4 Crucial Startup Mistakes That Can Kill Your Business: How You Can Avoid

Success doesn’t come easy, and it certainly doesn’t come without optimism. That is precisely why so many entrepreneurs invest their heart and soul, and of course money, into an idea or business that has a 75 percent chance to fail. This sure is an extremely discouraging figure, but don’t let it discourage you from giving your all to turn a dream project into a reality.

Although staying optimistic about your startup’s chances for success can play a vital role in deciding its fate, there are quite a few game-ending mistakes that can really strangle your business and leave you in a state of despair. Fortunately for you, we’ve identified the most common of these mistakes and gathered tips on how you can avoid them.

1. Repeating the Management Sins of the Past

Although there’s no harm in idolizing the management maestros of the past, making them an inspiration is not advised. Remember, trying to run the workplace affairs like Steve Jobs or some ruthless leader will not bring you the same level of success. On the contrary, it will probably result in a complete meltdown. The patriarchal, my-way-or-the-highway approach just will not work in the 21^st century because the workplace has changed and the workforce has grown a lot more diverse.

There’s a necessity to foster collaboration in the workplace. Don’t be a dictator, but rather be a democratic leader who lends an ear and gives value to the surrounding voices. Don’t just push your employees to perform, but also groom them to be future leaders.

Most importantly, learn to put your trust in them through the use of employee monitoring solutions like cell phone spy apps and other tools. Just remember to communicate the purpose behind the deployment of these monitoring tools with your employees and remove their concerns pertaining to privacy, otherwise you’ll find yourself facing a revolt.

2. Confusing a Good Idea for a Good Business

A lot of startups get excited too quickly about a seemingly great idea that they’ve come up with. Quite frankly, ideas are a dime a dozen. They may seem special and unique to the entrepreneur, but this perceived grandeur can easily be a fallacious assumption. Investing time and money in an idea that hasn’t been properly scrutinized and tested in the market can drain a lot of resources without bringing the expected returns, which in turn can cripple the startup financially and damage the entrepreneur and their entire team emotionally.

Coming up with an idea that looks and sounds great is only the first step. The next step, and perhaps the most fundamental one, is execution, and that begins with market research. Failing to invest enough time in researching the potential success of that idea, misinterpreting the results, and using inaccurate data to forecast demand can wound a business critically.

Keep in mind that although a great idea may be the seed of success, only the seeds that are planted in rich soil and favorable conditions grow into full-fledged fruit-bearing trees.

3. Targeting a Tiny Niche Market to Avoid Competition

So many entrepreneurs are guilty of trying to play it safe by targeting a marginal niche to avoid competition. The returns may not be as high as they would probably want, but that is a compromise they are willing to make in order to enjoy a bit of security.

This huge misconception has the potential to cause panic in future and eventually make the entire startup collapse. The truth is, competition simply cannot be avoided without avoiding good ideas. Every novel idea, when successful, inspires a dozen more entrepreneurs to imitate it with the hope of reaping similar rewards.

If you come up with a great idea and superb business plan, competition is inevitable. There is no point in running away from it, and choosing a small or obscure niche is certainly not going to help. Therefore, execute your idea, build your startup, aggressively chase success, and brace yourself for competition.

If you are offering great products or services to your customers, your competitors will have a tough time snatching them from you. Have faith in your idea and ability to execute it well, and stop letting the fear of competition restrict you to a tiny corner of a massive market that is waiting to be captured.

4. Letting Perfection Get in the Way of Progress

A lot of entrepreneurs are so obsessed with attaining perfection from the get-go that they completely take their eyes off progress, which really should be the primary focus during the infancy stage. The premature quest for perfection can cause paralysis and hinder progress, which in turn can effectively choke a business to death. It’s important to realize that in order to walk, a child must first learn to crawl.

Just being average is not good enough for a lot of startups, and rightly so. But they really need to look at the internal and external conditions, and then decide if it’s the right time to step on the gas pedal and accelerate towards greatness. If they accelerate too early, they face the risk of bringing their progress to a halt due to lack of available resources or missing out on excellent opportunities.

In order to ensure a steady and healthy growth of your business, you must conduct a cost versus benefit analysis of your activities. This would help you prioritize. Wasting too much time and resources on elements that are great for business but not integral for its survival and growth is bound to prove toxic without proper planning and assessment. You need to measure your startup’s success in terms of progress, not perfection.

Featured photo credit: JD Lasica via flickr.com