When you first start a new company, there's plenty of room for mistakes, from not managing cash flow to spending wasted dollars (and hours) on hires who aren't a good fit for the culture you're trying to create. To learn which business mistakes were truly game-changing, we asked nine successful young founders the following:
Q. What is the single biggest mistake you made when starting out (and how did you fix it)?
Their best answers are below:
1. Didn't Start Soon Enough
I was afraid I didn't have the right credentials. I was afraid of how I looked to people. I was afraid I didn't have enough money. I was afraid people wouldn't understand. I was afraid no one would like my work. But then I started, and none of that happened. I should have started sooner.
2. Spent Too Much on the Product and Left Nothing to Market It
My first company was a clothing line. I threw every dime I had in the world on developing the most kickass clothing I could. I was proud of all our items, our website and how everything looked and felt. However, when it came time to sell things, I was clueless. I spent all of my money on developing the product and had nothing left over for marketing! That company didn't succeed. Shocking, right?
- Travis Steffen, WorkoutBOX
3. Needed an Accountant
The single biggest mistake we made was trying to do our own books. To compound matters -- once we realized we were in over our heads -- we hired the first accountant we interviewed. He turned out to be a nightmare and cost us hundreds of hours of headaches (and more than a few dollars in fines!). Be sure to choose a financial partner who will be an asset, not a liability.
4. Tried to Act Bigger Than We Were
When I started my first company, we wanted to work with big ad agencies, so we thought we needed to appear big. We rented an office, spent thousands on material and branding and built a huge website. After a year, we added the word "boutique" to our description and went "small." Suddenly, the jobs began pouring in. You don't need to be bigger -- just better.
- Aron Schoenfeld, Do It In Person LLC
5. Was Not Persistent Enough
I started up four times and failed thrice. In the three times I failed, the one factor that stood out and mattered most was "persistence." If I had been persistent, I probably would not have failed. Now with the fourth venture, no matter how many unique challenges come my way, being persistent with my goals has helped me run my business successfully for over two years.
6. Didn't Hire for Culture
When we started, we hired the talent we were able to get and focused on skills -- someone who could get the job done. As we grew, we found that we were making bad decisions -- ones that didn't align with our values of customer service, integrity and positivity. This was making it harder to retain good talent, and we were stuck with the bad apples. We rebuilt in 2009 from the ground up!
- Shradha Agarwal, ContextMedia
7. Spent Too Much Money on Inventory
In the very beginning, I spent a lot of money on inventory. I thought my product would fly off the shelf, but it didn't. Now that I have new products and offerings, the initial investment in products is sitting in my attic, taking up space. If I were to do it over again, I wouldn't have spent so much money in the beginning, but I would have found a way to gauge demand.
- Angela Pan, Angela B. Pan Photography
8. Didn't Do Enough Client Research
It's way too easy to get caught up in an idea and forget to validate it with the intended audience. My first solo venture (niche photography) was a complete flop. I wasted precious time designing marketing materials, setting up speaking events and worrying about the pricing of a service that no one wanted. Now, I research and validate quickly and get the first sale before doing a lot of busy work.
- Kelly Azevedo, She's Got Systems
9. Wasted Time in the Wrong Places
When I started out growing my merchant services company, I spent far too much time in too many dead-end environments. I put too much stock in the idea that you never know where you can find a lead or who knows who -- I would spread myself thin by going to every networking opportunity I could. I quickly learned to focus with depth and specificity, rather than the opposite.
