the part that needs to be constantly adjusted in the recruitment process is to recruit the right person.
So many start-ups fail because the people they hired (perhaps a friend who lacks job role training) are not suitable for the company, or because some people have uncoordinated personalities and cannot integrate into the team. Be sure to let qualified personnel work in start-up enterprises.
Make sure to record everything at work. I'm sure no one wants to be sued by your former employees in some way.
10. Affected by many external factors. Whether it's advice or criticism, sometimes outside feedback can be very helpful. If Sean, Sean parker didn't recommend Mark? Mark zuckerberg moved to California and changed the name of his project from "Facebook" to "Facebook". Will Facebook take off again?
Of course, too much feedback is also harmful. With the development of the company, many people will say what is best for the company. But if everyone's suggestions are adopted, the enterprise will no longer be similar to the original idea. Being taken in too many different directions is not good for enterprises.
Although mark? Zuckerberg listens to Sean? Parker's suggestion, but he still insists on his vision of Facebook's future. He didn't accept all the suggestions. He only adopts suggestions that he thinks are beneficial to the company.
I hope it helps you.