Common Misconceptions Of New Entrepreneurs

Have you ever wished to build your own business empire? You’re tired of your job, you want to get married right away, or you just want to get disgustingly rich, and a clerical job just won’t cut it. Now, you decide to start your own business. It’s exciting! Everything now becomes interesting because finally, you decide what happens next. You do the things you like and earn by doing it. This is the dream of every entrepreneur. I have also experienced this kind of high as an entrepreneur. It was exhilarating; until reality hit me real hard in places I did not expect. I have had a lot of fantasies when

I wanted to start my own business. I wanted this and that, but when I started doing it, I experienced the rudest awakening of my life. I realized that there are a lot more to consider than selling and earning. Here are some of the misconceptions that I had, and some of the new entrepreneurs of today might have:

Diving without gear. Passion makes us do a lot of things even without having thought about it for a second. For starting entrepreneurs, the thrill from the idea of having your own business is so intoxicating that some of you might start building it without even laying out any plans. Take time in studying the market you want to enter by knowing who you want to sell your products and services to, where you want to put up your business, how you will sell, and how you plan to expand. Do you have enough money that you can afford to lose? If not, risking it in a business might not be the best idea. How will competition react? What is your goal in setting up this business? Make sure that you are adequately equipped with everything that involves your planned business before diving in.

Managing through a phone. Some people are just too tired of being bossed around that this becomes the reason to put up their own business. It’s natural to want to earn while just simply sitting down on a comfortable chair. But the fact of the matter is, no one is like that. If you want to earn, you have to work. And nothing means working harder than starting your own business. It takes dedication and solid long hours of head and legwork. Do not fantasize about managing through a phone and giving away simple orders because if so, you might find your business down the dumps in a matter of days. You need to be involved and to keep an eye on how everything is happening.

Keeping it weird. I have heard a lot of people say that the key in gaining an advantage in the competition is to offer the most unique version of what the competitors are offering. Let’s be clear on this: Uniqueness is not the key, but innovation. Being unique simply means that you are different from the competitor. However, how sure are you that the “weird” factor your business has is something that people want to get into? Imagine vegetable-based candies — unique, healthy, and probably a nice alternative to jaw-breaking, teeth-obliterating sugar-coated candies. But who wants vegetable candies? Innovation is the key. This is when your uniqueness is something that answers other needs of your customers, or offers an answer a step above the competition. If there were candies that could successfully eliminate brushing teeth in our daily routine, it would probably make millions not only for its uniqueness, but also for its innovation.

Believing in a happy ending. Even when you were still a kid, you have faced a lot of challenges, and have failed in some of them. You have been inspired not to give up every time you fall on your knees, and that is why almost all of us believe that hard work will eventually pay off. However, in business, if it feels like it is quitting time; maybe retreating is actually the best option. When sales are almost nonexistent, or worse, imaginary, and traffic is somewhere else, you might have been doing something wrong. Check your company’s weak points and try to improve them. If nothing really works, you have to face reality and close down the business before you lose more. This does not mean that you quit because you are not cut out for the job. You quit because you know that you could have used the remaining time in planning out a new technique or even a new business in the future.

*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. C-6, Sunday, September 13, 2015. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.