Mistakes are inevitable. However, there are several mistakes new entrepreneurs make that are completely avoidable, and I should know. I made every single one of them on my own journey.
Entrepreneurship is a tricky path that requires both patience and determination to overcome obstacles and make forward progress. The allure for me has always been the uncapped earning potential, the involvement with truly meaningful work and most importantly, control over my time. Remember, if this were easy, everyone would do it. I assure you they are not.
If you are currently traveling the same path or considering it, this guide could save you a ton of time and money. Most people who think about becoming entrepreneurs never take action because of the fear of failure and their own limiting beliefs. For those who do test the waters, a significant majority fail within a few short years. So my sincere hope is that this information minimizes the chances of that happening to you.
This world needs more independent thinkers willing to take risks and disrupt mainstream thinking. Congrats on taking another small step toward a better future.
Here are the 10 mistakes new entrepreneurs make that I made firsthand, and how you can avoid them.
Mistake 1: Seeking Advice From Friends and Family Who Have Never Built a Business
This is an extremely common mistake. It seems like the logical choice to seek approval from your parents and your best friend, because we go to them for most significant matters in life.
This is one scenario where that is a terrible idea.
There are three types of people you will encounter. The first are bystanders who offer you nothing at all. The second are like boat anchors. They prevent your upward movement and can pull you even lower. The third group is the minority. These are the uplifters, the people you actually want to be around. Family and close friends who have spent their whole lives as employees usually make up the first two groups.
Would you go to a butcher to get lessons on flying a plane? Would you ask a baby for grammar advice? Would you call your plumber to describe your symptoms when you are sick? You see my point. If someone has not been successful in the area where you seek guidance, they don’t get an opinion. Plain and simple.
Another problem with seeking advice from these folks is the negativity. Their heart is usually in the right place, but they believe inaction equates to safety. Some won’t support your ideas at all and will become some of your worst critics for reasons only they understand.
How to Avoid It
Seek out the right people. Asking the right questions of a qualified group is the only feedback that should matter to you. Find successful people in your niche and study how they do things. Look at their websites, watch their social channels and learn as much as you can about their journey. I strongly encourage you to reach out to them too. What is the worst that could happen?
Mistake 2: Failing to Focus on Sales Above Everything Else
Brand new entrepreneurs frequently fall victim to running out of money. Believe me friends, this is not hard to do. You will burn through your savings and any earnings you generate at a much higher rate than you plan when you are first getting started.
Do yourself a favor and pursue a few income streams from the beginning to increase your odds of survival. A few different products or services is a good start. This is also why a side hustle is a great idea. Initially, I ignored this and it came back to haunt me later when my savings hit zero.
Designing a website is fun. Setting up your social media is fun. But you need to spend a majority of your time pursuing clients and chasing down leads. Hint: if your business generates no income, you actually just have an expensive hobby.
How to Avoid It
This mistake kills new startups, so avoid it at all costs. Save all the money you can, reduce your monthly expenses and consider starting as a side hustle. The idea is to slow the drain on your financial resources while you build up your cash flow. Sales at this stage is straight up business development. Rejection comes with the territory. It’s a numbers game, so the more you try, the more you’ll fail and succeed.
Mistake 3: Failing to Know Exactly What You Want
Do you know what you want? I mean exactly. Originally, I knew the general direction I wanted to head, and that led to a vague vision and even vaguer goals. What a waste of time.
You should know what your life will look like when you get to the place you want to go. How will it feel? Once you have narrowly defined what you want, you’ll start being more intentional and precise with your actions. This is a never-ending, evolving process.
If you aim small, you’ll also miss small. So don’t be scared to aim really, really high. This is also known as knowing your why. If you don’t know your reason for everything you are trying to do, you may give up when things get really tough.
How to Avoid It
Start with why and stop worrying about how. Why do you want to work for yourself? What are you hoping to accomplish? How does this affect your family if you achieve it? What would your life look like if you didn’t take a chance? When logic and the support of others leaves you, your why is all you have left.
Mistake 4: Thinking Hard Work Alone Is Enough
Although hard work is required for success, it is not enough by itself. Mindset is another huge piece of the puzzle. Once I believed in my vision and my abilities, I was on my way. The challenge is overcoming the thinking most of us have. So I realized my only real competition was myself, and that nagging voice within.
I have since replaced the nagging one with a more positive voice, and this can change the game for you too. Once I turned my fear into fuel, I felt unstoppable.
You need focus, strategy, persistence and unwavering resilience to prepare for all the failures that lead up to your eventual success. Hard work is just one component.
How to Avoid It
The easiest way to see what it takes is to look at the path of those who came before you. Why waste your time and money trying to reinvent the wheel? Develop habits of success using a simple framework. Choose a 90 day goal. Develop three 30 day goals that will get you there. Then for each 30 day period, work backward to determine what you need to accomplish each week. From there, take each week as a goal and determine the daily habits required to hit it.
Mistake 5: Thinking Coaching and Mentoring Were Unnecessary
I am great at seeing opportunities for other entrepreneurs, but I am not so good at honest self-assessment. When I finally found a few people who could really challenge me, I started encouraging them to give me feedback. This made me stronger and sharper in everything I do. They pointed out areas where I was strong and not taking advantage. I wouldn’t have caught onto this on my own.
Everyone serious about success needs coaches, mentors or advisers in their corner. This is true for athletes, actors, vocalists and entrepreneurs. They help you see in yourself what others see in you. The additional perspective will become a competitive advantage.
How to Avoid It
As soon as you finish reading this, seek out like-minded people you can network with and learn from. This could be a LinkedIn group, a local group in your area or one you start yourself. Make a point to seek out a mentor doing things you aspire to do. I would also strongly suggest personalized coaching if you are serious about your business idea or existing startup.
Mistake 6: Trying to Be Great at Everything
This is not necessary at all, and the results were beyond frustrating. I now know I am really good at a few things and average or worse in others. So everyone can say the same about themselves. It is a better use of my time to play to my strengths and focus on going from good to great in those areas.
Surround yourself with others who have a different skill set than you. This has been one of the hardest lessons for me to learn, because I am stubborn and too prideful sometimes. The lesson has been worth its weight in gold.
Now that I have delegated some responsibilities, I am much happier and have more time to do what I do best. It only requires a small leap of faith.
How to Avoid It
Play to your strengths and hire other people to help where you are weak. If you are wondering how to afford traditional employees, stop. Location independent contractors are the way to go. Sites like Upwork and Fiverr work well, and I have used both with success. The secret lies in what you can accomplish with your newly available time.
Mistake 7: Failing to Set a Limited Number of Daily Goals
My daily goals were once vague and overwhelming. This often left me feeling further behind than before I started. Plus, I had far too many goals on my list in any given day. So I frequently failed to get them all done. After realizing I wasn’t making enough progress to justify my exhaustion, I simplified and clarified my daily goals.
Now I focus on specific content creation, products and clearly defined personal development activities. As the weeks go by, I can see my forward progress, and I still have some sense of balance in my life.
How to Avoid It
Try choosing five goals a day to strive for and reach. I am a fan of seven day a week goals, not five, because you lose momentum on the weekends. Maybe you shoot for two or three on Saturday and Sunday to carry your momentum into Monday. Your daily goals should move you closer to weekly goals. Then your weekly goals position you to reach your monthly goals and 90 day goals.
A simple example. Monday through Friday, read 10 pages, work out for 30 minutes, reach out to 10 potential clients, work on social media follower growth and work on special projects. Saturday and Sunday, read 15 pages and prep for the next week.
What would your world look like if you ran that plan for just 30 days?
Mistake 8: Failing to Take Care of My Mind and Body
This is a mistake I have made over and over again. It’s easy to do for a night owl like me. I would work a full time job, spend time as a father and husband, then grind at night until the wee hours of the morning. So it sounds like a solid plan since most side hustles look like this. Ignoring sleep and a fitness plan is a big mistake.
Sleep allows the mind to sort through everything you have done. You regain clarity after adequate rest. I shoot for six to seven hours a night. Anything less than five is rough, and less than four is insane.
Some kind of fitness plan is essential too. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy. Regular exercise and weight training offer benefits far beyond what you’d think. When you start working out consistently, you eat better too. That helps your performance and the quality of your sleep.
How to Avoid It
Make sleep, eating right and working out a priority. Launching a startup is hard enough. Don’t stack the odds against yourself. It all begins and ends with sleep. If you don’t get regular quality sleep, the other two areas don’t matter as much. Once your sleep is dialed in, work raw fruits and vegetables into your daily meals along with lots of water.
A workout plan can be as simple as walking, jogging, pushups, crunches and flexibility movements. Add a chair and some adjustable dumbbells, and you can do a lot.
Mistake 9: Failing to Conduct Market Research Before Launching
I had always been an instincts guy. I trusted my gut on everything, and I once argued that was all that was needed for successful product launches. Other people believed in looking at the data, but I remained steadfast that none of it applied to me.
Nothing like a failed product launch will get your attention more quickly. Read that line again and learn from my pain. When you invest money and time into a product built on gut instinct, and nothing happens, it forces you to evaluate your methods.
I started to realize that selling a process was not what people wanted. Some people want to buy a solution.
How to Avoid It
Instincts are still something I pay close attention to, but not for products or services. Instincts backed by data are powerful, because that combination offers validation. Use a tool like SurveyMonkey to create a short poll and share it on your social channels. Shorter surveys get more participation. So bounce your ideas off your Mastermind group, mentors and coaches. Watch and emulate others who have done something similar with evidence of success. Use your uniqueness to your advantage and give your audience what they want.
Mistake 10: Personal Development Wasn’t Part of My Daily Ritual
Once upon a time, I didn’t read anything and had never heard of a podcast. After receiving my Master’s degree, I had stopped striving for continued growth. I had treated my advanced degree as a finish line instead of a milestone. So many people do the same thing and wonder why their career becomes stagnant.
When my pain of staying the same exceeded my hatred of reading, I started cracking books open again. The self-help and business books were different than I expected. I found myself considering new perspectives.
I started with The Magic of Thinking Big by Dr. David J. Schwartz, and I was never the same. Then another book, then another. I have found that reading 15 pages of a book a day is a great way to complete 12 to 15 books per year, and it doesn’t take up too much time.
How to Avoid It
Start with reading five pages a day. Work your way up to 10, then 15. Pick a podcast or two and start listening each week. If you are a reader but don’t know where to begin, check out audiobooks. Mix up the topics from leadership to productivity and everything in between. It keeps things interesting and keeps you growing in different areas.
The Mistakes New Entrepreneurs Make Are All Avoidable
I wrote this in the hopes I could save you time, money and resources by learning from my own missteps. Launching a startup can be confusing, challenging and overwhelming at times. So if you never had a partner in this journey, you certainly do now.
The mistakes new entrepreneurs make all share one thing in common. They are avoidable when you know what to look for. I’ll keep making mistakes along my own journey, and so will you. The key is finding the learning opportunity in each setback.
I’d love to hear your feedback on this resource. Reach out to me personally if you need anything at all.
Did you enjoy this? Here are three ways to go deeper:
🎙 Listen to the Intentional AI Daily Podcast — Listen here.
📋 Grab the Intentional Growth Framework — Get it here.
📅 Book a Discovery Call — Grab a time here.