How You Could Ruin Your Small Business Before It’s Even Begun

you could ruin your small business before it even starts

There surely can’t be any better feeling than turning up to your first day at work as your own boss. This could simply mean sitting at your dining table on your laptop, or it could mean working from your office in your new business premises, but whatever it is it feels great. Unfortunately, you have to push past the happy feelings, as you have a lot of work ahead of you. The first few weeks of your business are vital, and there are a lot of mistakes to be made, that could jeopardize your business’s future. If you want to avoid ruining your business before it’s even truly begun, then listen up.

“Working” Rather Than Working

The first few weeks of your business should be about finding your flow and setting yourself up for the next few weeks, months, and even years. The habits that you have as a brand new business owner are likely to stick with you, so you need to make sure that they’re good ones. Being your own boss comes with the risk of you doing little work, like when you had to study for a test when you were younger but sat playing with your thumbs instead. You need to ensure that while you’re “working”, you are actually working and doing something productive for your business.

Working Too Hard

Up until now, you have had set hours that you work, and once those hours were finished, you went home and relaxed. Owning your own business means that you can work whatever hours you want, but that doesn’t mean that you should be working all the hours you want. Avoid spending hours on end working, as you’ll only tire yourself out and cause yourself to make silly mistakes. If you’re planning on working all day and night, make sure it’s for something important and doesn’t become the norm.

Not Having A Plan

As already mentioned, the first few weeks of your business are absolutely vital, so you need to have a plan. The last thing you want is for you to get to the end of the week and realize that your business hasn’t really achieved anything yet because you didn’t know where to start. You’ll continue to do this week after week unless you know what it is that you’re supposed to be doing week after week, so think about what needs to be done and write it down. This will also deter you from overworking, as you’ll be able to see how many tasks you’ve completed.

Not Having A Backup Plan

You may have managed to find money for your startup, but have you thought about how you will get through any financial slumps or cash flow issues in the next few weeks.  If you haven’t, then you really should. Business credit cards or merchant cash advance loans are both ways to get cash fast if an unexpected expense arises. Making sure you know what to do when you’re having cash flow issues will reduce the chance of your business going under because of them.

Your first few weeks as a business owner are a once in a lifetime experience, so make sure you have planned them through properly, so that you have time to be excited, instead of being stressed 24/7.

With over 9 years of search marketing experience, Sandra is cross skilled between PPC and SEO. Her experience in search spans across different verticals including Technology, Retail, Travel & Automotive.