How to be an Entrepreneur: Its Pitfalls and other Issues to Avoid. Part I

Those people who don't run a business think that entrepreneurs become successful because of certain lucky circumstances. Such belief sounds a little naive. In the real world, entrepreneurs are those people who just aren't afraid to make mistakes and don't scare losses, disappointments, and get up every time after falling. Moreover, successful entrepreneurs keep making different mistakes again and again until they achieve what they want.

We've identified the most common mistakes and obstacles on the road to the position of a successful entrepreneur. Since a businessman is a real person who lives, learns, and works in a society, most of the problems are in the area of the human factor. To be a high-leveled entrepreneur, matter the responsible attitude to own business, to itself, and the formation of an intimate environment.

1. We all don't know where we're going

TheYellow_sky_and_building entrepreneurs who don't have an exact business plan and don't have clear steps for the development aren't as rare as one can think. Every second entrepreneur behaves like that. But the ignorance of where we are and what we want from our business makes us the "unknown someone who wanders in the unknown somewhere."

Don't forget to clear your goals at an early stage of your business. It's essential because if you can't explain where your company is going, it'll be harder for you to lead people, maintain a team of professionals, have productive partnerships, and seek investors.

Stop from time to time and ask yourself where you're going and analyze for what goal.

2. We are afraid of making mistakes

What'sYellow_sky_and_building2 similar between entrepreneurs from all over the world? Absolutely all of them make mistakes. Absolutely all humans aren't perfect and sometimes can get into trouble because of lack of experience or pure coincidence, or through a bunch of other reasons. No wonder the concept of a human factor exists.

The first step in avoiding a mistake or resolving the consequences of it is an identification of the real issue. Solving the problem begins with an awareness of its existence. To overcome fear, we need to change the attitude to business and risk. Notice, screwing up is a regular practice. Believe that mistakes are an integral part of the development of any business and that it's reasonable to start again if something fails.

The strategy of protecting yourself from stress waiting for some blessing, won't lead to a better future. Doing nothing means you feel comfortable in that way, but you should completely understand that changes can't come from nothing.

Not to be afraid of making mistakes doesn't mean to be irresponsible. It means not to hide behind for fears, but to act! The character of the famous movie "Home Alone 2," Kevin McCallister said wise words, and entrepreneurs should also remember them:

"I had a nice pair of Rollerblades. I was afraid to wreck them... so I kept them in a box. Do you know what happened? I outgrew them."

If you'll not use your idea, who cares if it fails? If we keep it to ourselves, maybe it'll be like with Kevin's rollerblades?

If you study in detail the biography of large entrepreneurs, you'll see that all of them had one common feature. They all had ups and downs, and there were a lot of falls. Various sizes and different amounts of losses, but none of the well-known and successful people didn't despair and didn't give up their aspirations.

We tend to follow a seductive axiom - it's better not to do anything and not to lose than to try and fail. It's very tempting, so we become a victim of fear and waiting even without knowing what exactly. It's wrong. The fear of failure shouldn't control our actions.

How can you escape from the paws of fear? Ask yourself three clear questions and give an honest answer to yourself:

  1. What awaits me if I dare, and I succeed?

    2. Think about what you get, what new opportunities you'll open. Feel the pleasure of your efforts and get inspired by the result.

  2. What happens if I dare, and the idea will not work?

    3. Seriously think about this case and take it as a reality. What do you feel, and can you accept the results? Think about whether you have a way to solve the problem and eliminate the consequences. Are you ready to find solutions to problems and fix the situation if needed?

    And you know what? More than 90% of failures are reversible, and a small chance to fail is not something that can force you not to try.

  3. What awaits me if I do not dare?

    4. Ask yourself what happens if you do nothing. Neither succeed option nor fail. Ask yourself if you are happy with this. If everything is fine enough and your life has not become somehow globally different; if you can happily live further, you can see opportunities for something new and without risky steps - maybe this is your variant.

3. We do everything at once

At some point in development, we must understand that we can quickly lose ourselves in the constant rhythm of multitasking. We need to be able to arrange our schedule in such a way that we can change roles, but don't play all of them at once. Many scientific studies prove that the desire to do everything and at once is unsafe for our psyche. Plus, it's incredibly ineffective. When you divide your attention, then you don't focus on no task with the necessary concentration.

4. We know better than others

At some point, the businessman is inclined to pick up a fever of excellence. It means that we're convinced we're able and know absolutely everything. And instead of sharing our knowledge and experience when a team appears, we continue to give nobody the right to do work. What do we have as a result? The team doesn't know what to do and how to do it, and we're too tired.

Stop! It's time to learn to delegate tasks and learn to share your knowledge. To do this, you'll need to tell and teach your team what to do. It's very tempting to do everything faster and do it by yourself, but in reality, when you invest time resources and endeavors to people around you, they begin to unload your time. It allows you to engage in other things, such as planning and developing your business.

In the next part of the article, you will learn more about the crafty traps that are waiting for entrepreneurs: