The Biggest Mistake An Entrepreneur Makes
Posted by abdul on 07 Nov 2009 at 11:00 am | Tagged as:
Poor planning, lack of a business model, inadequate research, haphazard marketing strategies…These are some of the biggest mistakes an entrepreneur can ever commit. Mistakes that are definitely going to hurt.However, as unbelievable as it may seem these are NOT the biggest mistakes an entrepreneur can make. The biggest, largest, most gigantic mistake an entrepreneur can make is having the wrong attitude. This may not seem like much of a reason but it is one that can lead to maximum, lasting damage to the business. It is important for you as an entrepreneur to fix your attitude and your approach to the business as that can single handedly determine the direction your business takes. It can also majorly affect the growth pattern of your business. These are the major mistakes made by entrepreneurs.
1) You run your business the way you want to: While this is definitely an advantage to owning your own business, it isn’t your right. At the end of the day, you are still providing a product or a service to the customer. You need to put their needs and desires before your own. You need run your business in a way that is convenient for you, but essentially how your customers want it.
2) You lack the strength to say ‘NO’: Perhaps you can still manage to say no to any sales people and buy only what you really want to, but it is very difficult to say no to a customer. However a customer who always asks you to extend credit or to give a discount needs to hear a firm No as well.
3) You tend to be inflexible: This is a fatal mistake. There absolutely has to be room for constant change as you need to ensure that your business always caters to the changing needs of the customer.Inflexibilty or inability to grow/change with the customer can lead to stagnation in your growth which is detrimental to any business.
4) You move slowly: While it is definitely safe to move at a slow pace it is also damaging as the pace prevents you from utilizing all the opportunities that come your way. There is no room for spontaneity and sudden decision making which can really slow down your business growth.
If you can avoid these attitude attributes then you have nothing to worry about. You just need to be bold, positive and always trust your gut and that’s good enough.
