Spooky Business Mistakes to Avoid

• Teo

We hope you all had a great time celebrating Halloween everyone! Today we are still on the spooky topic and just wanted to share a few tips on spooky business mistakes we all make, especially when we just started a business.
Please keep in mind that business mistakes vary from owner to owner as we are all a little different and funny in our ways. Not all of us have a business brain so to say, but it is something you can learn if you are ready to take some feedback on board and want to progress.
If you think about it, being new to the business world can be overwhelming. We really know how that feels and are happy to help you guys. You can find several useful articles on our blog, so don’t forget to check them out too! It’s inevitable - you will make mistakes, but there are some which can bring you down!

Just like anything else in business quantity doesn’t always beat quality. Or in other words, a huge marketing budget could be detrimental to your annual budget if you don’t watch it. Looking at the different surveys, trends have been changing dramatically. Chief Marketing Officers from several industries were asked annually to predict changes in the marketing budgets.

Let’s get to the main topic then, business mistakes to avoid!

Underpricing is a Business Mistake of Amateurs

When starting a small business, you put everything into it. Literally everything! It’s blood, sweat, and tears as they say. Eventually, you will find clients that try to get you to lower your prices. Bargaining is the favourite of clients who don’t want quality. Which is why it is essential you know your worth, well, your products’ worth, really, but is there a difference?!

Learning how to stand your ground is a skill some people can’t master their whole life, mainly because they lack confidence. Don’t be the person who can easily be talked out of the price. You should be firm, but professional and make it clear that prices are such for a reason. You provide a high-quality product (or a service) and that is not something easily found elsewhere.

Not Having a Proper Place to Sell - Business Mistake To Watch Out Fo

Do you notice anything missing from your brand? Where’s your website? In the digital era, we live in, not having a website equals brand suicide. Online presence has just as much significance as anything else and it’s definitely a business mistake you don’t want to make. If you can spare the time to educate yourself, a website is something you can do all by yourself. Depending on the nature of your business you will see there are several kinds of websites. You could go with a “business card” website as a start and build it up later. However, it’s always best to leave it to professionals like us and save yourself the time. If you can’t or don’t want to pay for a website, look online - millions of platforms available!

No Planning is a Key Business Mistake

Skipping the planning stage is a rookie business mistake if you think about it. Any person with the slightest business acumen can tell you that planning is key. In case you missed it, have a read through our piece The Importance of a Business Plan. Not having a clear structure in your head can really cost you. Good organisational skills are an important part of the business because if you want to be successful, guess what? It means multitasking the majority of the time! Which is why we want to remind you - your time is valuable, don’t waste it on small things. Learn how to prioritise and filter things out. It might be a good idea to use a To-Do List app to help you stay focused. The cool thing about those is you also get a sense of achievement as well while doing what’s important!

The Wrong Niche? Well, How About That For a Fail  

Can you imagine if Steve Jobs decided to be a musician? No, me neither! Choosing the wrong niche can be truly devastating. Not just for your business, but also for your personality. If you think about it, the most successful people always share the same thing - do it with your heart and you’ll make it. It’s true, your instincts are showing you the way. Apple Inc is probably the biggest tech giant nowadays, it would be a great loss having a crappy album instead, believe me. This is one of the business mistakes you want to avoid at all costs, think about what you’re good at naturally. What are you drawn to?

No Target Audience Research Is For Rookies

Going back to the topic of organising - no research, and specifically, no target audience research can bring doomsday at your door. Researching to find out who’s your target audience means knowing who are you selling to. The Who in the three Ws. Don’t you just love it when the ads you’re seeing online are relevant to you? It’s great I know, and this truly multiplies the chances of more sales. Therefore, to avoid making a rookie business mistake, do your research and then study the facts, draw conclusions from them. Running around, making decisions based on a hunch or a personal view never put anyone at the top. Remember that.

No Market Research - More Time for Business Mistakes

Last on our list, but certainly not the least important is market research. It is just as crucial as any other type of research guys. Doing market research will tell you how your brand is perceived by customers and will be your best help when creating your marketing strategy. Doing market research will also help you in identifying your target audience, so don’t make the error of skipping that and jumping to sales. To get a better understanding of how customers feel about your products you need to find out directly from them. Just don’t forget to compile and analyse the data once you have it!

We hope you enjoyed our guide on business mistakes to avoid and would love to hear your thoughts! Jump in the discussion and share your experiences on what mistakes you made, how did they impact your business, etc. Or tell us what was the thing that helped you the most to progress. Any tips and tricks are welcome! Hope you had a spooky Halloween with loads of treats.