Many entrepreneurs are guilty of obliviously sabotaging their success by falling victim to certain behaviors and thought-patterns. Entrepreneurship is a constantly evolving world with no set rules on how to succeed, it’s easy to become overwhelmed or fall victim to bad advice. Get back on track by avoiding these 10 common blunders that may just be holding you back from true success.
1. Focusing on Too Many Tasks at Once
The most common mistake that both the inexperienced and experienced make on a daily basis is attempting to juggle far too many things at once. Begin every day with a prioritized list of tasks that must be done and stick with a specific work schedule.
2. Overload of Information
An overabundance of information can indeed be a bad thing for an entrepreneur since it distracts you from actually getting work done. Focus on only gathering information from those who are doing what you want to succeed.
3. Nonexistent Reachable Goals
It’s easy to understand the numerous benefits of having goals, especially as an entrepreneur. One of the biggest mistakes is creating huge goals that will take many months or years to achieve. Creating daily, weekly, and monthly goals will keep you on track and reinforce your success.
4. Sloppy Email Communication
Overuse of “emoticons”, common text phrases such as “lol”, as well as improper sentence structure and grammar can give a bad impression of yourself and your brand.
5. Promises Made Aren’t Kept
Never, ever make a promise that you may not be able to keep. Not only will it make you look foolish, but it will tarnish your reputation.
6. Patience is Easily Lost
Building a brand takes time and plenty of patience. Remember that, while things may seem slow right now, they will pick up. Instant gratification isn’t always possible, nor the best choice in the long run.
7. Constantly Blaming Others
No one in the business world likes people who constantly pass the buck to make up for their own mistakes. Though it may be embarrassing, owning up to a mistake will show you are a responsible individual and you strive for your brand to have a trustworthy reputation.
8. Lack of Diligence
Getting the ball rolling then sitting back and waiting isn’t going to get you anywhere. Be diligent with your business and stay motivated. Strive to better your brand everyday rather than expect success to find you.
9. Striving for Perfection
It’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to perfect something before making it available to the public. This is actually a huge waste of your time. Focus on creating a great product and releasing it. One finished product is worth far more to your brand than hundreds of unfinished products.
10. Laziness Becomes Habit
Laziness is the most detrimental behavior to become a habit. It is also one of the easiest habits to fall into. Take initiative in your business to achieve your goals. You are the only one responsible for your own success.
Adam Toren is an Award Winning Author, Serial Entrepreneur, and Investor. He Co-Founded YoungEntrepreneur.com along with his brother Matthew. Adam is co-author of the newly released book: Small Business, Big Vision: “Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right” and also co-author of Kidpreneurs.
Follow Adam on Twitter: @thebizguy
“Small Business, Big Vision provides a framework for you to unleash your driven and relentless passion to achieve unprecedented growth.”
Thanks for the Wonder Ful Tips. I guess most of the People fails Just because of insufficient Knowledge and when they have it they don’t take Decisions with Patience. This is where Entire plan is ruined
Good Post. Most entrepreneurs fail, because they act like Big firm in their start-up days. :)
True points Adam!
However, for the #9 point, I’m not totally agree.
For me personally, it’s not good idea to let the public know my un-perfect brand.. That will give a bad first-impression That might make them wont back, even just to see.
Constantly striving to improve yourself in terms of new knowledge and productivity will reduce the chances for the things mentioned above to happen.
Always set realistic goals, put actionable items on your to-do list and stay passionate by hanging out like-minded people or telling others about what you are up to. :)
I just read an article about Flakiness… “Promise a little and delivery a lot” was the best advise I walk away with. Stretching yourself too thin and then dropping the ball is not going to make clients happy. Perfect what you can and grow as the business and income allows. Millionaire didn’t start that way so why try and make it on the first quarter your doors are open.
Success achieved only if that person has the courage and determination to reach it. There are thousands of advise and articles posted online but only you can change yourself. Very nice article, keep writing.
Thanks for the wonderful tips.Success achieved only if that person has the courage and determination to reach it…..Very nice article, keep writing.
I think that having big goals that will take many months or even years to achieve is fine. It seems to me as though the biggest pitfall is not being able to distinguish between goals, strategies and tactics. In my experience the best way to set goals is really just to set one (or perhaps one per "area" of your life, whether that area is business or personal) then work backwards through strategies, then tactics.
A strategy may take many months to execute (particularly in the world of marketing!) but so long as you plan it so you have a series of daily, weekly or monthly tactical executions to carry out, then you're golden.
Reviewing progress relative to your stated *goal* helps you bring your head out of the muck and verify whether or not you've chosen the right strategy, then you can re-evaluate your strategies over all.
I think that just saying "don't have goals that are too big" is kind of simplistic. Although I guess there's not much room in a "top 10 list" article :) perhaps an entire article (or book!) on the art of goal setting is in order.
Great tips and very true to boot. But, know that all of these can be overcome with hard work. Find something to motivate you everyday and success will come.
Owning a mistake shows a lot of character and there are some powerful people in the world that can’t say they have that much integrity. Being able to admit you are wrong makes you a better person automatically, a business will only benefit from staff like that.
These are excellent tips. One of the things I incorporate is an accountability partner. We focus on setting realistic goals and holding each other accountable for the goals we set. It’s working out really well and I encourage it for anyone seeking to avoid the pitfalls detailed in this article.
Number 9 in my opinion is the most important. I think a lot of people that decide to start a business have a perfectionist streak in them. This focus on perfection can stop people in their tracks so that they never even start towards their dreams. Focus on achievement, not perfection.