[Podcast] Here’s How to Avoid the Top 7 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make | Build a Business, Not a Job Podcast

If you’re in business, and even if you’re not, today’s show about the common mistakes businesspeople and entrepreneurs make will be useful for you. 

If you think about it, we’re all in our own little businesses: the business of property investment or the business of improving ourselves.

Hopefully, this discussion will help you avoid making some of these common mistakes. 

Top 7 mistakes Entrepreneurs make

1. Expecting success right away – it’s harder than most people think
   1. Underestimating the amount of time it will take and the cash that will be needed
2. Providing a product or service that is their passion, without making sure there is a viable market for it.
   1. Confusing a good idea with a good opportunity
   2. Is there a big enough market?
   3. Is there a sufficient margin?
   4. Opportunity exists at the intersection of a deep customer need or problem and your ability to meet that need
3. Not understanding the importance marketing
   1. If you build it, they will come is the wrong idea. You need to invest heavily in marketing – but you also need to understand it even if you outsource it
   2. USP– they must differentiate themselves
   3. Social media
   4. Building a list
4. People problems
   1. Having the wrong business partner
   2. Hiring the wrong people
   3. Not firing the wrong people fast enough
   4. Not understanding how to manage teams
5. Letting perfection get in the way of progress:
   1. They wait for the “right “ time. There rarely is such a time
   2. They wait until everything is perfect or 100% in place.  This can lead to analysis paralysis.
   3. Gen Colin Powell applies a 40/70 rule
6. They let go too soon or don’t want to get their hands dirty.
   1. You have to work in your genius and focus on the highest and best use of time BUT
   2. You have to know how things get done in your business,
   3. Sometimes you have to be able to dive in and make things happen….there is a difference between delegation and abdication.
7. Trying to do it alone – need a coach, mentor, mastermind group

Links and Resources: 

Why not join Metropole’s Business Accelerator Mastermind

Learn more about Mark Creedon – Business Coach to some of Australia’s leading entrepreneurs  

Some of our favourite quotes from the show: 

“Unfortunately, life is hard. Business is difficult. Retaining clients is difficult. Making a profit isn’t easy. Because if it was, the rewards on the other side wouldn’t be as valuable.” – Mark Creedon

“What I’m suggesting is the list needs to be yours – not on Facebook, not on Twitter, not on LinkedIn, because over time they change the algorithms and you may lose access to those people.” – Michael Yardney

“One of the other aspects of managing staff as your business grows is that you may well be a good practitioner at your skill, whether it’s in sales or the craft or the profession that you’re in, but that doesn’t actually translate to being good at human resources and managing people.” – Michael Yardney 

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