s thrown at it, and the whole empire comes tumbling down. Make sure to diversify your efforts and business ideas into many businesses that each get it’s chance to play out and make you money. If one fails, you will not only gain the learning experience, but you will not be left desolate and broke because you’d have your other businesses keeping you afloat. This is something every entrepreneur should aim for.

Business Mistake #3: Putting your Marketing Efforts on Hiatus when you achieve the sales you are looking for: This is a GIANT, HUGE, BIG, FAT NO-NO! I see this mistake like everyday, mostly in small to medium sized businesses. Once you have achieved th

Ever wondered why so many businesses see their demise before they obtain their 5-year mark? If you’ve ever thought about starting a business, running a business, creating a business plan, or even becoming self-employed, this blog article is for you. I strive to keep an overall focus on the business world as a whole, since an important key to business success is knowing a little about a lot. Since not many business owners don’t know a lot about the world of business besides their own little sector or industry, most are oblivious as to how the business world in it’s entirety can affect their little business in their own little corner of the world. This leads right into mistake #1!

Business Mistake #1 - Not keeping up with the ENTIRE world of business: I find it so odd that many business owners don’t take the time to look outside of their own little boxes of problems, cashflow issues, employee conflicts and office drama to see what’s really going on out there that is directly and indirectly affecting their business’s bottom line. If you are a manufacturer that produces a product using PVC materials, you will always need to keep an eye on the oil prices. Oil prices directly affect the cost of PVC almost immediately. To have a better grasp of oil prices and when they may go up, a good market to take a closer look at is China because their use of oil dramatically affects our prices here in the U.S.A.

China’s oil consumption has climbed dramatically in the past few years, simply because more of them are buying vehicles instead of bicycles. If you were that manufacturing owner who read the story of China’s conversion from the bike to the automobile, you could have had a good idea that the oil prices were going up in America, thus giving you the time to prepare monetarily, and business-wise; whether you’d be adjusting your prices accordingly, or simply giving your accounting manager the heads up on upcoming oil prices. This is just one example of many ways you can see the complete business world as your territory.

Business Mistake #2: Putting all of your Eggs in One Basket: I know, I know.. we’ve heard this saying a million times, especially when it comes to the stock market. Analyst will tell you to diversify and to not put all of your eggs in one basket. This same concept holds true for business owners and potential entrepreneurs everywhere. If you are a potential business owner with a great and new idea for an awesome business, make sure you have a back-up plan…and even better, other income streams. Creating multiple revenue streams is paramount for any entrepreneur, because the balance of business is fragile. One stone gets thrown at it, and the whole empire comes tumbling down. Make sure to diversify your efforts and business ideas into many businesses that each get it’s chance to play out and make you money. If one fails, you will not only gain the learning experience, but you will not be left desolate and broke because you’d have your other businesses keeping you afloat. This is something every entrepreneur should aim for.

Business Mistake #3: Putting your Marketing Efforts on Hiatus when you achieve the sales you are looking for: This is a GIANT, HUGE, BIG, FAT NO-NO! I see this mistake like everyday, mostly in small to medium sized businesses. Once you have achieved the

into mistake #1!

Business Mistake #1 - Not keeping up with the ENTIRE world of business: I find it so odd that many business owners don’t take the time to look outside of their own little boxes of problems, cashflow issues, employee conflicts and office drama to see what’s really going on out there that is directly and indirectly affecting their business’s bottom line. If you are a manufacturer that produces a product using PVC materials, you will always need to keep an eye on the oil prices. Oil prices directly affect the cost of PVC almost immediately. To have a better grasp of oil prices and when they may go up, a good market to take a closer look at is China because their use of oil dramatically affects our prices here in the U.S.A.

China’s oil consumption has climbed dramatically in the past few years, simply because more of them are buying vehicles instead of bicycles. If you were that manufacturing owner who read the story of China’s conversion from the bike to the automobile, you could have had a good idea that the oil prices were going up in America, thus giving you the time to prepare monetarily, and business-wise; whether you’d be adjusting your prices accordingly, or simply giving your accounting manager the heads up on upcoming oil prices. This is just one example of many ways you can see the complete business world as your territory.

Business Mistake #2: Putting all of your Eggs in One Basket: I know, I know.. we’ve heard this saying a million times, especially when it comes to the stock market. Analyst will tell you to diversify and to not put all of your eggs in one basket. This same concept holds true for business owners and potential entrepreneurs everywhere. If you are a potential business owner with a great and new idea for an awesome business, make sure you have a back-up plan…and even better, other income streams. Creating multiple revenue streams is paramount for any entrepreneur, because the balance of business is fragile. One stone gets thrown at it, and the whole empire comes tumbling down. Make sure to diversify your efforts and business ideas into many businesses that each get it’s chance to play out and make you money. If one fails, you will not only gain the learning experience, but you will not be left desolate and broke because you’d have your other businesses keeping you afloat. This is something every entrepreneur should aim for.

Business Mistake #3: Putting your Marketing Efforts on Hiatus when you achieve the sales you are looking for: This is a GIANT, HUGE, BIG, FAT NO-NO! I see this mistake like everyday, mostly in small to medium sized businesses. Once you have achieved th

China because their use of oil dramatically affects our prices here in the U.S.A.

China’s oil consumption has climbed dramatically in the past few years, simply because more of them are buying vehicles instead of bicycles. If you were that manufacturing owner who read the story of China’s conversion from the bike to the automobile, you could have had a good idea that the oil prices were going up in America, thus giving you the time to prepare monetarily, and business-wise; whether you’d be adjusting your prices accordingly, or simply giving your accounting manager the heads up on upcoming oil prices. This is just one example of many ways you can see the complete business world as your territory.

Business Mistake #2: Putting all of your Eggs in One Basket: I know, I know.. we’ve heard this saying a million times, especially when it comes to the stock market. Analyst will tell you to diversify and to not put all of your eggs in one basket. This same concept holds true for business owners and potential entrepreneurs everywhere. If you are a potential business owner with a great and new idea for an awesome business, make sure you have a back-up plan…and even better, other income streams. Creating multiple revenue streams is paramount for any entrepreneur, because the balance of business is fragile. One stone gets thrown at it, and the whole empire comes tumbling down. Make sure to diversify your efforts and business ideas into many businesses that each get it’s chance to play out and make you money. If one fails, you will not only gain the learning experience, but you will not be left desolate and broke because you’d have your other businesses keeping you afloat. This is something every entrepreneur should aim for.

Business Mistake #3: Putting your Marketing Efforts on Hiatus when you achieve the sales you are looking for: This is a GIANT, HUGE, BIG, FAT NO-NO! I see this mistake like everyday, mostly in small to medium sized businesses. Once you have achieved th

mplete business world as your territory.

Business Mistake #2: Putting all of your Eggs in One Basket: I know, I know.. we’ve heard this saying a million times, especially when it comes to the stock market. Analyst will tell you to diversify and to not put all of your eggs in one basket. This same concept holds true for business owners and potential entrepreneurs everywhere. If you are a potential business owner with a great and new idea for an awesome business, make sure you have a back-up plan…and even better, other income streams. Creating multiple revenue streams is paramount for any entrepreneur, because the balance of business is fragile. One stone gets thrown at it, and the whole empire comes tumbling down. Make sure to diversify your efforts and business ideas into many businesses that each get it’s chance to play out and make you money. If one fails, you will not only gain the learning experience, but you will not be left desolate and broke because you’d have your other businesses keeping you afloat. This is something every entrepreneur should aim for.

Business Mistake #3: Putting your Marketing Efforts on Hiatus when you achieve the sales you are looking for: This is a GIANT, HUGE, BIG, FAT NO-NO! I see this mistake like everyday, mostly in small to medium sized businesses. Once you have achieved th

s thrown at it, and the whole empire comes tumbling down. Make sure to diversify your efforts and business ideas into many businesses that each get it’s chance to play out and make you money. If one fails, you will not only gain the learning experience, but you will not be left desolate and broke because you’d have your other businesses keeping you afloat. This is something every entrepreneur should aim for.

Business Mistake #3: Putting your Marketing Efforts on Hiatus when you achieve the sales you are looking for: This is a GIANT, HUGE, BIG, FAT NO-NO! I see this mistake like everyday, mostly in small to medium sized businesses. Once you have achieved the kind of sales you are aiming for, keep up the marketing momentum. Many business owners will slow down their marketing efforts once they are happy with the income flow for the month, but this can lead to disaster. It is our natural instinct as humans to stop trying to obtain more work if we are already bogged down with a ton of work. Most business owners strive to get to that point where they feel they have too much work, but they never plan for what happens once they really do have too much work to handle! No amount of business should be too much. Plan for growth and don’t stop marketing for any reason, or your company's growth will definitely be stifled!

Business Mistake #4: Not Hiring ”People”: When we talk about having “people” or needing to speak to our “people” about something, it often comes off snobby in a way. When you are a blooming business owner with barely enough time to eat and shower, having “people” becomes something of a necessity rather than a luxury. I am not talking about a maid or a pool cleaner, although you can consider having people very similar to having a maid since they clean up your messes! Your “people” should include a trusted (I stress trusted) accountant, lawyer, and marketing expert. When a business comes to a certain point, these three people are imperative to your business’s stability, and eventual growth. Trying to take on these tasks yourself could mean more headache for you in the long-run. Each aspect of these people’s jobs secure an aspect of your business. Think about it, and then call around to find YOUR people!

Business Mistake #5: Lowering your Prices to Get the Sale: I am guilty of this 100%. Business owners who are experiencing a lag in sales and growth will sometimes jump at an opportunity to convert a prospect into a client… even at the sake of breaking even, or losing money on the project or product! The worst part is, most business owners don’t even realize they broke even or lost money on that client until the project is done, and they are sitting with the same client who is demanding the same prices again. Once they tell their friends and colleagues what a deal they got, you’d be inclined to give the same price reductions to those referred people; thus lowering the perceived value of your product or service! Perceived value is extremely important, since most large companies only thrive because of it. Imagine Versace or Vera Wang selling a custom dress for $20? It doesn’t happen, since Versace only makes the finest and priciest clothes around! If she went around selling her work for $20, her name, business and rep would be tarnished. The same holds true for your business. Y