9 Crucial Mistakes To Avoid When Starting Your Online Business In The Beginning
Today, I want to dive into the biggest mistakes I see online business owners make when starting out and friends, let me be the first to say that I made just about all of these. I am definitely not here to say that I am perfect or did everything right but if I can share with you my struggles and lessons so you don't have to, that is worth it for me. Today, I have ten of them for you and in no particular order either.
NOT HAVING A PLAN.
This one is crucial to your long-term success whether you're still incorporate and wanting to make your leap, I would ask yourself, "What is my plan?" If you're a new business owner, out on your own, "What is your plan?" Often times, plans will change but it is always better to have a plan in place that you then can adjust later than to have no plan at all. Failing to plan, is planning to fail. Planning is your roadmap. It helps you know where you are, where you want to go and how to get there. If creating a year plan overwhelms and causes you to not feel good and fall into a state of unknown, pair it back until it feels good. Can you see where you want your life/business to be in 90 days? What do you want to accomplish? Maybe it is putting together a plan for the next 30 days.
NOT FOCUSING ON MAKING MONEY.
If your business isn't making money, it isn't a business it is a hobby. You must focus on what are the revenue-generating activities that you need to do in order to grow your business. If you're working a full-time job and building your business on the side, the quickest way to move out of your corporate job is to make more money in your business. Years ago, I spent too much time and energy focusing on what I was going to eliminate from my budget than I did focusing on how I was going to make more. Where your focus goes, energy flows, results will show. It is okay to focus on the money and how much revenue your business is bringing in. It is your job as the CEO of your company to focus on the numbers.
BUFFERING/PROCRASTINATION - HOLDING THEMSELVES BACK BECAUSE OF FEAR.
Spending time perfecting vs taking action. The only way you're going to get clarity on your business is by taking massive action. Waiting for the sales page for your offer to be "perfect" or feel "done." That day will rarely come. The more time you procrastinate on taking action or pushing publish, the more time you're spending on procrastinating your dreams. You have to get yourself in a mental place where you ask yourself, "Is the procrastination and buffering I'm doing to avoid discomfort, worth putting off my dreams?" Which one is more painful - the discomfort of taking massive action or not taking action at all and never achieving the life I desire?'
TRYING TO BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE.
At the beginning of building your business and fleshing out your services and product offerings it can be easy to want to be all things to all people and just because you have the skillset to offer a service because someone is asking, doesn't mean that you have to say yes. One of the biggest challenges for my personality types and how I'm wired because I love ideas, I love starting new things, I've had to learn over time to not act on everything that sounds like a good idea. At first, it felt like I was denying myself and didn't feel good but that was because of the meaning I was giving it. Over time, I've been able to condition myself to resist the urge to take action on every single idea I've had.
NOT KNOWING HOW TO MANAGE THEIR TIME.
You must get really good at seeing 300 feet in front of you and 3 feet in front of you. There are so many things that you could work on in your business, but it is up to you to discern which ones to focus on and spend time. Focus your time on tasks that will help grow and generate revenue in your business; business development, digital product creation, content creation that leads to an opt-in that leads to a sale.
CONFUSING THEIR MARKETING MEDIUM WITH THEIR BUSINESS.
Your blog, your podcast, your Youtube channel isn't your business. It is your marketing medium. Your product or service is the business. While you may make money, let's say from sponsorship, you want to be intentional and fully aware of what is your business model and what isn't.
FAILURE TO INVEST IN THEMSELVES.
The quickest way to get a result is to find someone that has already done it and pay them to teach you how to do it. Your time and energy are precious. You could spend hours trying to piece together information from the internet about how to do something, or you could invest in an online course to teach you how to do it. Having a "Know it all" attitude" is the quickest way to bottleneck your business because then you won't be open to new ideas, ways of doing things or learning opportunities that could accelerate your business.
Paying too much to the appearance
AVOIDING
I see new business owners avoiding certain aspects of their business because what they're avoiding seems daunting, overwhelming and confusing...whether that is figuring out the financial piece, how to use an email marketing system like convertKit or building their website. Part of being a business owner is having the willingness and determination to figure things outs in the beginning. So much of the beginning stages are YOU doing the work. Over time, you can begin to find virtual assistants to help you and you begin to outsource. but if you find yourself avoiding, that might be a good place to start.
APPEARANCE OVER FUNCTION.
I've certainly been guilty of this...focusing on the pretty things versus the important things. This isn't to say that branding isn't important but when you're starting your business, what matters most is the product/service that you're delivering and servicing your clients. I once paid close to $4,000 for a custom membership platform that then later only used for 6 months before shutting the platform down. I thought that by having a pretty membership platform, it would solve my problems. In the beginning, resist the urge to think that you need a super high-end website in order to start and grow your business. You can do a lot with simple website overtime.
I'd love to know which one of these stood out to you, screenshot this episode and tag us on Instagram. Until next time, keep doing it your way!
