Curious about the most crucial business mistakes to avoid? Looking to dodge business pitfalls? Dive into our guide on the 9 common business mistakes to avoid and fortify your entrepreneurial journey.

Trial and error is a normal part of business. We all go through it. If you’re aware of these business mistakes beforehand, however, you can save yourself a lot of pain by minimizing their impact.

I’m a business owner. I’ve made many mistakes. I hope by sharing some of them with you, you’ll know what to avoid.

Fear-based decisions

Fear-based decisions are one of the worst business mistakes we make. They’re not made with the rational part of our minds. They are responses caused by the fight or flight instinct found in humans.

These decisions are short-sighted and don’t see the bigger picture. In fact, you might find the problem still persists a couple of days later when you’ve calmed down.

I’m guilty of making fear-based decisions. I know they’re common and sometimes even instinctive, but it’s possible not to be moved by fear. That’s what we need to strive towards.

Being a jack of all trades

Casting a wide net is a problem I’ve seen among most new entrepreneurs. We think that if we target as many people as possible, some will eventually become clients.

The opposite is true. If we only target people with specific problems, and we position ourselves as experts in the solution, we’re more likely to attract clients.

This will turn out to take up less of our time and money. And if you’ve mastered the art of getting maximum profits for minimum input of time and money, then you’ve truly made it.

I was once a jack of all trades. I know what it’s like. Internet marketing, sales calls, copywriting, blogging, organizing summits, website building, and other things I can’t even remember. I did it all. 

As long as it was money to be made on the internet, I was there.

The problem was I wasn’t making the amount of money I wanted to make. My turning point came in 2015 when I decided I couldn’t do it anymore. I decided to focus my efforts on summits.

That turned out to be the work that put me on the map. I’ve now done 270 summits.

Niching pays.

Buying shiny stuff

Buying things I probably don’t need? I’ve been there, done that. I love buying shiny stuff, so this is something I’ve struggled with.

I’ll find I want to buy 30 different tools, when four or five simple solutions will do. For instance, I don’t need different page builders or every single widget out there. I just need one good page builder.

Do you find yourself spending money on things your business doesn’t need?

Letting fear take over

I already touched on fear-based decision-making. Now I want to go into allowing fear to determine our responses and reactions.

Fear-based decisions are, “Things didn’t go well this month. I’m changing industries or shutting down the business.”

Letting fear take over could be when someone approaches you with an opportunity. “Can you provide a module for my online course?”

If you’re fearful, you will find every excuse from not having enough time to unpreparedness not to participate.

I’m very lucky to have a very healthy and amazing support system. I have my partner, I also have my great friend, Alyson Lex. I’m able to bounce ideas off them.

They’ve helped me realize when I was about to let fear take over.

Not charging enough.

I used to undervalue myself a lot. I would be charging people $20 per hour as a VA, when I was actually doing advanced work.

When I became an online business manager, my prices didn’t really change. I didn’t feel like I was worth more money.

Then I realized it took me nearly a decade to become a good funnel builder. So even if it only takes me three hours to build a client’s funnel, I can’t charge 300 for that. I need to charge more.

I know pricing is hard. That’s why you need to talk to someone about it. Talk to someone in the same space as you if possible. They have a better idea of the reality on the ground.

Not marketing yourself right

Are you marketing yourself in a way that targets your ideal client?

If you’re a Facebook person, but your ideal clients are on Twitter, you need to move over to Twitter.

I don’t like Linkedin but many of my clients network on Linkedin. So I make time for the networking site.

Also, look at what other people in your industry are doing. Make sure you stand out to your ideal client.

Thinking if you build it, they will come

So you’ve built an amazing website. You have a lead magnet that meets all the requirements of a good lead magnet. So people are going to start blundering their way to you, right?

No.

Building it doesn’t guarantee people will come. You still need to go out and get them.

Do you have zero followers on Facebook or Instagram? That’s why you need to lay the groundwork before you start promoting.

You don’t want to be one of those entrepreneurs who pay someone thousands of dollars to help them design a lead magnet that no one grabs. These people often feel terrible and start doubting themselves. 

They start second-guessing themselves and asking if they’re in the wrong business or niche.

The truth is they didn’t do the groundwork. They didn’t start hanging out on Twitter and gaining Linkedin followers before promoting.

Thinking you can get away with the minimum

The online space is not much different from the offline space. Both have high achievers and those who put in minimum effort. If you’re the latter, a rude awakening is waiting for you down the road.

I had no viewers when I started going live on Facebook. That didn’t stop me. Half a year later, people started finding me. When they did, there was already a lot of content they could sink their teeth into.

All my hard work and going above and beyond paid off in the end. Imagine where I would be if I’d decided to stop making videos because no one was watching.

Not knowing your numbers

You need to decide if you’re a real CEO, or you’re just playing at running a business. If you’re a true CEO, then you ought to know your numbers.

Know the numbers in your space so you can make the necessary adjustments. You need to know your:

• open rates
• click through rates
• conversion rates
• visitors
• monthly views
• drop off rate, etc.

The 9 common business mistakes people make – key takeaways

I see you working hard to make something of your skills. Don’t let unnecessary business mistakes stand in your way. The nine things you should avoid are:

• Don’t make fear-based decisions.
• Avoid trying to be a jack of all trades.
• Don’t buy shiny tools you don’t need.
• Never allow fear to take over how you run your business.
• Don’t be scared of charging what you’re worth.
• Avoid marketing techniques that are unsuited to your business.
• Don’t think the work is done after you’ve built something. Go out and market it.
• Don’t expect maximum returns for mediocre effort.
• Try not to neglect your numbers.

I’ve been helping businesses host summits and build lists for over eight years. I’m always happy to discuss your project. Book a free call with me today.