Here are four censorious mistakes to avoid when you launch and grow your business within the first year.
1. We are not selecting a well-defined niche.
Because they fear being restricted, many entrepreneurs shy away from narrowing their niches. But you are not limiting your business by choosing a place. You deny yourself by refusing it.
Here are some benefits for consultants and freelancers who choose a narrow niche.
- Because you are pitching the same service over and over, you become more effective at selling it.
- For the service you offer, it is easier to get reviews and testimonials.
- Each project is different, so templates and standard operating procedures (SOPs) can be used to streamline your workflow.
Not only is it beneficial for service-based companies, but also other businesses. This process was necessary for me to grow my job-search site, which started as a general advice site about career opportunities but was never produced. It was too broad and scattered to be noticed. So I narrowed down my focus and started to provide only job searching advice. This was when the website began to grow. While I had a smaller audience than before, I was the best choice.
Created content and products exclusively about job interview interviews for the first few weeks after my transition. This meant that my audience was even smaller. Able to be known quicker because there was less competition. Although no one would visit my site to get general advice about careers, they could find help with job interviews.
While it doesn’t make you a better marketer, it can help you get traction in your first few months.
2. Do not ask for help or support.
Entrepreneurship can be lonely and challenging. But there are ways you could get help. The biggest mistake you can make during your first year of entrepreneurship is not seeking out support from others. You can seek help (and even moral support) online through websites such as Reddit or by hiring a mentor, coach, or mentor.
Found excellent communities in entrepreneurship-focused Facebook groups. Many niche groups are free, and you can search Facebook using keywords like “freelance website developer group” or “copywriters group.”
This proved to be a worthwhile investment. Because it takes an investment to join, discussions are usually higher-level and feature entrepreneurs with higher earnings. Potential clients may be found if you’re a service provider.
You have probably heard of other entrepreneurs who have had to deal with the same issues you are. Do not try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, seek out help and ask them for their advice.
3. Don’t collaborate with your competition
You have another avenue to get help and support. It is essential to find ways to collaborate with other entrepreneurs and industry peers as you start your business. When started the business, felt that everyone in my niche was the enemy. So I avoided talking with them and just did everything by myself. This was a fatal mistake. It was a mistake that led me to realize later that you could succeed by working with others and growing faster when working with the competition.
Recently, a reporter for a significant publication saw one of the articles on this competitor’s website. Gained thousands of new readers with that recent article. It all began with reaching out and building a rapport with a competitor.
4. You are not productive but busy.
This mistake is prevalent for entrepreneurs who leave a job to create their own company. Most jobs required you to complete tasks, and you had to work a set number of hours per day. You, the entrepreneur, have the freedom to pick lessons and develop your work hours. You must prioritize your tasks well, pay attention to the most important ones and distinguish between being busy and productive.
If you email a proposal to a client, you could be busy then wait anxiously while refreshing your inbox 100 more times. You could have done better looking for potential clients to pitch. It took you 20 minutes to raise another potential client. However, this could have been a significant step in improving your business.
Every day, I encourage you to ask yourself: “What’s the single most powerful thing I can accomplish today?” Next, could you do it? This will help you be ahead of the rest in your niche by doing it five days a week every morning. Many entrepreneurs first year get caught up in the hustle, such as obsessing about their logo and changing their website tagline ten times. It’s better to focus on business growth and revenue-generating tasks first thing each morning.
I find it helpful to audit all the tasks I do and assign dollar values. Each lesson, I’m given a dollar value. This helps me determine if I’m focused on the right things or just busy. If the task is of low importance, I may also look for ways to outsource it or eliminate it.
Your mindset should shift quickly so that you can concentrate on results and accomplishments rather than time spent. Focus on being productive, not active. These steps will help you avoid common blunders that often derail new business owners. This will allow you to grow your revenue quicker, be more well-known in your niche, and position you for long-term success.
