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Starting and owning a small business can definitely be a roller coaster of emotions at first, especially consisting of anxiety and fear of failure. No need to worry though, since things will get better with time. However, if you want to ensure your startup will prosper, then you need to do everything by the book.
This means putting enough time and effort into doing your research because without it, you might start basing your decisions on erroneous myths. There are various reasons why startups generally tend to fail, but keep in mind that most of these failures are caused by centering your decision-making process on common misconceptions:
1. Ads will only cost your small business a lot of time and money
There are people out there who will say you’re only wasting time and money if you choose to focus on running ads for your small business. These are the people you need to stay away from. In reality, ads, especially the PPC kind, can seriously boost the growth of your startup. By investing a little effort and utilizing some resources, you’ll get a better understanding about whether or not people like what you have to offer and would be interested in paying money for it.
Right now we’ve actually hacked our own business model and we’ve seen great results with offering content marketing services and SEO solutions for customers who want to get the word out about their business, brand and products.
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We’re the only ones who can currently provide blog content for your startup and also guarantee a certain number of unique visitors on each article after we promote it through social media.
This way, you’ll get a head start when it comes to growing your small business. You’ll know if your business idea is valid and if it will draw in plenty of clients.
2. Raising outside capital is the first thing you need to focus on
Sure, this is true if you plan on manufacturing and releasing a costly product to a wide customer base. However, if your startup is not particularly concerned with this, then you’ll be better off just taking a loan.
Keep in mind that going with outside capital means you’ll be giving up some control of your small business. Not only this but if you prioritize raising money over everything else it will result in losing a lot of time, something you simply cannot afford to do. You can’t just hand control over to investors you barely know. However, you need time to get to know them and see if they agree with the vision you have for your company. Otherwise, you’ll be giving control of your small business to people who care nothing for it.
3. Offering everything for free is the best way to ensure success
This part might be more relevant if your company is active in the tech industry, but nevertheless it is an important aspect to take into account. There’s no denying that the general public loves free things, but there’s also no guarantee that you’ll be able to convert the users you’ll gain with your ‘freemium’ plan into long-term paying customers. So then what?
Well, your best bet is to offer potential clients a free trial of what you have to offer. This way, they’ll get a taste of what products/services your small business offers and will soon be back for more, ready and willing to pay for them.
4. If your family has money you’ll be fine
It’s true that this can solve some money troubles your business might have, but keep in mind that mixing family with business can have potentially disastrous results. You never know when that uncle of yours who paid off your loans is going to ask to be named co-founder of your small business, despite not knowing the first thing about it.
If you do plan on asking family members for money, then at least make sure they are on the same page with you and share your business ideals.
5. All you need is a great product and you’re set for life
Coming up with a great business idea is definitely great, but it takes more than this to further grow your business and ensure its success. Not only do you have to focus on marketing, as well as developing and maintaining networking relationships, but you’ll also have to create valuable content that will draw potential clients in and keep them interested in what you have to offer.
Having trouble with the latter? It’s understandable. Running a small business is exhausting on its own.
