Mistakes Most First-Time Entrepreneurs Do | Part 2

When it comes to running a business, it’s never easy. A lot of mistakes are made until we learn the main principles of a successful enterprise. I made a lot of mistakes too, so did many other entrepreneurs I met. That’s what this post is about – the mistakes first-time entrepreneurs do. This is part two so make sure you’ve read the first post before reading this one. And if you did, continue reading!

Mistake No. 4: Undervaluing Customer Experience

Another common mistake that I noticed is undervaluing customer experience. Every entrepreneur knows that customer service and customer experience are key elements of business success. However, most of them only “know” this but actually don’t pay enough attention to them. For example, when it comes to packaging, a lot of first-time entrepreneurs pack their products decently but Amazon or eBay also pack their items decently. But this is not an option if you want to turn your one – time buyers into your loyal customers. You have to make sure every aspect of customer experience is smooth and perfect. It has to be easy to navigate on your website, it has to be super easy and not time-consuming to order your products and, most importantly, your buyer has to be truly satisfied with the package and the product he or she receives. I suggest you make a list of customer experience touch-points, then go yourself through this list and evaluate them in scale from 1 to 5 stars. Once you’ll do this, go through this list again and make the changes that are needed. Eventually, everything has to have 5 points. Oh, and make sure your packaging looks sophisticated and has some kind of surprise in it (maybe a handwritten Thank You note?). Remember, customer experience is crucial to your business success so… make it perfect!

Mistake No. 5: Saving on Marketing

The marketing budget is too often forgotten by first-time entrepreneurs. It’s great if you have a magnificent idea how to raise awareness of your brand without spending on marketing but, in my experience, only some people can grow their real followers base without paid traffic, original and well-made content or influencers. Of course, you can create high-quality content by yourself but if you want your target audience to see it, you have to pay for it whether it’s Google, Facebook or Instagram Ads, or other marketing materials. Without paying for some kind of marketing, you can reach people but if you want to reach the right people who have the potential to become your customers you must use targeted ads. I’ve talked about marketing budget with a lot of entrepreneurs and almost all of them confessed that they were surprised when they found out how much it cost to get a new follower, a like, a share or a comment and most of them were shocked by the price of a new customer. Despite that, without ads it will be extremely difficult to bring traffic to your brand, especially to your website, not to speak of an orde. You must think about your marketing budget beforehand and don’t save on it because without marketing your business will stay where it is.

Mistake No.6: Giving Up Too Soon

The final mistake of first-time entrepreneurs is giving up too soon. Why? Usually, because they make some of the mistakes mentioned above, that leads to time and money waste, causes stress, lowers self-esteem, raises doubts about the business idea and because of that people give up. In my opinion, it’s the worst thing that can happen to a creative minded person because you had an idea that thrilled you so much but now you are going to admit it’s never going to become real. By giving up too soon you might harm yourself mentally and regret this all your life. In most cases, it’s up to you to decide when there’s no way further so be smart, patient and always look for opportunities even when it seems there’s none.

I wish I knew these mistakes a few years ago when I was starting my own enterprise but at least I know them now. If you are about to start your enterprise or maybe you already run one, pay attention to these aspects and avoid these mistakes because they do no good for you. Be patient, work consistently, ask for help when you need it (and for advice when there’s a chance!), don’t change your mind over and over again, concentrate on customers experience and actually make it perfect, save where you can and spend that money on marketing, and, most importantly, never give up.

Besides, I’m always here to help you with customer experience so don’t hesitate and drop a line if you have any questions!

Cheers!