15 Small Business Startup Mistakes Entrepreneurs Must Avoid

Going from startup to venture success is a rocky road filled with landmines at every step. The process of starting a new business is not a cakewalk. There is never a foolproof recipe for success. You are bound to commit mistakes in the journey of successful entrepreneurship. However, there are some commonly created startup mistakes that you can avoid thereby increasing the chance of making fewer mistakes. Here are some startup mistakes that you should avoid if you want to turn your startup into a successful business.
Table of Contents
15 Mistakes That Can Kill Your Small Startup Business
1. Single Founder
As a single founder, you have almost zero chance of getting funding from investors. Why? It’s not a coincidence, according to the investors, that the founder who succeeded did so as a team of at least two.
Related: How to Register a Company/ Startup in India
2. Wrong Location
You can change everything about a house but its location. Likewise, if your startup is in the wrong location, you can’t change the nature of that location. It’s easier to move the startup to the right location.
3. Marginal Niche
Choosing an obscure niche startup may paint itself in a corner. If you are afraid of competition, this is not the way to avoid it.
4. Choosing a Bad Name
The name of your startup has a tremendous impact on how customers and investors view you. Your startup name should convey the expertise and should describe properly the products and services you are offering. Choosing a bad name can destroy your startup.
5. Derivative Idea
Instead of copying Facebook, with some variation that Facebook rightly ignored, look for ideas from the other direction. Instead of starting from companies and working back to the problems they solved, look for problems, and imagine the company that might solve them.
6. Hiring a Bad Programmer
Knowing a good programmer from a bad one often takes being a good one yourself, or having a trusted one on your team. Exceptional and good programmers are always in short supply. So the odds are stacked against hiring good ones.
7. Choosing the Wrong Investors
When your company gains some traction and you suddenly find yourself in growth mode, you may also discover that your cash reserves are dwindling. But when it’s time to raise outside capital, remember this cardinal rule: All money is not equal. Be clear about the value, beyond money, that your investor adds to your business.
Read: Top Lending Companies Providing Loans for Small Businesses
8. Launching too Early
You have launched too early. And you may be completely unprepared to handle your growth and worse yet to present a perfect saleable product.
9. Slowness in Launching
Before you actually go for launching you are in the dark about whether your startup should even exist. The longer you delay the launch the more you delay getting the answer. If you are afraid to know what the answer is, you might want to ask yourself why.
10. Spending too Much
Spending too much before your startup grows enough to have the numbers to raise the next round, and you are out of cash, which often goes down to the end.
11. Not to Get Your Hands Dirty
You can’t solve all the problems by writing codes and wish to have someone to handle the messy business. Go out and meet people in person.
12. Not Listening to Customers
Talk constantly to customers to learn why they buy your product. Focus exclusively on that reason, and be the best at that.
13. Poor Investor Management
When it comes to a choice between making investors happy or making your users happy, always choose the users. If your user is happy your investors will automatically make money eventually.
14. Fights Between Founders
Founder conflict is too common in startup companies. Don’t start a company with someone you dislike because they have some skill you need and you worry you won’t find anyone else. The people are the most important ingredient in a startup, so don’t compromise there.
15. Half-Hearted Effort
A lack of determination in the startup led to an automatic end. The failed startups are mostly about spectacular flameouts. Most startups that could succeed fail because the founders don’t devote their whole efforts to them. However, the biggest of the startup mistakes you can make is not trying hard enough.