5 Do’s and 5 Don'ts of Starting a Business

"I would like to start a business but I don't know where to start out.”

These are common thoughts running within the minds of the many aspiring entrepreneurs. While they hold a full-time job, they need a thought which they believe can run as a successful business. Unfortunately, starting a venture of their own looks like such an enormous challenge that intimidates most of the people. Most hand over even before they start.

Are you one among them?

Don’t be embarrassed if you're one. Nobody features a clear idea about the way to build a successful business until they get their hands into it. A bit like you can't learn swimming without getting wet, you can't learn the talents of building a successful business without running one.

If you expected a blueprint for building a successful business, I even have bad news for you.

There is no such common success formula or guide for fulfillment. At least, not that I'm conscious of . Businesses vary as per people, industry, market and current trend.

Having said that, there are some common mistakes to avoid when starting a business and a few tips to follow which may increase your chances of success. Again, the following pointers don't guarantee success in any way. But knowing some possible mistakes causes you to be better prepared as an entrepreneur.

5 Don'ts of Starting a Business

You might have expected the Dos before the Don'ts. The reality is, when starting your first business, you want to learn to avoid mistakes first.

Even if you are doing something path-breaking, some simple mistakes can hamper your progress, take an extended time to recuperate or maybe kill your business to death. Avoiding simple mistakes will take your venture an extended way. albeit you are not knowing what's the proper thing to try to do, knowing what to not do will help.

Here are the highest 5 mistakes entrepreneurs make when starting a replacement business:

Don’t 1: Don’t be blinded by the thought

All new entrepreneurs believe in their own ideas. While such a belief helps you stay motivated to realize your goal, it can hurt you too. a replacement entrepreneur features a high tendency to fall victim to the confirmation bias. Moreover, your idea is worthless without good execution.

In simple words, confirmation bias is the tendency to only accept information which matches our belief and ignore/contradict any facts which go against our belief.

For example, allow us to say you propose to open a continental restaurant. you've got some groundwork already and you think you're on the proper track to start out your restaurant a couple of months later. However, you hear from a source that 2 restaurants within the same locality have failed within the last 1 year.

Many entrepreneurs turn a blind eye to such news because they're blinded by their own idea. They do not want to simply accept any facts which show their idea could fail. They dismiss the knowledge thinking the previous owners committed stupid mistakes or that their restaurant is best than most others.

I have been blinded by my very own ideas and ignored information which told me early that the thought had a high chance of failure. Yet, I assumed I used to be different. Turns out, I wasn’t.

You do not need to drop the thought because you encountered contradicting information. But a minimum of exploring what you heard with an open mind without much of an influence of your own idea.

Because the cat closes its eyes while drinking milk assuming nobody can see it, it doesn't mean nobody can see it. Similarly, because you shut your eyes to facts, it doesn't mean they do not exist.

Don’t 2: Don’t start work before validating your idea

Every new entrepreneur thinks his idea will become a subsequent big thing. In countless cases, new entrepreneurs have built an entire product without even lecturing a customer. The founder envisions the thought and another partner or the founder himself builds the merchandise. Flash news after the launch: nobody wants the merchandise or nobody wants to buy it.

I have spent 2 months building a web application that didn't have one check in . Yes, not one single one albeit check in was free. Today, before I put in any effort towards a venture, I confirm I research online and seek the input of my potential customers.

That said, some ventures have supported the vision without asking the customer first. For instance, if the founders of Uber asked people if they might pay higher for a cab compared to availing conveyance, I doubt if the users would say yes. Certain products create a requirement which doesn't exist thereby disrupting the market.

Do not assume you'll disrupt the market too. Remember Don’t 1. So, ask potential customers.

Don’t 3: Don’t attempt to expand during a hurry

When you start your business, likelihood is that you'll notice an honest response thanks to the initial buzz. New entrepreneurs can make an error of assuming such a response will continue or maybe grow better. They proceed to expand the team, workspace and other materials to handle growth within the future.

A few months later, the sales drop and therefore the growth flatlines. They now have more resources and expenditure than necessary.

In my first start-up of an internet development firm, we added more programmers and designers to support the projects we won within the first few months. Fast forward 3 months, we had fewer projects to handle and more people than necessary on the team.

The truth about your situation is typically within the middle. it's neither how good you assume it to be nor as bad as people scare you about.

Don’t 4: Don’t spend a penny quite necessary

When it involves our idea and business, you and I have a soft corner for our venture. Whether you wish it or not, emotions inherit the image too. When starting a replacement business, we attempt to arrange for the simplest even once we don't need them. We confuse “wants” with “needs” and convince ourselves that we really need it.

Spend on needs, not on wants.

Here are some samples of “wants” which new entrepreneurs waste money on:

• Spacious office to form everyone comfortable (In some cases, an office itself might not be necessary)
• The cool adjustable table which may move up and right down to work seated or standing
• The fancy laser-cut calling card
• A fancy website albeit the web site isn't where your customers check out

Ask yourself, does the spend make a difference or add any value? If it doesn’t, you shouldn’t spend it there .

Save the cash. You'll need it.

Don’t 5: Don’t hire friends/relatives as employees

Let’s say you opt to start out a restaurant with a partner. you've got a lover who works as a chef for a living and does an excellent job at it. You think about hiring him as the chef for your restaurant because you think having a lover working for your business creates trust and results in success.

But you ought to avoid hiring friends/relatives. Once you are the boss and your friend is an employee, other elements inherit the image.

Your friend might not love it once you give him feedback. you'll find your friend underperforming and not have the skills to inform him.

When things go well, your friend might feel you are not rewarding him enough. When things go south, you would possibly feel that your friend could work harder than he does.

A ton of other such complexities emerge within the relationship. you're best off keeping friendship at a distance from the business. If not, you would possibly hurt both your business and your relationship.

5 Do’s of Starting a Business

Not all tips work well for all types of startups. a number of these Do’s may go for you, some might not . Here are 5 things to think about when starting a business. Apply them as per your judgment.

Do 1: Do your research

As much as you think within the success of the thought, do your research. The web can provide plenty of data. Determine how similar products are faring within the market. attempt to obtain any past similar ventures which failed. search for any facts that show you the issues together with your idea.

Every business features a lot of depth associated. While it's impossible to master every element before you begin , gaining some knowledge will help.

Starting a restaurant might sound easy once you check it out as a customer. you would possibly think, i want to rearrange for supplies, hire good cooks and waiters, find an appropriate place and boom! you've got a successful restaurant.

But the small print can turn more intricate like, how does one handle when your main chef goes on unexpected leave, what if your supplier backs out, how does one handle the leftovers, etc.

These are only trivial problems within the food industry but you want to realize that you simply won't know the maximum amount as you think that you are doing.

Do 2: Ask people that have done it before

Find people that have done an identical business before and ask them for feedback. you would possibly be surprised to understand that the majority entrepreneurs will happily offer you useful inputs. you only need to ask them politely.

If entrepreneurs in your area can become direct competitors, approach those that don't fall into your direct competition. For instance , if you would like to open a continental restaurant, speak to the owner of a continental restaurant from a special city. Though you're within the same line of business, you're not competing against one another .

When I considered starting an ice-cream store, I spoke to a fellow entrepreneur whose store I want to visit as a customer. He was very vocal in mentioning that entering the ice-cream market wasn't an honest idea. thanks to the cuts from the web delivery platforms and therefore the users moving to order and erode home approach, the foodstuff had changed. The margins had turned thin and profits had reduced.

He suggested adding more items to the menu alongside ice-creams to make it profitable. I might never know such crucial information had I been overconfident about my knowledge.

In another case, inputs from another entrepreneur helped me cut found out costs by about 15%.

Honest entrepreneurs who have done something similar offer you the simplest inputs. Even 1 hour of their inputs can prevent mistakes which may cost you a load of cash and energy.

Do 3: Track your numbers

If there's one thing all new entrepreneurs hate in common, it's budgeting and accounting.

You do not need to create complex excel sheets and graphs to trace your numbers. But you would like to try to to a couple of basic things:

• Tracking all of your projected expense to require the business off the bottom
• Tracking what proportion you earn
• Tracking what proportion you spend

You do not need accounting knowledge to trace these details. Use simple excel sheets and roll in the hay your way. It doesn't matter how you are doing it as long as you are doing it. You'll check an easy way of making a allow your startup by pertaining to this.

During my first venture, we did everything on the flow. We found the business without having a budget. We had no idea what proportion we made in revenue per month nor what proportion we spent on expenses monthly . All we knew was there was barely money within the account at the top of every month. Needless to mention, the business failed.

Do not be stupid like me in your first venture. Knowing how you create and burn money is crucial to enhance your growth and hamper your expenses. Make an idea for a way much revenue and expense you expect monthly . Measure your progress and evaluate expectations vs reality. Do the acceptable course corrections.

Ignorance is certainly not bliss when it involves numbers.

Do 4: Steel oneself against emergencies and failures

With a replacement idea, you would possibly be pumped up with tons of fireside in your belly. you're able to tame the bull by holding its horns or putting yourself on the road just in case of difficulties.

Almost all businesses run through difficulties and failures. If you are not anticipating them, you'll not be prepared for them.

During my venture, one among our websites was making good money from advertisements. Our assumption was this may still grow and that we planned every single thing we would have liked to try to do if it grew exponentially. Not once did we steal ourselves against failure.

All of a sudden, our program traffic dropped sort of a plane that had lost both engines. The dip was thanks to a Google algorithm change. The cheque which wanted to show a handsome amount earlier now had peanuts. Though we managed to recover, the time, energy, stress and money spent could are avoided had we considered this.

As an entrepreneur, you'll constantly be dreaming about the larger picture. don't forget to organize for emergencies and failures too. Are you ready for an easy scenario like – what if my business has 0 revenue for 3 months?

You must have buffer cash to handle your operational expenses once your business starts albeit you are not making enough revenue within the first few months. don't blow everything you've got on the setup.

Besides that, people might quit, revenue can nosedive, natural calamities could strike otherwise you might lose motivation. While you can't steel oneself against every single emergency, prepare a minimum of for those you'll.

Do 5: continue learning and improving

Building a successful business may be a never-ending journey. If you think that you'll rest when your business does well, your competitor can bring your business right down to the rubble.

Keep learning the market and skills required to stay your business successful. Read books, ask other entrepreneurs, attend networking events, seek advice and keep an open mind.

What sells like hotcakes today could be ignored as sort of a burnt pizza within the future. you'll not only need the trouble to require a business from scratch to succeed, but you'll also need the trouble to stay there.

Conclusion

Starting your own venture is both thrilling and risky regardless of whether you plan to start out a little business or go big. regardless of how good your idea is, you'll encounter scenarios you never expected. The more prepared and aware you're about such scenarios, the lesser it'll hurt you and your business.

Your confidence is the key to your business. At an equivalent time, if your confidence is blind, you could possibly shoot yourself within the foot.

Starting your own business will take you on a rollercoaster ride. You'll love the adrenaline you gain from it and be scared when it takes a steep dip. Have the hunger, humility, and heart to affect it.