Most of the mistakes come down to a lack of confidence and uncertainty.
1. Undercharging – you don’t know how much to charge and aren’t confident of your value
2. Taking any client with a pulse – you’re desperate to build that million pound business and you don’t know what a good client looks like and who is ideal for you
3. Selling everything – whatever your clients or prospects ask for, you try to sell it. But which work or products are profitable and which should you say “no” to?
4. AI paralysis – you can’t tell what is hype and what is helpful so you do nothing
5. Avoiding marketing – ‘build it and they will come’ doesn’t work unless you tell people about it. You may even need to tell them before you’ve finished building it.
6. Trying to do everything themselves – you may be trying to bootstrap but some things are worth investing in.
7. Waiting until everything is perfect – paralysis by perfectionism. Bryony Thomas says it best when she suggests that you start when things are ‘functional but not embarrassing’. I’ve founded 5 businesses to date and even sold one of them for 32% above average and none of them are perfect but they’re profitable.
The good news? Most of these mistakes are avoidable. Building a business is a skill in itself, and it’s not something many of us are taught.
That’s why the 30 Day Start Up course was created: to give business owners practical guidance on the key areas that matter most, from marketing and pricing to finance and strategy.Prefer to learn live? A live Start Up workshop will be taking place later this year. I’d love to see you there, so reply if you’d be interested.