Spare a Newb - Early Mistakes You Made In Your Business

thamonsta

thamonsta

Joined
Oct 3, 2014
Messages
90
Likes
76
Degree
0
Been reflecting today and I think this could make a good thread.

I made the mistake of being "scared money". I was afraid to spend money on my business because I wasn't making any money online. Then I realized that a few bucks here or there is insignificant in the big picture because if I succeed then it's a drop in the ocean, if I fail then at least I didn't drag my feet getting there.

Wondering if anyone else is brave enough to share some mistakes they made or things they were wrong about??? They don't even have to be early mistakes. It could be a mistake you made this week.
 
In my first company that I built up to $500,000 Sales per year, I made a big mistake of not using an accountant early on and also being the only employee. I had a car crash and that ended up in the business failing as I could not run it for 8 or so weeks. I should have automated and outsourced much earlier on, instead I BECAME the business!
 
Be honest with yourself about how much time and effort you're ready to put into your new project. You may write down that you want to hit your goal revenue/traffic/sales/whatever in X amount of time....but are you REALLY prepared to work like a beast for that entire period?

And, when I say work, I mean actively working for that entire period. You can throw as much money as you want at VAs, employees, link builders, etc...but you'll need to be on top of them the entire time to make sure they're doing what's necessary to hit your goals.

TL;DR

Don't underestimate the time you have to put into your business.
 
  • Don't spread yourself too thin. I once decided to build a half-a-hundred site MFA empire early on when I started. Guess how many got the attention they deserved? None.
  • Don't carry ridiculous overhead when the return isn't as great. The ROI may be low for any number of reasons. Solve it or drop the overhead.
  • Don't build a glass house on receding sand when the tide is obviously coming in...
 
If youre new, do it yourself. Learn the basics of design, programming, etc. Its idiotic to think that $InsertOverseasWorkerHere will give you exactly what you want, on time, and within budget when you yourself have no idea the capabilities of the technology.

For example, I had a WP developer work on some sites for me. He logged $250 worth of hours. I inspected his work and realized he was doing it manually. He could have just made a script -_- You can't outsource intelligence.

Oh man, I have so many stories of that...

Also, PAY ON DELIVERY. INSIST ON THIS. It'll save you weeks of delays.

Also, a KEY one here, Never hire someone who replies to a question with "yes sir hire me hire me" or something like that. That person's objective is to make money by leeching hours off of you. Hire professionals, you'll pay more per hour but it'll be done right, sooner, on time, and cost you less in the long run.

You run a company and your staff *is* your company. Pick, lead, guidance, mentor, train, educate, and treat them well. Otherwise, you'll *be* the company as @Stephen said, which is just another level of employment.

Be realistic with yourself, you can't work 16 hour days every day, 7 days a week. There is a country whose people do that and its North Korea. Look where it has gotten them.

Begin with your objective in mind. Proper planning prevents piss poor performance.
 
Losing sight of my goal. Getting distracted by the money making "ideas" of some sorts.
 
Take advantage of every moment, unless you planned on taking time off. Procrastination, waiting till "later," thinking you have all the time in the world... Don't. Do what you want to be doing, business or otherwise. The more time you waste taking in crappy entertainment instead of chasing your goals or taking in awesome entertainment is time lost that you will not get back. Take it from an old man. Get to where you want to be or die trying. The last thing you want is to be laying on your death bed with regrets about would could have been.
 
Don't over think, over prepare, or over-anything that causes you to under-perform.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back