When you’re first starting a business, there are a whole slew of mistakes you can easily make, and many lessons that can only be learnt with time and experience. Unless, that is, you hire a consultant who specializes in startups.
No new business wants to wait years to become profitable, and no startup wants to make mistakes that could cost them their success. By hiring a start up business consultant to guide you from the outset, you can avoid making many common mistakes and mitigate a range of potential problems.
Here are 9 mistakes commonly made by startups, that the advice and guidance of a business consultant could help you avoid:
- Having no clear plan
Business plans are essential if you want to seek opportunities for financial assistance from banks, for example, and having one can also help you make more informed decisions about your business and keep things on track.
- Not being aware of legal requirements
The way in which your business is structured from a legal perspective, can have a significant and costly impact on your startup, particularly where taxes are concerned. Not making the right decisions in relation to this, while also failing to register your business with the relevant authorities, can leave you high and dry when you least want to be.
- Foregoing contracts
Helping to protect you and your startup against losses both financial and business, official contracts ensure that all parties involved are on the same page and properly protected in the event of something going wrong. Forego contracts and you put everybody at risk.
- Failing to formulate an effective marketing strategy
Often overlooked by startup founders, marketing might take up some of your valuable budget and resources, but it can also be the one thing that helps you get ahead of your competitors and build your unique brand.
- Neglecting cash flow
Cash flow reigns supreme in the startup world, and without it, new businesses may not be able to pay their bills, let alone pay their employees. Failing to set up a cash flow projection spread sheet to spot potential problems, not taking action to mitigate or eliminate them, and choosing not to develop a cost and expenses-monitoring habit along with diligently tracking receivables, will all contribute to a lack of cash flow.
- Not valuing your product or service highly enough
While you may be desperate to gain market share, pricing your product or service too low doesn’t just limit your capacity to pay off any startup costs or break even, but also to make a profit. Instead, use your business plan, financial predictions, and marketing strategy as a reference for setting your price point appropriately.
- Neglecting to protect intellectual property
IP can be tricky terrain to cross for new businesses, and just because you’ve invented or developed something (from the name of your business,to trademark and content) doesn’t mean that in the eyes of the law, it’s yours to claim automatically. Patent laws always apply, and if you don’t understand or adhere to them, you could land yourself in murky waters.
- Not being a great leader
Great leadership is the backbone of any business, large or small; get it wrong, and you put your entire company in jeopardy. Make an effort to develop your leadership skills, and be sure to always lead by example.
- Not monitoring progress and failing to make adjustments
It’s important to always keep a close eye on your business goals, and if you find that you’re not as on track with them as you should be, take steps to correct any issues quickly.
Business set up consultants are invaluable in terms of the support and advice they can provide startups with, and having their expertise at your fingertips, can help you avoid the common mistakes above and keep your business focused on its goals.
