When a business just begins operation, it is like a toddler who tries to take his first steps. If he tries to walk or run the way his elder siblings do, he surely will stumble. He isn’t mature for that yet so he takes it gentle.
Even though he may feel energetic, at that phase of his life, there are a lot of things he shouldn’t focus on or attempt to do in a rush.
The same thing applies to a new start-up. As a new entrant into the market, there are many things you should avoid. This piece focuses on just four of them.
1. POOR SERVICE DELIVERY
You’re a newbie so you don’t want to start on a wrong footing. Poor service delivery is a sure wrong foot to walk on.
You want to avoid making your new clients have a bad taste in their mouth after their business experience with you.
How do you avoid bad service delivery?
Do these:
▪️Don’t take a job you can’t do.
▪️Do those you have the capability to do excellently.
2. AVOID THINKING YOU ARE KNOWN
As a new business, you’re new! You need to avoid thinking you’re known already as the old players in the market are.
In commerce, it is often said that, “If you do not say here you are, nobody will know there you are.”
Don’t keep the light of your business under a bushel.
Don’t assume your prospective clients know you are there. So avoid keeping silent about your services.
What should you do then?
▪️Noise it around that you’re in the market it.
▪️Explore every means to be in the faces of your prospective clients.
3. NO RECORD-KEEPING
As a new start-up, you want to avoid keeping records in your head. It is surely not effective.
Expenses incurred, revenues made, business meetings and appointments, deadlines and other key business metrics in your business should not be in your head – write them down.
Put simple but effective systems in place to keep tabs on these items.
Do you know a diary is a system?
4. OVER-PROMISING
Because you’re just starting up, there is a tendency to want to say or pitch more than you can do in the actual sense. This is dangerous for your new entity.
You probably are under the impression to promise a new client a lot – sometimes beyond what you can do.
But remember too that you don’t want to put yourself in an unfavourable situation.
Promote what your business can do but resist the temptation of including what you can’t do.
Avoid it like a plague as it is capable of painting your young business in a bad light.
As the saying goes, first impression matters if a bad one is formed about you, it may be hard to undo.
There are a lot of these banana peels a start-up should avoid.
Which other ones do you think there are?
Please share with us.
We will like to read your view on this.
