10 Start Up Mistakes Every Young Entrepreneur Must Avoid

BizBritain By BizBritain
over 9 years ago read
10 Start Up Mistakes Every Young Entrepreneur Must Avoid

Every young entrepreneur wants their start up to run smoothly. But often there can be a variety of unforeseen hurdles and challenges that get in the way.

We've put together a list of 10 common errors that many a young entrepreneur falls victim to, so that you can try to avoid them.

Waiting for your customers to come to you.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it's enough just to build a website and put an advert in your local paper. It's not, s don't expect customers to come flooding in. It’s not going to happen. You need to be actively and consistently searching for potential customers on a daily basis. The amount of online information and competition out there is enormous, and if you don’t sell, your business will not survive.

Taking rejection personally.

As a young entrepreneur you are going to have to learn to deal with rejection. Developing a thick skin and the ability to persist even when you are told no is an absolute must. Without the ability to handle rejection you won’t last the journey.

Not taking care of yourself.

If you are going to be on your game and achieve success as a young entrepreneur, you need to have a healthy body and mind. It’s easy to get caught up in working all the hours of the day and eating convenience food. But this isn’t going to give you the energy you require to run a successful start up. Taking regular exercise and eating a healthy well balanced diet it something that is often pushed to one side, when in fact it should be high on the list of your priorities.

Spending too much money too soon.

In most cases, in the beginning you will sell less than you forecast and spend more. Keeping your early overheads low and staying cash positive is of critical importance if you are to survive as a young entrepreneur.

Borrowing more than you need.

If you need to borrow money to fund your start up, make sure that you borrow as little as possible. The more you borrow, the more you will have to pay back, plus interest. So it’s crucial that you carefully decide what you are going to spend borrowed funds on, and ensure that the purchase is truly needed. At BizBritain we actively work with every young entrepreneur who applies for Start up Loans funding to minimize the amount they are borrowing.

Neglecting to go out and network.

Networking is an activity that every young entrepreneur must take part in. Spreading your message and letting others in your industry know you exist is an absolute must. Failing to network will seriously harm your efforts to run a successful start up.

Poor time management.

Failing to manage your time efficiently may not seem like a big deal in the early days, but once things start to pick up and time becomes a scarce commodity managing you time well can make the difference between winning and losing. Make sure that you use a calendar tool, whether it be Microsoft Outlook, Google calendar, or any other software of your choice to effectively manage your schedule.

Not asking for help on your journey as a young entrepreneur.

While we all want to achieve things on our own, there is no shame in leveraging support from family, friends, or existing contacts to help you reach your goals. Make sure that you fully utilise all the help available to you.

Not getting things in writing.

Getting proper contacts and documentation drawn up may seem like overkill, or a bit of an unnecessary formality when first start out. But this couldn't be further from the truth. It's amazing how often a young entrepreneur can come unstuck later down the line because they failed to put things in writing. Whether it be supplier terms and conditions, employment contracts, or engagement letters, getting things in black and white is absolutely essential.

Thinking too small as a young entrepreneur.

Something to bear in mind when going into business, is that it often takes as much effort to put together a deal that is worth £10,000 as one that is worth £100,000. Make sure that you aren’t underselling yourself, and go for the big targets. More often than not there is less competition at the top end because most people are too scared to go for it.