Some years back, I attended an incubation program and I was amazed, at the type of beautiful business plans that 20 young entrepreneurs were coming up with.
I saw the way they spoke about their ideas, with, so much fervor that, I became infected with their eloquence and found myself, nodding my head in agreement to, virtually, everything they proposed.
Fast forward to the present and it appears that, none of those bright ideas, proposed to take the world by storm, by those 20 young men, ever saw the light of day and this kept me wondering.
I decided to conduct a research online, to find out, how far, they were able to go, in a bid to achieve what they proposed, during the program and saw only glimpses, here and there, of what they have done, but nothing concrete.
I, therefore, assumed that those bright business ideas have gone down the drain, due to one factor, or, another.
It is, sometimes, not always unfavorable factors, that derail an entrepreneur’s small business profitability. It may, actually, be a mistake, initiated by the entrepreneur.
Below are 5 deadly mistakes that can adversely affect an entrepreneur’s small business profitability:
Allowing Your Heart To Rule
Successfully running a business, entails, being objective, as well as, working with facts, all the time.
The day you stop doing this and letting your heart make decisions for you, is the day you start losing the business, altogether.
Be objective, when making decisions, irrespective of how hard it may be.
Look at facts and ensure that, numbers tally, as this ensures business profitability.
Picking The Wrong Partner(s)
As much as, it is advisable, to find partners, it is, also, advisable for you, to, carefully, choose the right partner(s) that, are on the same wavelength with you and they see what you visualize.
Choosing the wrong partners, or, too many partners, may overwhelm you and you may end up, being lost in the sea that you created.
The right partners will not only push you up, when the chips are down, they will, also, ensure that you succeed, massively.
Not Placing A Value On Your Products And Services
For the fact that you are looking for clients to purchase your products and services, does not mean that you have to start placing, less value, on your products and services.
If you do not place value on what you sell, it will, gradually, lose its core values, in time and gradually, you will begin to sink.
Clients will, therefore, start pricing what you offer, for less value, than you intended. That is the direction and law, in business.
Entering Into a Wrong Partnership
One thing that kills a business very fast is when your partners are lagging behind.
It is, highly, necessary that you strike deals, with other companies, for the survival of your business, but if that company did not uphold its end of the deal, then, you have a huge problem on your hands.
It is better, for you, to terminate the deal, quickly and look for other partners, as quickly, as you can.
Not Getting Mentors
In order to succeed very well in your business, one of the best strategies that you can adopt is, to engage a mentor, as a number of them.
These are people that, you look up to, who have operated, or, are still operating in the same business line that, you are venturing into.
Be close to them and always seek advice from them, before taking any step that may be detrimental to the profitability of your small business.
Featured Image: lauraelkaslassy
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