5 Most Common Business Mistakes

Making mistakes in life can be really useful! But knowing how to avoid making mistakes can save you time, money and pain...

Making mistakes in life can be really useful! You can learn from them, change what you do next time and hopefully not make the same ones again. On the flip side though, they're not particularly pleasant to experience at the time and the process of learning from them for next time can also be time consuming and sometimes expensive.

When you're embarking on something brand new, and in this case a brand new business, you're taking a step into the unknown. Having as much information and guidance as possible up front can be really beneficial and help minimise rookie mistakes. You'll probably still make small mistakes along the way, but hopefully you'll be able to side step some of the bigger stuff.

I wanted to share 5 common mistakes this week that either I've experienced first hand at my own businesses, or have seen in other businesses. And I'm focusing on the bigger business stuff, rather than the nicey nicey part of the business which I know is your passion.

Tina Jesson here from TheXperience Academy, and in Facebook groups TearoomSecrets and HomeStagingSecrets. As you know, I have owned businesses since the 1990's both in the UK and the USA, in Home Staging, as a food business & tearoom owner and a tour company.

Here we go, shall we...

1. Not being clear on your overall goals
Be clear on your goals right from the get go. What kind of business do you want? This can range from a small one that you can earn a little extra cash in your spare time, right to the other end of the spectrum of going full time, with employees, based in commercial premises and aiming to make as much revenue as possible. Having a general idea on this from the off will help you plan your operation and keep you focused.

2. Not knowing which customers you'll be serving and if they exist in the first place
You can have the fanciest set up in the world, but if you don't have local customers wanting to buy, you don't have a business. This is difficult to fully foresee in the beginning, but definitely spend time researching your potential local customer base before you scale up your business or invest heavily in it. These can include - friends and family, neighbours, your general local area & independent businesses.

3. Leaving your day job too early (if you have one. If you don't - just go for it!).
And this is a fine balance. Go too early and it will put pressure on your business sales (and no-one makes great decisions under pressure!). Not leaving to go all in when you see your business is working, can leave it stuck.
Make sure you've been making consistent income for as long as possible, and saving the cash you make from your business, before you take the plunge to go all in. Also be confident that the customer base, and room to grow your business, is there for your expansion. Your experience of running your business part time in the first instance will help you know if these are in place.

4. Overspending unnecessarily
Every time you go to buy something for your business ask yourself if it's absolutely necessary to buy this now (or at all). The less you spend on your business the greater your profit margin will be. Carefully consider those purchases!

5. Not seeing sales as a priority
It's easy to get bogged down with all the other aspects of the business, but as soon as you've got what you offer nailed, always prioritise your sales and aim to increase these month on month. Keep detailed, up to date records of your sales coming in (and expenses going out!). I have a little mantra - business is simple - there are only 3 things to do - deliver what you offer to your customers; control your costs; and market your heart out. Just because its simple doesn't mean its easy, but you need to get out and be everywhere, in person if possible, because no one can market your business like the business owner.

6. Consulting expertise too late (or not at all)
This on its own can save you *a lot* of time, money and uncertainty. There's plenty of info now out there online that can show you the basics of running your own business (including my stuff!). And that's great!
However, if you're already clear on your goals, love what you do and want to get going building your business as soon as possible, accessing training early on in your journey can make a huge difference to your progress and can eliminate a lot of mistakes as you move forward with it.

If you would like to access tailor-made training on how to grow your business by getting more customers, clients or guest, to buy from you and to buy more often, based on my years of experience then check out my program for getting more clients, something most of my clients tell me is a top priority.

And for a limited time I will also be offering a complimentary coaching session for anyone who signs up before June 30, worth $497
YES PLEASE!

Until next time
Tina
Experience Consultant, Tina Jesson, provides Guest & Customer Experience Design, Event Experience Solutions & Experiential Retail & Hospitality.

Tina has been delivering experiences since early 2000, has been in the hospitality & restaurant industry in the USA since 2010, where she owned 4 tea rooms and ran themed event & tour company. She headed up business development of a national Home Staging company in the UK, shared a stage with the founder of The Body Shop, Anita Roddick and has spoken as a marketing & business growth expert in Las Vegas.

Tina has created experiences with The BBC Good Homes Show in UK; Green Fest Expos in USA. She works with business owners to create their own unique experiences for their customers, clients and direct with members of the general public.

Categories: : Business Growth