Taking your livelihood into your own hands can be a tempting but challenging venture. Entrepreneurship poses many obstacles to overcome as you work to get your business rolling. However, even when you’re going through all the right motions, there are a few mistakes that can get in your way. Let’s take a look at some of the most common ways that many entrepreneurs sabotage themselves — as well as what you can do to avoid following in their footsteps:
1. Bad Habits
As an entrepreneur, your lifestyle habits can shape your business. It takes a lot of self-control and time management to get your business off the ground, and even small bad habits can delay your progress significantly. Some common bad habits include procrastination, perfectionism, and self-deprecation — all of which can hold you back from the success you want to see.
Procrastination and perfectionism will make it impossible for you to get anything done, while self-deprecation is simply a bad mindset when your success is all the way up to you. Although these are common habits for people with depression and anxiety, not working to address bad habits and negative feelings will hold you back from moving forward as an entrepreneur.
2. Personal Issues
Not only do you need to recognize what your bad habits are, but you should also try to understand the reasons behind them in order to fix them. Without understanding the underlying issues that are distracting you or causing your personal problems, it can be easy to make allowances for it. This can prevent your from dealing with issues in your personal life.
To really overcome these, you need to put your head to the ground and work to solve any problems that are causing you to doubt yourself. You can do this through counseling or by taking time for self-reflection. When you see that an aspect of your business isn’t working, it’s important to not let it affect your ego. Instead, focus on finding a solution.
3. Lack of Self-Reflection
In order to identify the causes behind your behavior, as well as what your business needs from you, it’s necessary to pause and reflect on your business plan and practices. Oftentimes, people become too focused on what their next steps should be, rather than taking time to think about how problems have gone so far and what they are doing at the moment.
Self-reflection can open the door to learning more about yourself, and what you need in order to succeed. According to Western Governors University, “Lifelong learning is the idea that you are never finished educating yourself and growing.” A mindset of self-reflection and to always be learning makes you more likely to adapt in difficult situations, as well as to change the areas of your business that aren’t working.
4. Absence of a Business Continuity Plan
Small setbacks can sometimes be the end of small businesses, especially young ones. Being unprepared to handle these events can make your early demise even more likely. Whether an entrepreneur experiences a natural disaster, a lawsuit, or a loss of funds, they must be aware that they may have to close their doors unless they prepare in advance.
Business closure can be avoided if the entrepreneur develops a business continuity plan early on, which will help them determine what to do in case of an emergency. Shutting down a business until the owner can figure out a plan is one of the worst things they can do when things start to get tough. Making plans in advance, as well as keeping an emergency fund reserve, can help keep things moving in case the worst happens.
5. Missing Goals
One area where businesses commonly fail is setting goals. Oftentimes, an entrepreneur’s initial goals are simply opening up their business; they don’t take time to set new goals, which can slow their progress.
Instead of settling for your initial goal, set new goals as soon as you reach the last one. You should always try to plan at least one year down the road to ensure you’re constantly aiming and moving towards something. Although it can be tempting to set attainable goals to avoid disappointment, setting goals that are not easy to reach (yet achievable) will ensure you’re constantly challenging yourself business to do better.
6. Poor Money Management
As the money starts rolling in, you’ll probably have some decisions to make about the goals you hope to accomplish. One of the big areas where entrepreneurs are often torn when they start making a profit is whether to put their money towards debt or towards an emergency fund account. Credit card debt accumulates interest, which can make it tempting to pay off first. However, if you don’t save up enough money for an emergency fund, your business can vanish within a few months after an accident that take away your resources.
The answer: Put your money towards both as soon as you start making a profit. Keeping your debts in check will ensure that your liabilities don’t outweigh your assets. An emergency fund will help you make and stick to contingency plans.
7. Negativity
Some entrepreneurs suffer from excessive modesty and humility, which can cause them to talk negatively about their business. Around highly supportive friends and family especially, it can be easy to focus on the difficulties the business is facing instead of the strides it’s making in order to manage expectations. However, focusing on obstacles and challenges isn’t the answer.
Keeping a positive mindset about your business is one of the most important things to do. In the beginning, you’ll probably be its only advocate, which means your mindset and the way you talk about your business is the only way it will exist. Never sell yourself short. Instead, focus on all of the great things you hope to accomplish. Spread the word about your business. Put your energy into making something great happen instead of denigrating your efforts.
It can be easy to self-sabotage when you let your poor human qualities run your business. We’re all flawed human beings, but it’s important to stay positive and to not let your bad habits affect your business.