As an entrepreneur, we all have the desire to succeed and the urge to reach our full potential. However, on the road to success, mistakes are bound to happen no matter how carefully we do things – a fact often forgotten!
Failure and success go hand in hand. It’s perfectly normal for mistakes to happen as long as we learn from our failures, embrace them and continue to move ahead. As an entrepreneur it is vital we don’t waste too much energy on the wrong things.
Alexander Rauser, Chief Executive Officer at Prototype, shares his top five entrepreneurial mistakes:
“I can do it all on my own”
One common mistake at the start of any business is thinking you can control everything and do all tasks by yourself. Based on my experience, delegation is one of the hardest things to learn. Most people think delegation is simply about giving some of your work to others, however, successful delegation actually means to properly brief people, teach them, empower them and make sure they have all they need to succeed.
“I’m not a “people-person”
Whatever your business, as an entrepreneur and a leader you will have to accept that you are effectively all about the people that work for you and you will eventually have to deal with them more than the actual product itself. You have to take care of their problems and you will spend a lot of time doing so. Not only your team, but other stakeholders such as customers, partners, etc. In order to do this well, you will first have to accept the challenge, and make sure you have tackled the first point.
“There’s no time to slow down”
Your business will transition through multiple stages while it matures and each stage will bring along a set of new requirements and challenges. From being a start-up to growing/ expanding your business, it is important not to skip or fast track your business growth. There is always the right team, the right process, and the right product for each period you are going through, if you can achieve this without compromising on quality, you have a winner!
“I needed the money”
Staying true to your values is the most important thing in your journey as an entrepreneur. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake to take on projects or side operations because they are in need of money. However, one bad project or one unhappy customer can have a negative impact on your business than what you could have fixed with 10 good ones. Deliver a service where people will say thank you rather than “keep the change”.
“I need a team with the best skills and qualifications”
If you practice long enough you can learn anything; most things we do are not even that complicated. However, what you can’t teach is motivation and attitude. The most important thing to look out for when hiring staff is to focus on their attitude, if they have the right one they will outperform skilled workers that lack it within no time.
Written by Alexander Rauser, Chief Executive Officer, Prototype.