Personal experience: 7 budding entrepreneur errors

In September of 2019 celebrated two years of my business activities. For care of the corporate world, I had to learn by studying other people's mistakes, but it did not help me get around the known rakes. Maybe my experience will help others not to step on them?

1. The first business in the new field

I am a marketer by training, he has worked since 2006 in the marketing, branding and project management, but for some reason, decided to start a business in tourism. Romantic, but not rational. The idea has captured the mind so that disconnected logic. In the end, I spent the most precious - time - in fact, to understand the new subject, but estimated the scale of the disaster and yet switched to the sphere in which I understand better. With a friend-designer, we launched a design studio. And the topic of tourism, I decided to come back later, when on the ground, more than I can understand osvoyus reality in the business world.

If you are already good and well-known expert in the market, maybe you should not negates its expertise and established contacts? Try "to find myself near the place where the lost", writes Elena Ryazanov in his book "Never ever. How to break the deadlock and find yourself». Start making the same that are already doing, but in a different format.

2. The lack of a financial cushion

Realizing that starting a business takes time, I gave myself two months: exactly such a period I had the money stock. When he was exhausted, and the orders have not yet arrived, we had to run his hand in credit cardAnd it has become difficult decision. I sold all unnecessary, moved to the monotonous diet, tension and uncertainty does not spill beyond the usual 7-8 hours, and once a week was at his gray hair.

Leave your own business - an effective way to lose weight in a short time, but not very healthy. It took me a total of six months in order to establish a system and get a plus. My idea of ​​seizing the world had to be divided into three and prepare a financial reserve. Later, I learned to be realistic in planning for both income and expenditure.

Entrepreneur or self-employed person who does not have a stable income, would have to plan for future expenses and see where it will take over their resources, and to know your cost of living.

Financial cushion in the amount of personal subsistence level should be enough for at least six months and better - for a year. What makes it more volume, the more time we have to "buy" on the experiments - also the idea of ​​the above-mentioned book. On the other hand, the smaller pad, the faster life will force to spin. Some may spend a year on inventories and only towards the end of the ball rolling.

3. The opinion that good design does not require advertising

The first six months would not be so hungry, if we had known to a narrow circle of specialists, expanded audience with minimal investment in advertising. For context or target with our market did not need fabulous sums: it was a matter of 3-10 thousand rubles. You can choose to deal with the settings or to agree on barter.

I am convinced that we are so steep that we do not need advertising, stolen a few months. After 12 years in the high-paying positions in marketing is difficult to remove the crown and to recognize that now have to re-prove your worth on the market. Free sources promote bear fruit, but investments in advertising would be paid off faster.

Lost time and lost profit - the result of disregard for timely investment in online advertising.

Launching a new business lays the budget for promotion. Wow, if you do not need. If you went into business is not active customer base, the first time will have to spend on market familiarity with your company. This requires investment - they are quite lift for small businesses.

4. Underestimating the power of networking

Not so terrible lack of advertising as the neglect of an opportunity of free promotion. Self-doubt and its product, "impostor syndrome" - that prevented the right to express themselves.

Initially, only close friends were aware of our work in a new field. The first clients are just friends, they also gave recommendations that were converted to the application. make social network open and talk about the studio where I decided just a few months.

Overcome modesty helped monitor the other budding entrepreneurs. A couple of times I have been to a special networking meetings, where she met with dozens of people who "tested niche." That is, have tried in the case, which has not yet dealt with, but sold their services expensive, as has been held by professionals.

The usefulness of such measures for the expansion of customer base and range of partners is highly questionable, but very neglected opportunity to establish new contacts is not necessary.

two startups with the meeting we have done something below cost, they appreciated the help and later recommend us to friends businessmen, which have already received more favorable cooperation. And then run the word of mouth. For two years we have never had recourse to paid promotion, the majority of customers and come on the recommendations.

Start talking about his new reality, not only friends, but also the market as soon as possible. Attend events where are your future customers, rather than "colleagues in misfortune." Build a personal brand and translates it into social networks long before the float freely.

5. perfectionism

Not only in IT, it makes sense to do release a minimum viable product to have feedback, test hypotheses, and get the first revenue. To start a design studio was enough to assemble a portfolio for Landing and social networks. However, all of our perfectionism went into the development of your own visual of identity and site.

In fact, we're going to offer their services for branding, as we ourselves can not look at Pyaterochka? And in front of peers uncomfortable in a far from ideal. Objectively, even the first draft of our website look better than most of the players of our size in the segment - to attract orders, he did not interfere.

two months worth to spend at dopilivanie on the visual part, and on building the communication with the target audience.

It is better to enter the market early with nedovedonnym perfected product or service, but to test your offer to real customers and start getting feedback and profit than to delay the launch, which struck the perfectionism.

6. incoherence

If we are too stuck on the packaging business, the other often, on the contrary, about her forget and wonder why it's not okay? Bear the logo of the project for months, which can not shoot, just wrong, it does not believe that the meet on clothes, and score on the aesthetics.

Many believe that at the start you need to spend much at once register as IP, Rent an office. I became a legally independent entrepreneur, but when the first client, work strictly by bank transfer. Business cards we ordered for the first meeting. And the office we did not need: clients prefer to meet in their territory, so as not to waste time on travel. A year later, we all went to the line and now are working remotely from around the world.

Step by step: first package "on the knee" test ads, check the viability of the business idea, and already after the first sale - investments in branding, office, equipment, promotion.

7. artificial motivation

The first question to ask is: "Why do I need the business," If you want to get more money, maybe easier to change employer? If you bothered to go to the office, you agree with the boss about flexible hours? I do not have enough freedom and independence: he wanted to choose with whom from clients and colleagues to work, and with whom - No gain mobility, to be at the helm of a small mechanism, rather than a cog in the corporate executive car.

The second question is: "Why do I need the money or free time?"

At first I tried to impose a "right" goals: early pay off your mortgage, eg. But this desire was not a dream, he lacked the power to inspire, lift in the morning and help to overcome difficulties.

I was ready to indulge in paid entertainment and new clothes, if you set financial goals failed. The most difficult given the lack of travel - that's where my motivation was buried. I had to cheat: in order not to delay the trip until the time when they earn, I first bought a ticket, and with it makes sense to work. The upcoming adventure invigorates me and forced to move, and what attitude is and the result.

The two years I spent in 13 countries and as many Russian regions. Remote work and constant travel has become a way of life, which is already difficult to give today.

If you are working in the company's own corporate system with the head and KPI is an incentive to carry out tasks in the free swimming is easy to relax. The strongest business plan can fail due to a lack of motivation among its artist. Mandatory payments (rent, loans, payment of utilities, grocery shopping) do not work as a positive reinforcement. We need to have clear objectives ignitors, each they own. Reward yourself for accomplishments, celebrate small victories also an important part of the motivation.