Top 6 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a Business

If you’re interested in starting a business, you’re in the right place.

I’ve grown my startup to $1m+. It took me five years to get there.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes along the way. Here are the top 6:

1. Selling an item instead of a feeling

If you sell clothing, you’re not selling T-shirts and sweatshirts, you’re selling:

• Confidence

• The feeling of receiving a compliment on your clothes

• Comfortability

If you’re selling an all-inclusive vacation to Cabo, you’re not selling a flight and hotel room, you’re selling:

• Relaxing on a beautiful beach

• That perfect nap after being in the sun all day

• The ability to brag about your vacation by posting it on social media

People purchase with emotion. Never forget that!

2. Not conducting market research

The newsletter release from two weeks ago teaches how to determine the demand for a product. There are two great methods for doing this.

If you missed the release, you can find it here. Bottom line, don’t start a business if no one wants what you’re selling! Confirm the demand before diving in.

3. Picking a business with limited potential

My current business, Greenbox Storage, has limited potential. Operationally, it’s incredibly complex and can be difficult to run.

The way I see it, the maximum revenue it could make in one year is probably $10,000,000.

Many people would be happy with that number, and when just starting out, I would’ve been too. But now that I’m 5% of the way there, I’m not happy with that number as a ceiling for my business.

Think about your goals before you start. But keep in mind, they will probably change.

4. Picking a bad company name

A bad company name can cause you a lot of difficulty down the road.

Last week’s newsletter included 7 tips for naming your business. If you missed it, check it out here.

5. Waiting too long to start

Don’t wait until you’re “ready” because that day will never come!

You must learn as you go. Entrepreneurship is an iterative process and to grow, you must enter the arena.

Think about it, you don’t get better at football by watching it on TV, you get better by getting out on the field and doing drills.

There is no better time to start than right now.

6. Thinking that everyone else has it all figured out

News flash, no one has it all figured out. Everyone is shooting from the hip, trying things out as they go. Especially when first getting started.

In fact, there is a good chance you’re smarter than a lot of people out there running successful businesses.

There is a lot of comfort in knowing this.

Whenever you’re ready, there are two ways I can help you:

1. The Startup Toolkit: This comprehensive course provides you step-by-step directions for how to launch and grow your startup. Through trial and error, I’ve developed these methods to grow my startup to $518,200.77 annual revenue.

2. 1-on-1 Startup Consulting: Serious about launching / growing your startup? Get the personalized help you need.

Cheers,

Collin Rutherford

PS. Anyone else participating in Dry January?