The 5 Biggest Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make There is no predicting all that is needed to succeed as an entrepreneur but what never works is well known.
By Timothy Sykes Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Being an entrepreneur may very well be one of the most difficult jobs on the planet. There are very few career paths that require the same amount of work, skill, sacrifice and commitment. Being an entrepreneur is really hard but also really rewarding. No matter what field you are in, or what type of business you own, it is so important that you understand some of mistakes that tend to plague so many entrepreneurs in today's market. These are by far the biggest mistakes that any business owner can make. Avoid these mistakes at all costs and you will set yourself up for success.
1. Expecting success right away.
If you are expecting success right away from your business, then you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Yes, it is great to have the confidence and the drive to want to be successful fast, but you shouldn't expect these results right away. It takes a long time to grow a business. It takes an even longer time to make money from a business.
You need to be realistic about your expectations and try to be patient. One of the many reasons that so many businesses fail so early on is because entrepreneurs expect they can open their doors and just like that they will start making money. Many times these companies go out of business because the entrepreneur can't afford to pay the rent anymore, they were expecting to earn money right away to cover their expenses. This is why having a cushion to fall back on and being realistic about how much money you can actually make at first is so important.
Related: 10 Mistakes Intelligent People Never Make Twice
2. Trying to do everything yourself.
A good entrepreneur knows how to delegate, plain and simple. If you try to do everything yourself, you are only setting yourself up for failure. You need to know how to outsource. I talked in great deal about outsourcing in the past and hiring others to take care of some of the tasks that I simply cannot handle on my own.
Different entrepreneurs will have different types of tasks that they want outsourced. No matter what those things are it is important that you are delegating them to others so you can make better use of your time and put yourself in the best position possible, to do your best work possible. Doing everything yourself will only cause you to burn out or draw focus away from the tasks that actually need your expertise and attention.
3. Ignoring your true passion and just going for the money.
If you aren't passionate about your business and the field you have chosen to open a company in, then you will never be successful. One of the biggest mistakes that any entrepreneur can make is ignoring their true passion and just opening a company to make money. I was passionate about penny stocks even though the rest of Wall St. wasn't. Many people urged me to "follow the money" and go into different sectors, but I already had success with penny stocks so I decided to stick with it. I made a free guide and now I'm the biggest teacher of this undeserved niche; in fact my own teaching business now makes 8 figures annually.
Entrepreneurs who do this get no fulfillment out of life, even if they are successful. I guarantee you money alone will not comfort you in the way that feeling fulfilled can.
Related: The Real Person's Guide to Finding Your Passion and Loving What You Do
4. Not being adaptable.
If you want to be a successful entrepreneur in today's ever-changing market, then you need to learn to be adaptable. If you are not adapting and you are putting too much expectation on one product or service, you will never succeed. You are putting all of your eggs in one basket, so to say.
Instead, you need to test, test and test again. Try various products and solutions. Explore new options. Go with what is working now, but always be ready to make changes in the future.
Related: 3 Qualities Every Successful Entrepreneur Must Have
5. Ignoring social media.
There are so many traditional industries that think they don't need the Internet. Whether you are a package store or a dry cleaner, it doesn't matter, you need the internet. Why? Customers are on the internet and any business that wants to be successful needs to be where their customers are and put themselves face-to-face with their clients.
There is a tech revolution right now and entrepreneurs need to use it. The internet and social media are very cheap tools for any entrepreneur to use, and most importantly, they can be very effective.
