Business
Today Paul looks at the 10 biggest mistakes many people make when starting a business. If you can avoid these mistakes when starting out it will save you a lot of time and shortcut your way to success. KEY TAKEAWAYS 1) Starting a business without any legal entity. People often don’t think of the legal protection needed. 2) Using a personal bank account for your business. Things can get very messy when using a personal bank account for your business. 3) Planning for the upside only. If you don’t plan for the downturns and downsides then you can be unpleasantly surprised. 4) Only understanding the industry you are in and not understanding the market. If you don’t understand the needs in your own market you might be offering the wrong things to the customer you are trying to get. 5) Working with friends and not business partners. The earlier you can separate the business side from the personal/friendship/family side the easier it will be as the business grows. 6) Doing everything yourself. 7) Not respecting Intellectual Property. Anything you do in a business is intellectual property, many entrepreneurs don’t respect and protect their intellectual property. 8) 50/50 partners. 50/50 partnerships don’t work because you need a decision maker. Who has the final say? 9) Not Validating Your Idea. You need to validate your idea with market research. Speak to your client, find out exactly what they want. 10) Not Investing in marketing. So many people do not invest in their marketing. In able to scale and grow you need to market effectively. Marketing is one of the most important things you can do for your business. BEST MOMENTS “If you avoid these mistakes you should shortcut your time and hopefully make a success of whatever venture it is you are doing” “Plan for that downside”. “They think it’s Noah Ark, that you will build this product…and people will just come because you have done it, they fail to invest in marketing”. VALUABLE RESOURCES BulletProof Business Podcast ABOUT THE HOST Paul Abercrombie Entrepreneur, Speaker, and Founder of Multiple Businesses. Paul is on a mission to help business owners and Entrepreneurs achieve success. "In 2008 I left my full-time job to follow my dream of owning my own business and building a better life for me and my family. Since then I have started 12 businesses, generated millions in sales revenue and employed hundreds of people. I have also had some epic failures, made many mistakes and it’s my mission to ensure other can learn from my experience, avoid the mistakes I have made and achieve success in both life and business!” CONTACT DETAILS Paul Abercrombie LinkedIn See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.