eBusiness Weekly
Shacky Timburwa
Some people always say, “An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backwards. When life is pulling you down with difficulties, it means it is going to launch you into something great”.
How many believe in that assertion?
Some think it is myopic while others say when faced with such, just focus and keep aiming.
Again, overcoming fear is not just about doing what scares you, but having the courage to say “no” to the things you no longer want.
I like this quote by the late Walt Disney: “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Have you noticed that everyone has a capability to be an entrepreneur given the knowledge and network but have you thought why not many succeed?
According to StarterUpLauncher, the lack of experience and expertise mixed with great enthusiasm and eagerness to achieve massive wins faster sometimes leads to outstanding results.
In most cases, such a mixture is a prerequisite for inefficiency and costly mistakes.
First-time entrepreneurs are the vivid example of such an outcome: a huge bunch of mistakes, lowered motivation and poor results.
They always say that starting a business at a young age is simultaneously exciting and challenging.
I ventured into business at the age of 22 and I remember having only little money and my mother had to risk giving me some.
It is a fact that starting a business is not an easy road to take. Many young entrepreneurs are coming out with creative and innovative ideas but being an entrepreneur is not exactly a glamorous thing.
Entrepreneurship is a jealousy thing; it requires the entire man, If you don’t separate yourself from your distractions, your they will separate you from your goals and the life you want.
Here are some mistakes that I have researched made by entrepreneurs, which need to be recognised as soon as possible and should be avoided while taking the entrepreneurial journey.
1: Hire people on talent:
This is one sweet but critical mistake entrepreneurs do. They hire people that seem to us talented. Eventually, it’s not a solid thing. Entrepreneurs must hire people with critical skills over talent. Talent is just a substitute for, “someone I like.”
Skill and talent are not synonyms. Skills can be developed and learned.
It takes time and effort to perfect. If you look for a ‘talented’ developer, then you will have to search for a unicorn. But if you look for someone who has taken time and effort to learn programming skills, update himself/herself with new technologies and have strong logical skills, then you’ll be able to find a good software developer.
Again, making hiring decisions based on friendship is far from the best business strategy. You need to hire a person for possessing a relevant skills set, but not for being your best bud. It is crucial that everybody in your team can accept constructive criticism, without it being misconstrued as being personal. A friendship built on business is better than a business built on friendship.
2 Always Being Smart:
A young entrepreneur should always be intellectual and smart among a group of business people. He or she loves to share ideas, talents, and everything about himself or herself.
Being smart is all about learning and gaining knowledge. Entrepreneurs must focus on seeking professional help. Having a knowledgeable, experienced person or mentor for your business helps you to resolve issues in the long run.
3 Greed for Money:
Young entrepreneurs mistake the idea with money.
Not focusing on solving the customers’ problem but chasing the money will surely leave your business in the troubles.
“For a successful entrepreneur, it can mean extreme wealth. But with extreme wealth comes extreme responsibility. And the responsibility for me is to invest in creating new businesses, create jobs, employ people, and to put money aside but tackle issues where we can make a difference.” — Richard Branson, founder Virgin Group
Whatever wealth you create, invest in your business. Don’t try to keep all equity but think of raising capital for your organisation.
4 Waiting For The Perfect Moment:
It is a widespread belief that there exists a better moment to start. In fact, this moment will never come. The perfect moment to launch your business is now. By waiting too long to release the product, you merely miss the opportunities that could occur should you have started earlier. The sooner you start the sooner you will enjoy the results of your work.
5 Impatience:
Everything worth doing takes years. So does building a successful business.
Acknowledge from the very start that your project is a long-term investment, which takes time, effort and talent. Nothing worthwhile can be done overnight. Therefore, learn to wait, work hard and persist. Patience is a virtue of long-term success. This is what helps you build great businesses and squeeze extra benefits from each opportunity.
6 Lots of talking, Doing Nothing:
Eternal talks about why your business idea is the best and how you wish to change the world with it will not take you far from the place you are now. Usually, such discussions end up seeing you doing nothing. No matter how great your idea is, your idea is not a business until it has developed. There is no point in you talking about your business when you are not ready to do something about it.
Therefore, adopt a “less talking, more doing” attitude and get down to work.
7 Doing It Alone:
No one does anything worthwhile alone, and that is why we all need to have a great team. Not understanding you cannot do it all yourself eventually will lead to nothing but frustration and disappointment. Gather a team or burn out. Two heads are truly better than one and you wouldn’t go far doing things on your own, try to get support from others and your business will experience a great leap.
8 Lack Of Focus:
Instead of trying to do everything and be everywhere, you would rather narrow the focus on the things that do matter for your business. Instead of jumping between “billion-dollar ideas that can change the world” every single day, you had better stick with the plan. Learn to say no to things that do not directly help you achieve one of the goals and objectives on your list. Avoid distraction and concentrate on what matters most.
However, ignoring such mistakes will create obstacles in becoming a successful entrepreneur. It’s better to learn from these mistakes.
Hence, it’s not easy to be an entrepreneur and mistakes will be a certain part of the entrepreneurship. But that doesn’t mean you repeat those mistakes.
