Becoming self-employed is booming and increasing year on year, and it’s easy to see why. In march 2022 data from ons.gov.uk recorded over 4.2 million people in the UK were self-employed. In today's ever evolving world, there are so many more opportunities now for people looking to boost their incomes and gain more flexibility and freedom in their lives.
But there are many challenges that come with starting your own business—especially when you’re just getting started. From selecting the right niche to building your brand and creating an online presence, there are many things you need to consider before launching your new venture.
If you’re just getting started, it can be easy to make some common mistakes. I`ve been there too, which is why I have created this blog to help you avoid these pitfalls and succeed in your new business venture. From selecting the right niche to building your brand and creating an online presence, there are many things you need to consider before launching your new venture.
Here are a few common mistakes that could hurt your business—and how to avoid them:
1. Not having a clear idea of what you want your business to be.
This is one of the biggest mistakes that people make when starting a new business venture. You can’t just jump into the world of entrepreneurship without any thought or planning; instead, take some time out to think about what you want your brand to stand for and how it will differentiate itself from competitors in your niche.
2. Not Doing Your Research
Not doing your research is the most common mistake that new entrepreneurs make. It’s tempting to jump in headfirst and start developing a product or service without first thinking about whether there’s enough interest in it to support your business. But this is a big mistake—you need to know who your target audience is, what they want from you and how much they’re willing to pay for it before you invest any time or money into creating that product or service.
3. Not Knowing Your Numbers
Knowing your numbers is one of the most important things that you can do to ensure that your business is a success. You should know exactly how much money you’re making and spending in any given month, as well as at least a general idea of where those figures stand over time. This will allow you to make adjustments if necessary (e.g., increasing prices or cutting back on expenses) so that your business remains profitable over time.
4. Not Creating an Action Plan
A lot of people will tell you that creating a business plan is a waste of time—and they’re right, if you don’t know how to use it. The purpose of your plan isn’t just to outline what you want to accomplish and how, but also to serve as an ongoing reference point throughout your journey as an entrepreneur. You should be revisiting your plan at least once a year to see how close you are to achieving your goals and making adjustments as necessary. For example, if you find that some of the information in your plan is no longer relevant (e.g., certain laws have changed or technologies have become obsolete), then it might be time to update it accordingly.
5. Not measuring results
Measurement allows you to see if your efforts are working or not. It also helps you improve on what works and discard what doesn't work so that you can spend your resources on things that yield better results. Measurement tools include tracking visits on your website or social media pages, running A/B tests and surveys, or even just asking customers directly how they found out about you or what they like about your products or services. Marketing can become very costly, it's important that you track your ROI (Return on investment) to see if those areas of marketing are actually bringing sales and leads into your business.
Comments