“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” – Meister Eckhart
It’s time to face the hard truth – you’re going to make mistakes.
No matter how smart you are or how strong you are, or how experienced you are, when you’re pursuing a new goal that you’re not familiar with, you WILL make mistakes.
We ALL will. It’s just part and parcel of the learning experience. Below, you’ll find 7 common mistakes that beginner entrepreneurs make. These mistakes MUST be fixed because they’re the cornerstones for building a solid, thriving business – in any niche/field.
1. No goals
You MUST have a goal… and you must know why you’re starting a business. What is motivating you to become an entrepreneur?
It’s imperative to know what you wish to achieve and why you want to achieve it. Many people decide to start a business for all the wrong reasons.
Maybe they see a friend or neighbour with a successful business and decide to ‘give it a try too’. Invariably, they find out real soon that the entrepreneurial journey is not a cakewalk… and they quit.
They never really wanted to become an entrepreneur. It just seemed like a ‘cool idea’. Well, it doesn’t work that way.
You must have a goal, a strong why, and a burning desire. Without these 3, you’ll not make it. You just won’t. Period.
2. No clarity
Once you have a goal, you’ll need clarity. How will you measure your success? For example, you may have a goal to start your own successful toy website.
That’s good… but do you know how much you want to earn? Do you know what toys you’ll sell? Will you be the vendor or will you be an affiliate?
So many questions – and you need to know the answers. The more answers you have, the more clarity you’ll have and that will help you when pursuing your targets, goals, etc.
3. No plan
Now that you have a goal and clarity, you need a plan. Like Dale Carnegie said, “An hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing.”
You’ll need to know how you’ll get started and what you need to do to grow your business. There is a plethora of scenarios here because of the sheer variety of business models.
However, the fundamental truth remains – you must have a plan of action. Even if you’re unsure of where things may lead, having a plan helps. You can always make changes to the plan later as more details become available.
But when you’re starting out, you need a roadmap.
4. No milestones
Experienced mountaineers will tell you that you climb a mountain one step at a time.
The goal is to always put one foot in front of the other and keep your eyes on a target a short distance away. Because if you looked at the peak and how much further you had to go, you’d lose heart and feel like quitting.
In the same vein, building a successful business is like scaling a mountain. Success is at the peak, and it’s a slow climb up.
If you keep looking at the one big goal of making 6 or 7 figures a month, it’s easy to get discouraged. But if you focus on improving your current performance constantly, you’ll ultimately reach your goal.
Having milestones that you can aim for will help to keep you focused and motivated. For example, if your current monthly profits are around 10k, your next milestone may be 25k… and after that, 50k. Then 75k, 100k… and so on.
All these milestones will lead to your ultimate goal of a million dollars a month in profit, if that’s your goal.
So break down your large goals into less intimidating milestones and focus on hitting those constantly.
5. No routine
Author John Maxwell has a quote, “The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
He’s absolutely right. Too many beginner entrepreneurs try to wing it. Routine and discipline are anathema to them, and they feel like such practices restrict them.
In reality, a good routine actually helps prevent stress and gives you more free time. You must have structure and a daily winning routine to follow. This will establish positive habits in your life which are conducive to winning and success.
Analyse your daily activities and understand that time and energy are like currency, and you must use them wisely. Everything you do should be taking you towards your goals. Eliminate time-wasting activities, energy sapping people and unnecessary distractions.
Create a routine that works well for you and follow it daily.
6. Not tracking
It’s easy to go off course if you don’t constantly check your bearings. That’s why pilots constantly check their coordinates even if the plane is on autopilot.
You need to do that too. Keep a journal or use an app to track your progress. Are you getting your tasks done on time?
Are your profits rising or dipping? Are there any areas in your business you can improve?
By tracking your time, tasks, and progress, you’ll have your finger constantly on the pulse of your business. You won’t veer off course, and you’ll always know where you currently stand and where you need to go.
7. Quitting too soon
Last, but not least, NEVER ever quit. The journey to entrepreneurial success is NOT linear. It’s more of a roller coaster ride with wonderful highs and miserable lows.
That’s just the way it is. The price you pay for enduring the ride will be the success that’s ultimately yours. This is a journey that will demand everything from you.
It’s an exacting mistress who demands a price and insists that you pay it. It doesn’t tolerate fools and has no empathy for quitters.
But if you stay the course, she’ll smile on you and you’ll see the success your heart desires. So, never quit.
Change your route, change your approach, change your tactics – but don’t change your destination. Keep going.
Avoid these 7 mistakes and you’ll build a thriving business with bedrock certainty.
