7 Critical Mistakes To Avoid As a Small Business Owner

Cheaper prices mean more customers, right? Wrong!

Running a business is tough. Most of us have a dream, and there are so many fears clustering around those dreams.

Starting a new business is pretty exciting and challenging, too. Your business has an overabundance of growth potential. Still, there is also the possibility of making quite costly mistakes as you start.

A big part of starting a business is having a plan than having the discipline to act on it. You have to invest yourself in it, just like how your parents have invested in you all these years.

In the high-stakes world of starting a new business, only one thing is certain: everyone will make mistakes, but only those who learn from them will succeed.

Let me start by introducing what I do for a living: I am a Travel Planner by profession for 8 years for my venture, Voyage Planner. I don’t have an office; I work from home or co-work space sometimes, which gave me the liberty to travel and do some blogging, ghostwriting (freelance) in the low season.

I never invest in marketing. My friends and family were the beginning of my word of mouth network, my secret weapon. Along with the best services, of course.

Every one of your existing clients has the potential to share your brand with their friends and family and refer to an endless number of new customers to your business.

Even though I sell the big travel packages, I am more into promoting “slow travel” and book through local agents instead of suppliers. Supporting local since day one.

Never, even for once, I ever thought to give up my Travel career even though there were many lows than ups. I am growing with each mistake I made, and today I will share my side of the story.

These mistakes have a huge part in shaping who I am today. From a struggling to a successful “small business owner.”

1. Undervaluing the Services You Are Offering

Customer service is one of the most important elements of any successful business. But value is subjective. So if you undervalue your expertise, then your potential client will do that too.

As a Travel Planner, I dedicate the time to research the destination according to my client’s budget and answer their questions. I am hustling to build a network of local suppliers, clients, and peers who strive to elevate one another’s businesses. There is a cost to me for this level of professionalism, and, in turn, there has to be a cost for the service I am providing.

The experience, knowledge, and expertise you’ve accumulated over time positions you as an authority. Your specific insight, known as intellectual capital, is exactly what they need. What you know, and your unique way of applying that knowledge is highly valuable.

At the end of the day, if you don’t believe in yourself and your worth, you will also get away from making a profit. When you’re hesitant on your confidence, you’ll want to give your time and expertise away for free — again and again, and again, until you’ve been burned enough times that it hurts.

It takes tremendous effort and serious courage to stand up and ask for more money. It will push you beyond your comfort zone. But I can tell you from experience; self-confidence starts with a single step of changing your limiting beliefs.

2. Trying To Do it All By Yourself Without Any Help

I know it can be scary to admit you can’t do everything yourself because I’ve been there.

I am the founder and the one doing all of the strategy in my business, but I am also the service and accountant. I am already doing the job of multiple people at once. My work turned into 10–12 hours a day. I work on Sundays and Holidays too. I even work when I travel. And did I mention that I take care of the home too?

The sole reason I could never hire anyone is “trust issues.” The person I hire will not look at my company as I am. There is always a difference between a mother and a caretaker.

Even though I am a bit unorganized sometimes in my real life, but when it comes to my business, every tiny thing matters, right from e-mail font to my proposal's format to invoice. And, the person who I will hire won’t do it my way!

But when I’d burned myself out and had to accept that I couldn’t do everything by myself anymore, I took help from an expert and divide my work; a huge weight lifted off my shoulders even though I was a little paranoid.

The business world does need people who can wear many hats but there comes a point after which the business will suffer if you do everything yourself.

Whether you’re at the office or home, you'll feel relaxed and confident when you learn how to ask for help. You’ll free yourself up to tend to your most important priorities, and you’ll feel energized, clear, and focused.

This help also adds balance to your life because you will have more time for self-care and the things you enjoy.

3. Overspending

In any start-up, finances can be tight. Therefore it is imperative when you start a business that you determine the areas where you are overspending and tackle this expenditure immediately.

Sometimes, it is not the big purchases but the smaller day-to-day expenses that add up and spell your business trouble. A way to avoid this is by providing software or maintain a financial diary that tracks your expenditure in real-time.

Going into debt can be scary, but not as scary as having a bank balance that’s so far in the red you’re not sure when you’ll recover.

Anytime you’re going to buy something that isn’t in your budget because you have some extra profits that month or received an unexpected check – do the math before you buy!

The most important part — Hire a Chartered Accountant for the tax strategies to minimize tax liability.

4. Working Again (and again) With The Client Who Takes Advantage Because You Let Emotion Cloud Your Judgment

Your business is your favorite child (mine too!), but it’s also your source of income, and you need to treat it rationally. Do not let your emotions cloud your judgment; otherwise, you’ll make business decisions based on emotion, and trust me; that’s never good for business.

This one I had to remind myself all the time. I had a client who is one of my acquaintances. I was hired as his Company Travel Planner.

Even though I get good business from them, I cannot describe how emotionally and financially I have had gone through to get the payment even though we had an agreement. It took me 7 months, nearly 100–125 calls a day, to get their last booking payment.

I worked with them for 6 years. Every time I let my emotions meddling while I know once I accept the booking, it will not be easy for me—sleepless night.

Proving them, I am giving great services even though I know at the end of the day they are probably going to curse me if anything goes even a tiny wrong. But I accept the booking every time anyone from his company calls me up, even at 11:30 p.m.

The day I got the last payment installment, I quit as their Company Travel Planner.

Eliminating a bad client may be a scary prospect for some but it will allow precious resources to be dedicated to those clients who are more of an asset to the company.

5. Verbal/What's App Conversations

A major cause of disputes occurs over the content of agreements. Sometimes these disputes result from poorly drafted contracts, content, and deliverables not being adequately described or variations to the original contract. Another dispute source is verbal contracts and conversations where the parties dispute the agreed-upon content.

We all are using What's App or opt for a conversation on call to strengthen the bond between you and your client. But technically, it’s not for all businesses.

Even though you have a Business What's App and you never delete the chat as well timely backup everything and have each group for the services, still a written communication is important in business. Its importance is very high when it’s through digital methods — e-mail.

Whilst getting on with our daily grind, taking email for granted, we don’t spend enough time considering how important email is in the world of business. You need to understand how important it is to craft quality and professional email communications and how it can change and improve your business.

When running a business in a highly competitive world it’s more important than ever to make every cent count. Everyday email empowers you to directly engage with clients on a personal, individual, and permission basis.

Business email is a quick and quality means to communicate with clients, potential customers, suppliers, and industries worldwide. Sometimes, due to language barriers, time zones, inconvenience, and record purposes, the telephone is not a viable communication form.

6. Update The Social Media and Website/Blog Regularly

It should be fairly obvious that a business needs to have a web presence. Whether you are a small business owner or freelancer, or big business owner with multiple businesses, THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Social media is more than a buzzword. It’s now a lifestyle decision for a lot of companies. By spreading the word about your blog/website on social media networks, you increase the traffic coming to your site. Which, in the long run, gives you more potential customers.

When someone researches a business, your website will often be the first impression they have. Keeping a website updated is something to strive for, but the results are well worth it.

Your customers will appreciate the value you provide, and you’ll find higher content production leads to higher engagement.

7. Own Your Mistake and Fix It!

Oh, buoy! Where do I begin? I made a lot of mistakes, and every single time I fix it. I never ran away. We are human, and we do make mistakes.

However, in this social media age, ignoring customer dissatisfaction can result in bad reviews and negative publicity. Problems should be addressed and resolved as quickly as possible.

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