Isn’t entrepreneurship a joyful experience?
Would you call it rejuvenating too? It could be.
But mostly, it’s not. Especially if you don’t have the entrepreneurial traits.
I feel that entrepreneurship is like where the excitement of winning big, and the trepidation of losing it all coexist. It’s no different than setting sail on a turbulent sea while you barely know how to swim. This shouldn’t be a problem if you’re Captain Jack Sparrow. Unfortunately, there is only one. Right?
Anyway, forget about being a pirate in the ocean, most new entrepreneurs would shit their pants seeing the mighty waves (challenges that kick in early in your entrepreneurship journey). Most first-time entrepreneurs run at the first sign of danger. That’s one of the biggest mistakes amateur entrepreneurs make. They give up way too easily. The counterpart of this trait is perseverance. The entrepreneurial trait that helps keep the lights on.
In general, the entrepreneurial journey is filled with highs and lows. Unexpected surprises are the norm. Unforeseen obstacles are part of the daily routine. While entrepreneurial success stories often steal the spotlight, this darker side of entrepreneurship often goes unspoken. And so, first-time entrepreneurs often fail to anticipate or prepare for any challenging situation that can kill the business. Unlike online gaming, the cost of restarting in the real world is a big pain. The mistakes first-time entrepreneurs make can sink their ship, aka business.
In this insight, we’ll delve into the very same perilous waters of entrepreneurship. Read this GrowthRomeo blog to find 10 common mistakes entrepreneurs make that can sink even the most promising ventures. Not sure about the Black Pearl but for entrepreneurSHIP, this blog will serve as your navigation compass. So Mr/Ms Captain Sparrow, shall we get started?
Entrepreneurial mistake 1: Putting All Eggs in One Basket
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”
Consider the tale of a software startup that secured a massive contract with a single Fortune 500 company. They celebrated their early triumph, but when the client unexpectedly terminated the contract, the startup was left financially crippled.
So, always diversify your client base to mitigate risks. Be it the stock market, job, or business, diversification improves survival. Being too niche-focused could be risky.
Let’s take another example, if you were someone who used to sell just movie CDs, do you think you would survive in today’s world of Amazon Prime, Disney Hotstar, and Netflix? Prolly not. Right? Well, that’s the point. Do not be too niche-focused.
You might question, but niches make riches. Right. That’s true. But we are here talking about mistakes that turn out to be fatal. When you’re in a niche, you must know its future aspects. UAE is an OIL economy, a niche. But we all know petroleum is not good for the environment, and at some point, crude will cease to exist, given our consumption rate. Therefore, we are moving to green energy alternatives.
So, a niche is not really the problem, it is the risk associated with the niche. Tomorrow, a major importer of Oil from the UAE can ban all petroleum products in their country and all the dependent businesses will die overnight. The same is the case with Delta Corp, an Indian Gaming company. The government of India imposed a 30% tax on online betting games, and boom, the stock of the company crashed, as the company was solely focused on betting games.
Do you see how one government intervention significantly damaged the organization? In fact, this massive tax slab for betting companies may even lead to the untimely death of Delta Corp. Only time will tell. While their counterpart, Nazara Games is performing fine in the market as the 30% tax imposition only impacted 5% of their business.
Hence, diversification matters. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If you’re niche centric, always keep an eye on trends, news, policies, as even one unfavorable development can prove to be catastrophic for your organization. And part of it is to stay abreast of Market research reports. This brings us to the next mistake i.e., entrepreneurs just jump in the business without any trustworthy market research report analysis, or understanding the core business processes. Let’s explore why entrepreneurs shouldn’t ever do the mistake of ‘ignoring market research’
Soon, we shall discuss other entrepreneur mistakes.
