To start a business is easy but to succeed is very tough until you follow some guidelines. Check out what experts said about the startup mistakes to avoid as an Entrepreneur. You can also check experts from Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security and Cloud Computing. Submit your thoughts and opinions about this topic here (if any).
What are the Top Startup Mistakes to Avoid as an Entrepreneur? – Digital Magazine
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Thoughts from Industry Experts
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James Gingerich
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| Putting key people in a position where they cannot be successful no matter how many hours they put in. No work life balance means eventual burnout. Churning and burning through staff at a high rate is a sunk cost even the largest of corporations cannot afford. For small businesses perpetual onboarding is a swift and certain death. Avoid at all costs. | |
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Janet Schijns
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| Most startups begin with a great idea – that great idea may be a technology innovation, pricing model, or go to market strategy that differentiates the startup from what’s available in the market today or disrupts the market with a new category. The talent that was capable of innovating and creating a new market or disruption is generally not the same talent that is needed to run a cost effective growth oriented business. Sure, some firm leaders have both innovation and day to day business skills but those leaders are few and far between. Thinking that your innovator can also be your day to day business leader is an often dangerous mistake that results in higher costs, complicated processes and less growth. Successful startups know this and identify a good business leader to take the firm to market leaving the innovators to keep developing new products and solutions.
Marketing and sales are another mistake common in the startup world. Those first few customers or investors who love the solution often give the startup a false sense of security and make them believe that the innovation will “sell itself” While good solutions will always sell, insufficient marketing and sales efforts will ensure that the startup runs through their investment capital long before those sales happen. Investing in a marketing firm who can craft a hard hitting and actionable demand generation program is a great solution to this problem. Once the plan is built and leads are capable of being generated, successful startups bring in a strong and smart seller who can close deals not a retread from their industry. How do they find those strong sellers? In today’s world focusing on sellers with expert social selling skills since those sellers outsell their peers by 78% (defined by a LinkedIn SSI of 70+, 5000+ connections, 4+ recommendations on social media in past year, and weekly posting of valuable content can help you find experts at social selling) Finally automation and processes matter. Doing things on a “shoe-string” only works for so long. Successful startups invest in automation and processes from the start often using affordable SaaS technology to bridge the gaps. Defining the right process management and automating key tasks may seem unnecessary when you are first starting up but in the long run scalability is critical to success; investing early in these areas saves money and time as the firm grows. |
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Tony Moroney
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| One of the biggest single mistake for most entrepreneurs is presumption. I’m reminded of the line in the aptly named movie Field of Dreams: “build and they will come.”
The real world doesn’t work that way; all firms must first and foremost provide value to their target market. This requires an understanding of customer needs, how these are being met today by incumbents, and critically, expected points of differentiation. Another mistake, is underestimating what is required to get the business off the ground. It takes time to build a brand and this requires balancing the need to invest in the business, while preserving cash-flow to manage the transition from start-up to going-concern. Entrepreneurs also need to make sure they have the right team. This should be diverse in its broadest sense, to ensure the team doesn’t start believing its own propaganda. A strong cohesive team, with complementary skill-sets, and a preparedness to challenge is critical to success. |
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