10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed

April 11, 2006 on 12:47 pm | In Entrepreneur |

Steve Pavlina has just posted 10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed that should be read by anyone who is thinking of starting a buisness or who already owns and runs a business.

Here is my take on the mistakes he lists:

1. Selling to the wrong people.

This is something I’ve been learning a lot about in the last few months. Rather than firing your message at everyone, it is more beneficial to fire it at people who have a higher motivation to buy your product. I think it is called targeting and from what I read, a lot of people make this (expensive) mistake when they start a Google AdWords campaign.

2. Spending too much money.

Ouch, don’t remind me! Think Bootstrapping when it comes to spending money. Don’t make you bank account bleed to death. Think when you are about to spend money and do some research on whether you actually need what you are thinking about buying and whether there is a cheaper (or free) version on the internet. For example, I recently saved myself a couple of hundred dollars when I bought my new laptop by not opting to get MS Office and instead going with OpenOffice.

3. Spending too little money.

I did however upgrade the RAM, Hard-drive and Screen Resolution of my new laptop :). It cost more, but my laptop is pretty much my livelyhood. I also develop software with VS 2005 which is pretty greedy when it comes to computer resources. Something else that costs money are accountants and lawyers. Many of us perceive them as a bunch money-sucking mongrels, but it certainly pays to get your business structure and contracts sorted out properly to help avoid heartache and irritation further down the track.

4. Putting on a fake front.

This is something I have started to come to grips with. I was of the impression that I must use ‘We’, ‘Us’, etc.. on my websites and correspondence. The truth is though, that the people I have come to respect and deal with don’t use this method, so then why should I.

5. Assuming a signed contract will be honored.

Not had this problem yet. At least I’m now aware that it happens to us ordinary folk.

6. Going against your intuition.

It never ceases to amaze me that most of the mistakes I have made in my life went against my initial intuition. Everything from buying used cars to trusting scoundrels (usually insurance salesmen) that have ended up costing me money, time and sleep originally gave me an uneasy feeling in my underbelly.

7. Being too formal.

Woo-hoo, I hate formality. Since becoming a Full Time Entrepreneur i have only worn long trousers and socks once (actually it is one-and-a-half because I recently went to a wedding but forgot to take my socks so ended up in suit, shoes, but no socks). I think any relationship works best when there is human-to-human connection behind them.

8. Sacrificing your personality quirks.

This is good news. I personally find that if I do this, then I end up being someone (or something) that I am not. Besides, loads of weird people are successful in business so why not me (or you, not that I’m suggesting you are weird :twisted:).

9. Failing to focus on value creation.

This is possibly parramount in setting up a business and another one of those things that I am slowly learning. I recently read that you should concentrate on providing ‘Solutions and not Features’ in your products and services. People who supply your income are interested in having their ‘pain’ resolved not being provided with some useful and cool feature that you like.

10. Failing to optimize.

Test, test, test. If something is not working, tweak it until it does. If something is working, tweak it until it works better. This can not be achieved if you don’t have systems in place to test what you are doing. Something that does not work, yet you continue to do, will cost you money.

However, it is important to remember that making mistakes is not always the end of the world - as long as you learn from your mistakes.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” - Alert Einstein.

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” - Mahatma Gandhi.

However,

“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” - Napoleon Bonaparte