If you want to start a business, there are things that you need to do and there are also things that you must never ever do if you want it to be profitable. What are those things that you should avoid when you are starting a business?
First, you must not try to plagiarize others
There is a thin line between being inspired and being someone who plagiarizes others. When you are starting your own business, having creativity is paramount to for success. If you decide to plagiarize others, then there is no way your business can be as successful as you would have like. Find a unique brand image for yourself. If you cannot find one, register yourself with a franchise, not plagiarize them.
This is the most common of newbie mistakes. Newbies thought that by having a similar business model or business name will bring instant success for them. This is, by far, the wrongest way of thinking when you are starting a business. Be creative and be yourself only, never try to emulate others.
Second, you must never doubt yourself and sell yourself short
A good businessman or businesswoman is someone who is confident in their ability to sell something. If you doubt yourself, then there is no way you can have your business grow. Do not ever sell yourself short and make sure that you never showed a hint of weakness. Always be modest when you are handling the customers, but never show modesty in your advertisements. Tell potential customers why your business is the business that they should choose.
But even though that you must not sell yourself too short, you must also not sell yourself too high. Overconfidence can be a good thing to have, but if the confidence comes because you are lying to yourself or to your customers, it will be a false sense of confidence. Do not ever lie to your customer because your customers are the people who will bring you your money.
You must never be like a fish in the barrel
A fish in a barrel is a fish that cannot move freely and is easy to kill. Your business must never be a fish in the barrel for the other businesses. You need to innovate and to never show weaknesses to your competitors. Some competitors would not care with your business, but there are some who is willing to dirty their hands to bring your business down.
To prevent your business from being gruesomely ‘killed’, you need to find ways to be better than your opponents. This means innovation after innovation. Do not stop if you do not want your business to die an early death.
You must never give in to failure
When you have failed in your endeavour, it is imperative for you not to give in to said failure. Failures are something that you will see again and again when you are starting a business. If you have not seen a single failure, high chance that you got kissed by miss fortune. Not many have that privilege, though, and many have failed when they start a business.
However, when you have failed, you also need to consider what fails you. If you persevere in front of failure yet you still keep doing the same thing that makes you fail, then you are no smarter than a fish who tried to climb a tree. Think about what makes you fail and rectify the problems you might have.
Never listen to negative comments
The comments can come from you or from someone else you know. Those bad comments will more often than not bring a cloud of doubt looming over your head. Listen to those with advices in it, but never heed those who would only bring doubt to your mind. This is very important because a successful business depends on doubtless acts.
Last but not least, never be too prideful to ask for help
Asking for help is very human, actually. When you are starting a business, chances are that you are still in the dark with everything. In those moments, asking for a help is not something that you should be ashamed of. If you have someone that you can ask questions to, you must always ask them the necessary questions. Asking questions can help your business grow and it can also help keep your business alive. In fact, every successful business always starts with a question.
That is all there is to it about the things that you must not do when you are starting a business. Remember that even when you need to be fearless and confident when you are starting a business, you must always be ready to humble yourself. Ask questions when you need to and never listen to comments that can bring you down. Only after you are done with it that you can be a successful entrepreneur.
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