Updated May 4, 2023

Subtitle
Do not let the fear of making mistakes, costly or not, deter you from starting your new business

Synopsis
Although mistakes made can be our greatest teacher, they can be time-consuming and costly. So here I share with you my hard-earned experiences and insights that I gained from creating and building my small business.

What You Will Learn
1. You will learn ten time-consuming and costly mistakes that can be avoided.
2. You will learn from my business experiences about understanding these mistakes.
3. You will learn why it is so important to learn from these mistakes and then figure out how to fix them.

Introduction
Although mistakes made can be our most excellent teachers, they can be time-consuming and costly. What are some of the common mistakes entrepreneurs make when starting? I want to share the experiences and insights I gained from creating and building my small business, which began in 1984 and is still strong today.

Here is a list of ten common mistakes new entrepreneurs make when starting their businesses:

Mistake # 1. Making Absurd Forecasts
You need to research and develop realistic forecasts about how your services or products will sell. Can you bring in 60 customers in the first six months? Or is six more likely? Can you realistically sell 3,000 of your self-published books in the first year? Or is 250 more likely? Maybe 300 in the second year and 350 in your book's third year are more realistic?

How are other books like yours selling on Amazon? If you forecast unusually high or overly optimistic sales and profitability, you do not have a realistic understanding of your business and market.

Mistake # 2. Relying on One Client or Product
That one client or one product might be enough to get your new business off the ground. But having only one certainly is not enough to keep your business growing. Therefore, you must constantly try to add a variety of new clients, services, and products. Having many clients rather than one giant client is much safer for your business.

Ideally, you should strive to bring in clients of different sizes, industries, and demographics. And you should also be developing various services and products to sell to these clients. This variety will save your company when market conditions and consumer behaviors change.

Mistake # 3. Not Having a Unique Selling Point
Too many businesses start without ever asking these questions. That is a huge mistake. If you want to build a successful business – one that you can be proud of and that also gives you a steady stream of income – then you must answer these questions before starting your business.

Too many businesses start up without ever asking these questions. That is a huge mistake. If you want to build a successful business – one that you can be proud of and that also gives you a steady stream of income – then you must answer these questions before you start your new business.

Mistake # 4. Not Doing Enough Marketing
You can never do enough marketing. Whether it involves social media, email marketing, direct marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, print ads, knocking on doors, or whatever works best for your business, it must never end.

The different ways to market your services and products are endless. Do not simply skip the marketing because of a limited budget. Even if you're on a tight budget, you can still achieve great results if you put enough thought and effort into it.

Mistake # 5. Lacking Proper Start-up Capital
You must expect your start-up costs to be much more than you initially planned. A one-person small business might have little or no start-up costs. This type of business can become profitable immediately.

But, if you need an office, machinery, employees, supplies, etc., your start-up costs can quickly soar past what you initially planned. And, if you don't have enough money to pay these start-up costs or do not figure out a w...