Don't be afraid to fail.
"The biggest mistake you can make is to be afraid of failure. Failure is key to your success, and jumping into your fear is very positive for your future business. How you pick up after failure and learn from your mistakes is the key to great success.
Thinking that all you need is an idea.
There’s a lot more. First and foremost is a good work ethic.
The idea is just the beginning. You need to frame all the details of your idea from beginning to end, including game-planning and preparing for ‘what-ifs.’ You’ve got to create a solid foundation that you can build on. If you don’t dot your ‘i’s’ and cross your ‘t’s’ you’ll never get out of the gate.
Not having a good lawyer.
Starting a business is complicated and rife with landmines. There are laws that must be followed and those include tax laws. The FIRS. doesn’t play around.
Make the wrong move or don’t file the right paperwork and you could find yourself in some real trouble. Retaining a lawyer with an expertise in your specific type of business can save you from a serious crisis.
Spending too much money too soon.
You may have the capital, but that doesn’t mean you should spend it all right up front. You need a balance between investing enough to make sure your business gets off the ground and not overspending before you figure out exactly where your finances should go.
Start slow so that you can get feedback and see results. Put profits back into the business before you expand. More than a few businesses have sabotaged themselves by trying to grow too quickly.
Trying to launch while still working elsewhere.
The reality is that it’s almost impossible to put the amount of work needed into starting a business while you’re still working elsewhere.
A business needs your full attention to get off the ground. You can develop the plan and start accumulating finances in your spare time while you’re still engaged at another company. Once you’re ready to make the leap, you have to be ready to devote 100 percent of your time to it.
Having someone else running things.
It’s your business. You need to not only be in charge, but be hands-on with the day-to-day activities, at least to start.
You need to make the decisions. You need to be the one determining agendas, schedules, vendors and an organizational structure. If you have a partner, or partners, you need to create a clear-cut division of responsibilities from day one.
Don't give yourself the wrong salary.
Paying yourself too little or too much [is a mistake]. It's often easier to determine the salary for a new hire than determining an owner or partner's pay. Consider paying yourself a percentage of revenue. Whatever you choose, make figuring out your pay and that of your partners a practice and foundation to healthy expectation of management.
Don't misinterpret your market.
"The biggest mistake a business owner can make when launching a startup is misinterpreting the market. Whether it is underestimating [or] overestimating costs, appealing to the wrong target demographic, or poorly gauging the demand, misinterpreting your market can end your business before it even starts." – Nabeel Mushtaq, COO and co-founder, AskforTask
Take things one step at a time. Your passion for your own idea doesn’t automatically translate into the rest of the world instantly loving it.
You need to keep both hands firmly on the steering wheel and make sure every detail is considered and accounted for. Be prepared to work around the clock. Contrary to the popular saying, there is no such thing as an overnight success when it comes to business.
