Last Updated on Apr 3, 2020 by James W
Starting your own business can be a pretty daunting task. Suddenly the ball is completely in your court, and you need to be the one to decide what to do next. You’re no longer able to hand things over to someone higher up, and it’s your responsibility to take the business in the right direction. That means that it’s pretty much inevitable that you’re going to make mistakes, that’s just a fact of life. But some mistakes are easier to avoid than others, so here is a list of a few common mistakes that just about every startup makes and how to avoid them.
Ignoring the needs of employees
When your business is very small and just starting out, it can be easy to think that you can get away with treating your employees in a fairly casual way. The problem with that is that it leaves both sides vulnerable. That isn’t to say that either you or your employees would intentionally do anything to impact one another negatively, but things can happen, and you need to have a strong legal framework to ensure that you’re both as well protected as possible. Make sure you speak to HR consultants from Ellis Whittam so that there’s no chance of your business getting into any legal trouble through accidental negligence or the behavior of an employee.
Putting off your accounting
It’s understandable that so many new startups ignore their accounting a lot of the time. After all, there are so many other elements of your business that are far more exciting and interesting to deal with. Of course, just because it’s understandable doesn’t mean that it’s excusable. Your accounts are one of the most important elements of your business and ignoring them will not only cause problems regarding productivity but could get you into some serious legal hot water if you’re not careful. Make sure that you’re using some high quality accounting software so that you can deal with your books as efficiently and accurately as possible.
Moving forward without a plan
This is probably the most common, and most damning, mistake that a lot of startups tend to make. It can be easy to get swept up in the momentum of your business that you go full steam ahead before you’re actually ready. Make sure that you have a detailed business plan laid out before you do anything else. This includes long and short term goals, potential risks, target customers, and anything else that could end up being important to your business at any point down the line. If you’re well prepared, then you’re that much less likely to end up in trouble if you come up against a roadblock.
Remember, no matter what, you’re probably going to make some mistakes when running a business. The best thing that you can do is to treat them as a learning experience. Failure is the yardstick by which we measure success so don’t be afraid to try things that might not work out. At the very least it’ll give you a better idea of what to do in the future.
