Whether you are newbie entrepreneur navigating the halls of success and failure, or an experienced business leader with years notched on your belt, there is one thing that unites us all; we’re human. That means mistakes are going to happen at some stage in your journey. Of course, they are. Spinning all those different plates, managing all those daily tasks and focussing all your energy on hitting your goals; some things are bound to fall through the cracks.
If you’re lucky, these small mistakes will be just that; small mistakes. However, these silly little moments of absent-mindedness could cost your business way more than you ever realised.
To help you understand just what it is we are talking about, we’ve pulled together a list of common mistakes that entrepreneurs at every level make. Hopefully, you’ll be able to avoid them now you’re aware of them.
1. Taking On Too Much
This is something almost all business leaders are guilty of; that believe they can do everything themselves. However, failing to delegate tasks is a seriously inefficient habit to get into, whether that be delegating to your line managers, giving more responsibility to certain departments or outsourcing entire tasks. Part of being a good leader means knowing your limitations and surrounding yourself with the right people to make up for this. That’s how to turn a negative into a positive. That’s how to go from leaking money to making it.
2. Miscommunication is A Killer
As the person at the top of the pyramid, it is your responsibility to make sure everyone is singing off the same hymn sheet so that everyone is working toward the same common goal, whatever that may be. We know this can be a tough skill to acquire and take a lot of time to get right, but it is better to over-communicate, summarise the main points and check everyone understands what you are asking of them. If you don’t, and wires get crossed, you run the risk of creating new issues, wasting time and money and damaging the morale within your business. Like the phrase goes, it is better to err on the side of caution.
3. A Sudden Loss Of Data
About the most important thing you possess, other than your employees, is the data in your possession. Every single business relies on their data, are we right? That is why it is so important that you protect your data by any means necessary. That means backing up your systems every night, ensuring no one has more access than their role requires, you have an Apex data recovery expert on hand, your security systems are up to scratch and your ability to right any wrongs possible. It could be that someone on your staff accidentally deletes some files, your operating system simply won’t load, or a hacker targets you with malware. Losing your data has the power to ruin your financially and completely wreck your reputation. Don’t let this happen.
4. Make Your Website Do More
This is a mistake that way too many businesses seem to be making, and there really isn’t any excuse for it. You expect each of your employees to be worth every penny you are paying them, and the same should be expected of your website. To spell it out; every single page on your website should be serving a purpose, which is why you need to hire an experienced copywriter that can guarantee this. Yes, it is absolutely vital for your website content to be informing your readers of industry trends, company movements or value that will answer questions they may have, but you will be missing a huge opportunity if you don’t encourage action on every page too. Period. The end.
5. Missing A Chance To Market Yourself
There are more ways to market yourself than ever before, but it is the small things that you probably overlook that can have the most incredible results. We read this story about a travel agent who pranked a person who had lost their I.D. with a first class ticket and then turned it into a delicate marketing ploy. It was genius. But it doesn’t need that level of quick thinking in order to be applied. It could be your 404 error page. Chances are, yours lacks some serious imagination, but this is a great opportunity to turn something bland and disappointing into something that makes the reader snort-laugh. If you need some examples, then have a look here. You’ll quickly see what we are talking about.
6. You’ve Ignored Your SEO For Too Long
We know this isn’t easiest area of business to wrap your head around, especially with the algorithms changing, but for the majority of websites, almost half of all their web traffic starts with a Google search (other engines are available). The good news is, you only need a very basic understanding of SEO in order to make sure this is working in your favour and not against you. That or you can hire a marketing-slash-SEO expert to help you out. After all, there is nothing like getting a good night’s sleep. It could be adding more inbound and outbound links, link-building, starting a blog, having good quality content that is thick with information on any number of things. So long as you don’t overlook this anymore you will be fine.
7. You’re Not Mobile. That’s Bad.
Let’s be real for a second; most people access the internet through that little device in their right-hand pocket. Yeah, their smartphones. That’s the way the world has gone. So, if your business is not set up to be responsive on a mobile device then you are going to be letting a lot of potential business slip through the gaps. Just to confirm, you need a website that is specifically designed to work on a mobile. The success of the microwave is enough to prove people don’t have the patience anymore, so making them pinch and scroll is not going to work.
