There are various reasons why entrepreneurial ventures fail and some of the business failures occurred due to some mistakes on the part of the entrepreneur. Some entrepreneurs are too in haste to make six figures in their business that they don’t take note of certain crucial issues in their business.
In this post, I will be sharing 5 mistakes every entrepreneur must avoid in their business if they want to really succeed.
Lack of Business Protection
This has to do with protecting your business idea. Some entrepreneurs do not see a need for this because they have registered their business with the corporate affairs commission.
Some entrepreneurs have watched their ideas get stolen by others who eventually work with the ideas and protect them from the originator of the idea. Most entrepreneurs come across a profitable idea and they run off with it. Some mechanisms that can be used to protect a business include Copyright, Trademark, Patent, Contracts, etc.
A Copyright is a Legal protection given to the authors of original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible form of expression.
A Trademark is a distinctive word, logo, internet domain name, graphic symbol, slogan or any other mechanism through which a manufacturer's products are distinguished from others. A Service Mark is the same as a trademark but it promotes services or events.
A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the Inventor. Contracts can be entered into for confidentiality in order to ensure that prospective investors and partners do not replicate your idea.
Lack of Legal Advice
Most entrepreneurs enter into contracts with people based on their relationship with them as friends, family members, admirers etc. and so they fail to seek legal advice. They expect their friends and family members to relate with them based on good conscience.
However, experience has shown that people do not act in good conscience when it comes to money matters. Many entrepreneurs have been duped by the people that they loved and respected.
In other cases entrepreneurs have jumped into contractual agreements with people whom they have had no previous relationship believing that the contract was in the best interests of their business without thoroughly checking it to ensure that it was so.
Inadequate Contract of Service for Employees
When the terms of employment are ambiguous, myopic and lack incentives, employees lack motivation, take their work with levity and become complacent. Where the terms of employment are not clearly stated, an employee could infer an interpretation that is totally different from the one intended by the employer.
A myopic contract for service that does not cover the essential aspects of the job tends to leave loopholes which can be exploited for gross misconduct with no consequences whatsoever.
Where the terms of employment do not contain sufficient incentives, the employees would lack motivation and this would lead to low productivity. This would show in the standard of the goods produced and the services rendered. It would lead to low patronage and thus low profits.
Lack of a Good Marketing Plan
The idea that a product would attract its customers is a myth. Most entrepreneurs focus on the quality of their product and do not make provision for a marketing plan. Others regard investment in marketing as a waste of resources.
They do not realize that their competitors offer good or even better products than they do. The reason for the success of many large companies has been their marketing strategy and not primarily the good quality of their goods and services.
Most customers would request for the popular product of a manufacturer and may not be interested in a similar product that has not been marketed no matter how cheap it is. The use of all marketing tools available would also determine patronage as various marketing tools have their advantages, disadvantages and their sphere of influence.
A One Man Show
Most businesses are designed to rise and fall in the presence of the business owner. While a business in its infant stages might require the constant presence of the entrepreneur, it is not healthy for the business to continue that way.
The implication of this is that the death of the entrepreneur would result in the closure of the business. It also implies that the business thrives on the physical effort of the entrepreneur. This leads to physical fatigue of the entrepreneur and an eventual burnout of passion.
However, if there is a system that works without the physical effort of the entrepreneur and this would give the entrepreneur time to strategize for expansion. If a system is not in place, when the entrepreneur takes a vacation, his income will also do the same.
Most entrepreneurs have the idea that if you want anything done, you have to do it yourself. They cannot stand any mistakes by employees and so they jump at any opportunity to do it themselves. The absence of a system limits the productivity of a business as there is a limit to what a person can do.
These mistakes have cost some entrepreneurs their business. They can and should be avoided in order to achieve success.