5 Mistakes People Make With Their Small to Medium-Size Business

by Dolly and Cara July 28, 2020

Most businesses start small. And their owners lack the adequate amount of experience to scale their business to greater heights.

This results in them committing mistakes that are rather unknown to them. Each such mistake then snowballs into a huge disaster for the business over time.

And these oncoming business failures stir anxiety, paving way for more mistakes.

The loop goes on and ends up in businesses going bust.

But in an era when information and other people’s experiences are so vastly available all over, it’d be rather naive of someone to not build their business understanding beforehand.

It’s not that one can avoid all mistakes. We strongly believe that you will learn a great deal by committing mistakes. But it’s always better to try and minimize the number of mistakes and their impact on our business.

So, here are five common mistakes most small or medium-size business owners make that you must try to avoid.

1. Being a One-Man Team for Your Business

When we start out in business, we have trust issues. None of us really likes the idea of assigning important work to others. Because what if they screw up? So, you try doing every single task by yourself. You keep hopping from one task to another all day long only to later realize that you didn’t complete anything.

This keeps you occupied and makes you seem busy. But the fact is you’re hardly as productive as you could be if you focused on only a few specific aspects of the business that you really enjoyed.

Start hiring great people and assign them work. Teach them to do it the way you would. Build a team you can trust. That’s an important part of succeeding in business.

2. Setting Unrealistic Goals

Source: Isaac Smith

Let’s agree, setting goals for your business is not a cakewalk. It’s one of those things you may put a lot of time into and still go wrong with it. And in most cases, business owners set unrealistic goals.

Aiming for the big stuff in business is great but by aiming for them too soon, you may miss out on the smaller developments you must have focused on. In addition, your business may not be able to achieve the unrealistic goals you set which may cause frustration. A lot of it.

So, consider your finances, the market, your competitors, and other factors to decide the best set of short, mid, and long term goals for your business.

3. Avoiding Latest Technology

Remember when most brick and mortar businesses wouldn’t pay heed to create a business website? Eventually, most with a growth mindset did. That’s how it works with technology for businesses.

You may first feel hesitant about a tool or service due to the cost it would incur. And you may choose to not adopt it. However, when it comes to spending on technology, always consider its short and long term benefits.

4. Not Marketing Well Enough

Even bad products have resulted in great returns just because they were marketed well. The strategy may not work every time with bad products, but if you think what you’re offering is really helpful, the right marketing strategy can take your business to great heights.

But most business owners do not market their products well enough. They’re intimidated by the idea of openly selling their products.

Don’t be such a business owner. Take pride in showing your product or service to the world. Because if you don’t, no one else will.

5. Unplanned Spending

Source: JP Valery

Business is a lot about money and spending it in the right places, on the right people, at the right time. However, business owners may easily find themselves lost between overspending and underspending.

You must make sure that you’re not going for anything too cheap or too expensive. If you’re going for extremely cheap, low-quality products and services, it’ll hurt your business. If you’re going for the extremely expensive ones, it’ll hurt your business.

Read: 5 Effective Tips to Successfully Manage a Small to Medium Size Business

There’s always a sweet spot for where your business is at any time. Find your fit and spend accordingly.