12 Mistakes New Businesses Make in Their First Year

There is no doubt that establishing a business can be an exciting experience. Isn’t it true that any concept that motivates you to put your secure career in the rearview mirror in pursuit of something larger and greater must be a good one? Well, it’s possible. According to the Wall Street Journal, 75 percent of new businesses fail during their first year of operation. Only around 60 percent will survive to the age of three, and only about 35 percent will be alive by the end of the tenth year. When it comes to firms that are unable to secure venture money, those percentages are considerably lower.

While no one can predict with any confidence which start-ups will overcome the obstacles and go on to achieve success, or even be acquired, one of the most important things you can do as an entrepreneur is to learn from the errors of others, both in your first year and in subsequent years.

Getting an excessive amount of attention

Getting attention for your start-up may seem like a positive thing on the surface, but many start-ups go out in search of mentions, articles, and press coverage before they are ready to receive it. The simple act of putting your company’s name out there before you have a clear understanding of where it is going may be an embarrassing blunder. Stop and consider what you really want to gain from any press coverage before pursuing it, whether it’s more users, investors, or simply attention for your ego, before going for any media.

Making the decision to go it alone

Entrepreneurs have tremendous ideas, but they aren’t usually eager to share them with others. To the contrary, attempting to run a full startup by yourself might set you on a fast course to failure. The proper co-founder can assist you in shouldering the tremendous burden, serving as a sounding board for ideas, and just being there to listen and learn from your experiences in general. Just make sure that the co-founder you bring on board is someone you are comfortable working with for lengthy periods of time, and that you establish a legally binding partnership agreement from the beginning.

Making the Wrong Hiring Decisions

In any case, a co-founder isn’t the only personnel decision that a new start-up CEO will have to deal with. Because start-ups are by their nature tiny, a single lousy employee may have a devastating effect on the whole organisation. Before you hire somebody, make sure they understand what they are putting themselves into. Employees must be able to work long hours and be adaptable in their job descriptions in order to succeed in a start-up environment. Every employee at a start-up – even the CEO – must be prepared to wear many different hats and should be enthusiastic about the prospect of taking on new responsibilities.

Not Being Able to Find Flexibility

Employees at start-up companies are not the only ones who must be able to adapt to change. Founders are motivated to begin a start-up because they are passionate about a certain concept. However, there are situations when such approach just does not work for a variety of reasons. A major error may be made by forcing a firm to continue on its current path rather than making any alterations to the initial concept. Instead, look for the pieces that are in good functioning order and follow them to their destination.

Overnetworking

The importance of networking in the start-up culture cannot be overstated, whether you like it or not. It is quite simple for an entrepreneur who is searching for capital or who is trying to establish her own footing to spend night after night attending events, mixers, and parties in search of the proper connections to spend her time in this manner. The reality is that operating a start-up requires a significant amount of actual effort as well. Although the start-up community is tiny, even in large cities, it is noticeable, and people will begin to know you if you are always on the networking circuit rather than at your desk, really working.

Trying to get the approval of every investor

You want everyone to like your concept and support you financially, but the reality is that this is not going to be the case. Even those start-ups that went on to become enormous successes were not without their detractors at the time.

Putting too much money in their pockets too quickly

Some entrepreneurs might get easily fascinated with the process of raising capital. Having a large sum of money to invest in their product is what they believe will allow them to get it off the ground. New start-ups that do acquire capital, on the other hand, are confronted with a slew of additional issues, such as spending the money too quickly and allowing board meetings and overseers to clog up the works. Make the most of what you have and as much as you can with it. You may be pleasantly pleased to discover that you may begin to earn a profit without the assistance of outside investors, allowing you to retain complete control over your firm and your ideas.

Excessive growth is being pursued.

It’s understandable that you want to get additional users, customers, and clients, but you don’t want to do so at the cost of the real product. Instead of putting all of your energy into the notion of development, concentrate on creating something worthwhile and establishing realistic growth objectives.

Everything is becoming more complicated.

Good firms are adept at resolving straightforward issues. A disproportionate number of start-ups seem to believe they can address every issue. A decent product may become too complex and time-consuming much too quickly. Keep things as basic as possible. Understand the issue you’re trying to solve and look for the simplest, most elegant approach to tackle it without adding a slew of extra features to make it more complicated. Your consumers will be grateful to you.

Being very secretive

Even while it is understandable that start-up owners desire to protect their ideas, doing so for an extended period of time might create a situation in which possible advisers are forced to remain at a distance.

Ignoring Customer Recommendations

Consult with your consumers. It’s as easy as that. They can supply you with crucial feedback since they are aware of what their other consumers desire. An excessive number of start-up founders get entrapped in their ideal of the perfect product being utilised by perfect consumers in the precise manner in which it was intended. It is quite rare that things turn out in this manner. Allow yourself the time to phone, email, and even meet down with clients to learn about what they really want and need from your start-up business.

Trying to make everything as efficient as possible

Every every day, new CEOs are confronted with hundreds of little choices (as well as a few major ones). There are just not enough hours in the day to ensure that every decision is absolutely correct – particularly in situations when there is no unambiguous “proper” answer. Instead of spending minutes or hours deliberating over every alternative and possibility, make a bold decision and go on to conquer something completely else.