As an entrepreneur, you want to do everything right, but the truth is that mistakes are inevitable. Nobody can make the right decision 100 percent of the time. What you can do is make enough right decisions that when something does go wrong, you’re able to roll with it and get back up. It’s also a good idea to find out what some of the most common mistakes are so you can avoid them. Below are three of the major ones.
Expanding Too Soon or Too Quickly
Knowing when to expand is essential, whether that means moving to larger premises or introducing new services or product lines. You don’t want to limit what your business can do artificially, but you also don’t want to grow before you are ready. So a few things need to be in place.
First, the capability to deal with the growth needs to be there. Do you have the staff and practices in place to cope with expansion, or will you find yourself in over your head if you expand? Second, the demand should be there. Do you have more customers than you can handle, or are your clients asking for more services? If this is the case, it might be time for expansion, but if not, you run the risk of diluting what you are already doing well.
Not Having the Right Tools
Too often, businesses are trying to run without the right tools. There are a few reasons for this. The most common is that they do not know that the tools are out there or don’t realize how valuable the tools can be. This is where it’s essential to listen to your employees about what they need to do their jobs and your customers about what they want. For example, if your company includes a fleet, it can be essential to have the ability to have visibility of their location. This can allow customers to know when a delivery is imminent. You can use GPS fleet tracking software to get real-time data.
Failing to Delegate
If you try to do everything yourself, you’ll fail for two reasons. First, you don’t have the time, resources or expertise for every single thing that a business needs. This can be disastrous in such areas as IT security, taxes or legal matters. Don’t try to save money by dealing with these things yourself if you don’t know what you’re doing. Some professionals can handle all of this for you. Refer to the advice from small business owners who have been around for a while — they have weathered the storm and can help you avoid it.
Second, if you have employees and try to micromanage them, several things will go wrong. First, most of your good employees will leave. The good ones who stay will become frustrated and underperforming because you refuse to empower them. You’ll end up with workers who are unmotivated and unwilling to take on challenges or go the extra mile because you’ve given them no indication that you trust them. Instead, be the kind of manager who provides employees with whatever they need to problem solve and excel in their positions.