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Have you been making these mistakes when you’re starting a business? It can be overwhelmed in a crowded marketplace. What are the mistakes you can avoid?

Here are 10 detrimental mistakes to avoid when starting a business in a crowded marketplace

The truth is… everyone makes mistakes and it’s obvious that it’s no different for business owners.

Unless your mistakes can turn into huge advantages in your business and life – avoid it when you’re starting a business. 

There are many common mistakes and it’s natural getting a little tripped up here and there. But some of these common mistakes are detrimental when you’re starting a business. 

It means, it can become costly down the line.

So, it’s better to avoid them at the beginning itself. 

With effective planning, you can avoid typical stumbling blocks that may potentially lead to failure. 

Starting a business is not a consequence of good genes or being lucky. It can be engineered by following the right methods and strategies – it can be taught. 

A crowded marketplace can be overwhelmed, and you’ll sometimes get overconfident with enthusiasm. However, enthusiasm can be both a blessing and a curse when you’re starting a business. 

Why? That’s because it drives the passion for your business that can fuel your success – and financially ruin you if don’t think through your decisions.

Here’s a video I want to share with you. About what I learned and some costly mistakes you can avoid.

I’ve started and failed in 13 businesses – lost thousands and millions of dollars. If you don’t navigate those potholes. You’ll most likely won’t see success.

If I could turn back time, I’d do things differently…

10 Detrimental Mistakes To Avoid When Starting A Business

1. No Goals And Commitment
2. Avoid Micromanaging When Starting A Business – Delegate
3. No Understanding Of Marketplace
4. Not Having The Right Mindset
5. Technology Ignorance Isn’t Bliss
6. Starting A Business Without A Plan
7. Neglect Marketing Investment
8. Accidentally Create Leverage
9. Spending Lavishly
10. Hiring the wrong people

No Goals And Commitment

When you’re aiming in the dark – you can’t hit a target that you can’t see. You’re going to miss 99% of your target. 

It’s the same with everything we do in life. Without a clear goal, you won’t have any motivation to improve your business continuously. You drift along and taking things as they come – hoping for the best. 

And because you’re not putting in the time, energy and focus into growing your business, eventually it’ll fail. 

When starting a business, set a clear goal and commit to making things happen. With that said, be very specific with your goals – not being a generalist. 

Instead of saying “I will improve next quarter’s revenue”, say “ I will increase sales by at least 20% each month until the next quarter”. 

When you be specific about where you want to go from the beginning, you’ve created a much clearer image in your mind of how to achieve your goals. 

On another note, observe your motivation. Because this can lead to emotional baggage and this baggage slows us down and hinders our growth.

Not only you’re going to miss most of your target. What’s worse is you’re also stuck in this vicious cycle of emotional baggage. 

Or maybe the regrets you have will demotivate you to achieve your goals. 

Avoid Micromanaging When Starting A Business- Delegate 

Delegating is a powerful tool when starting a business. But you must know when to spend your money before you create your high-performance team. 

There’s sometimes a lack of self-awareness when starting a business. Some business owners in the early stage are not great at delegating work to their team members. 

So, if you’re not good at certain things, avoid doing everything just because you want to cut costs. 

Focused on your strength in specific work tasks and delegate the rest will help in the long run. 

While most employees don’t appreciate being micromanaged – as a business owner, when stating a business – curb this behavior before it leads to negative effects. 

Here are some pointers on how to let go: 

•  Reflect on your behavior. Most likely it’s because of some insecurity – if your team doesn’t perform exactly the way you wanted – you’re afraid it’ll reflect badly on you. 
• Prioritize what matters and what doesn’t. Regardless of how important the task is – you can’t do that if you want to control everything. Avoid being a control freak. Create a To-Do list and start determining what work is critical and delegate those that are less important. For example, strategic planning vs presentation.
• Talk to your team. Once you’ve determined the importance – the next step is communication. Have a conversation with your team about what really matters to you and how you want to be kept in the loop. 
• Built trust. Have a pep talk with your team members. Because they’re used to you not trusting them, they might come to you for approval on each and every project. So, give your team members the psychological power to lead. Show them you trust and have faith in their abilities.

No Understanding Of Marketplace 

Most Entrepreneurs are an expert in their own product or services. When we talk about the marketplace – it can be billions and billions of people but with your product – will the majority pay for your product or service? 

Exactly – NO! Not everyone will pay. So how exactly can you understand the marketplace or at least understand your market?

That means If you have a certain product or service, where and what types of customers will pay for it. 

Do you see what I mean?

And sometimes, you come out with a new product or service. With that said, testing your product is critical to your success or failure – your product-market fit can be tested in small ways. 

Why do you need to test it? 

Because a product that works for you may not work for others. 

So, by testing it in smaller ways can help you save time and money. At the same time, you are generating feedback and answers to your growth success. 

Only then, you will understand your marketplace and customers better. 

Maybe you need to modify and fine-tune your product according to your feedback… 

Or perhaps, you need to remove some funky and complicated product or service that initially you thought it was cool to combine – but not in the eyes of the marketplace.

So, when starting a business… and to avoid these detrimental mistakes.

You need to make sure what works best for your clients. And this is one of the main factors most online entrepreneur/s fail to succeed 

Watch this video on how to choose your niche and target market.

Not Having The Right Mindset

Do you have confidence in yourself? Or confidence in your product or service…

Don’t expect customers to show up at your doorstep or website to buy from you.

You need to put yourself out there by branding your business, marketing your offers and networking. 

I know many brilliant business owners with exceptional product or service – but lacking in confidence.

You see, starting a business is no easy task… 

You need to have the right mindset even before you start a business. If you’re lacking confidence, you need to learn how to be more confident. 

So, what do I mean by not having the right mindset? 

Is it the level of confidence or having a combination of mindset which includes leveraging your money mindset to create more money?

It’ll constantly motivate you towards success. And leveraging money mindset is like, instead of having a saving mindset and trying to salvage every dollar – focus on making more money with your money. 

Now, does that make sense? 

When you’re starting a business, think of how you can use your mind to create wealth – use the money you currently have to help you generate more money. 

With that said… doesn’t mean that you need to spend every single penny on marketing or product development. 

Develop a millionaire’s mindset and be a “Doer” instead of a “Talker”. Most unsuccessful people like to talk about things and tend to have a lot of opinions. 

They dwell and complain about their struggles and problems. 

So, if you’re reading this article right now…

I know you are a “Doer”. You want to avoid mistakes when starting a business.

You want to achieve your goals and generate results.

Technology Ignorance Isn’t Bliss

The digital landscape is rapidly growing and constantly evolving. As a business owner, if you don’t leverage the current technology in your business, you’re considered as laid back. 

If you’re a young entrepreneur just starting a business…

Here’s a question you might be asking; How can I use technology in my business? 

Simple!

I spoke about micromanagement earlier, about delegating certain things and avoid doing everything by yourself. 

You see, tasks like data entry, posting updates and generating leads on your website can be delegated and those are all the things that can be done with technology. 

It’ll save you hours on trivial tasks if you know how to leverage it. This useful tool gives you the time and freedom to attend to more important matters in your business. 

Now, this is where the mindset comes in…

If you’ve been a stubborn business owner and refuse to learn, you’ll most likely lose out to your competitors and more likely to see failure instead of success. 

Don’t adopt the old school traditional mindset, it’s one of the deadliest mistakes business owners make – especially if you’re starting a business. 

Starting A Business Without A Plan

A business plan is your roadmap to success!

Although it could evolve as you go along. But when you’re starting a business – a proper business plan leads you on the course with a structured approach. 

You can document your business thoughts and ideas you want and need to accomplish. And then, formulate a strategy and tactics for how you plan to get there. 

While being flexible and adaptable to the changes in today’s marketplace – you can’t sidestep planning if want to succeed. 

While the mindset plays the biggest role in our life – exercising self-control to avoid these mistakes when starting a business – doesn’t mean you need to re-consider your whole idea of having your own business. 

The thing about having your own business is, it requires both patience and passion. 

This may sound troublesome to some business owners. But my point is…

If you could avoid these detrimental mistakes with proven strategies, wouldn’t you make use of that opportunity?

Neglect Marketing Investment

If you have a mindset of, “I’m already doing well, I don’t need to invest in any marketing” but you expect to increase your revenue…

You’re most likely won’t be successful forever. 

Most business owners who are already successful have this mindset. 

You see, the thing is…

You’re going to slowly lag if you’re aren’t bringing in new business – especially from today’s competitive marketplace. 

In one of my recent articles, I spoke about “The Future Of Marketing Automation” and in one of the sections in that article, customers want a more satisfying journey when they are searching for a particular product or service. 

On top of that, people are talking about customer experience (CX). Research from PWC said, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for GREATER customer experience. 

So, if you neglect your marketing investment – you’re likely to lose out a lot. 

Now, as you already know, in this new decade, we’re all moving towards “Digital”. And with all the variety of technology tools available, you can always start with some free marketing tools to help you grow. 

By doing that, you can maximize your return on investment (ROI). 

So, don’t neglect it – thinking you’re already successful and don’t need any investment in your marketing. 

Accidentally Create Leverage 

Who owns your company’s intellectual property (IP)? This includes the brand name, designs, domains, and technology. Ensuring vital IP owned by the company is critical. 

Because, in the event of a dispute between two partners, and If one partner owns the domain names personally – this means he or she has not assigned the right to any intellectual property. 

Now, what does this mean when someone has not assigned any IP rights? 

It means, they can leverage in any negotiation. 

Here’s the thing I don’t want you to miss…

When registering domain names and assets in the name of the company – it’s straightforward. 

But… when it comes to Intellectual creation, you need to understand the most important point. 

For example, when an employee of your company creates a logo, it means, it’s owned and assigned by the company. 

However, if it’s being created by a freelancer – it needs to be assigned in writing. 

Now, you don’t actually need to engage a lawyer to do this. There are plenty of standard intellectual property documents online where you can get your team to prepare. 

This might be one of the biggest mistakes for young entrepreneurs. 

That’s why it’s crucial to know what are the mistakes to avoid when starting a business.  

Spending Lavishly

Your first-quarter sales were good – business is going well. Second-quarter was even better and now you have some extra cash to splurge. 

Typically, most of us would make a few purchases to help with future scaling. 

Investing in new software, doubling your ad spend, redesigned a new company logo, or maybe a small renovation for the office. 

What happens if the following month, your projected revenue isn’t as much as what you’d expect? 

All of a sudden – you find yourself in debt. 

You’ve spent too much money too soon on unnecessary things. And these things can turn your business profits into additional business expenses. 

On top of that, you are not in a position to utilize them yet. 

So, before you spend lavishly on unnecessary things, ask yourself this: “ Is this important and going to be used immediately to grow your business?” 

And by asking yourself certain questions, not only it helps you avoid crucial mistakes, but to also make a decision to achieve your goals faster. 

Hiring The Wrong People

Hiring the wrong people is like having a bad team. If you select the wrong people to be on board, not only you’ve made a mistake. But also closer to failure than you know it. 

Before you hire anyone – think about what that person is like. If it’s possible, find out about their goals, beliefs, and mindset. This is crucial because it has to be aligned with your vision and mission.

Let’s take a salesperson for an example. Many companies hire salespeople because they want to generate more revenue. However, a salesperson, they only look at their own income and sales quota. 

They don’t care about things like integrity and morals…

With that said, at the beginning of their career, they might bring in more sales but subsequent months, their sales get lower and lower. 

This is because most salespeople are not properly trained. Instead of building a long-term relationship with your customers – they resort to being a slimy salesperson with pushy tactics. 

As a result, you’ll only get a “one-time purchase” from your customers. What’s worse? 

You spend years generating and nurturing leads…

And because you hire the wrong people, your customers lose trust in the company and they go to your competitors. 

So, to see success faster, create a high-performance team that’s aligned with your goals.

Want To Scale Your Coaching Business?

So, is it time to scale your business? – Especially for coaches and consultants.

As your business grows – knowing when to hire, when to automate the tedious process, strategizing techniques and tactics effectively is crucial when starting a business. 

I said this in the beginning – you can avoid typical stumbling blocks that may potentially lead to failure. 

I’ve started and failed 13 businesses –  I have seen startup companies moving too fast without proper planning and crumbled before they can achieve their goals… 

The thing is, all this can be avoided.

Why would you create a new success strategy when there are already several proven strategies? 

Discover the method and strategies that you can use to scale your coaching business online. 

You see, I knew little to nothing about starting a business. This was when I was younger. I was heavily in debt and failed 13 businesses.

Today, you can discover the method I used to scale my coaching business from zero to $1,000,000 a month in less than 8 months…

Now you must be thinking what did I do to achieve that? 

Well, it’s by doing the opposite of every other coach! Get your resources here and maximize your “Personal Media Platform”.

Call To Action

If you want to avoid these mistakes, subscribe to my private mailing list and get your personal copy of videos and guide on how you can use our system and strategies to grow your coaching business too. You’ll also get my free eBook and you’ll never miss any valuable life hacks.

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Are you wondering how to find a business mentor to help you grow and succeed in life? The real question is, do you find a business mentor, or does your business mentor find you?

I believe that much of the time, your business mentor finds you.

A lot of people have a lot of different goals that mentors can help them achieve. These goals typically include making more money, successfully starting a business, scaling a business, closing more clients, finding a purpose, discovering the high-income skill you’re best-suited for, upgrading your skills, making an impact, and achieving success in life.

Without a business mentor, it can be extremely difficult to navigate the tough world of business. A business mentor can teach you everything from key skills to survive in the business world and how to get clients, to networking tips and business acumen.

Finding the right mentor can make or break your shot at success. If you learn how to find a business mentor, it could make all the difference in the world for you.

Some of the most common questions I am asked are questions about how to find a business mentor. I believe that the reason I am asked this so often, is because people know that figuring out how to find a business mentor will lead to achieving success faster.

What Should You Look For in a Mentor?

You want to find someone who you resonate with, and who you respect. Just because someone is successful financially or mega-wealthy, doesn’t mean they’re going to be a good mentor.

In other words, don’t just look at how rich or successful they are. Ask other questions. Do you connect with this person? Do you share the same values? And do you respect what they do? Are they an ideal role model for you?

They might be successful, but are they successful in the kind of way you strive to be?

Another good question to ask yourself is, do you feel comfortable around them? And are you comfortable approaching them?

Show Your Mentor How You Can Add Value

Many people make the mistake of approaching business mentors with this attitude of, Well you’re successful, so you should help me, because I’m not successful, and I deserve to be.

That’s the wrong attitude. Your mentor will be much more likely to help you if you add value to their life first.

You need to show your mentor how you can add value to their life, before asking for their help in return. Always give first, before you ask for anything back.

Perhaps you can offer to act as an intern of sorts, and help them write copy or help them with various business-related tasks. They might even pay you for your work, and then you’d be earning while you’re learning. 

There are many ways to add value, but providing services in the form of work, in exchange for mentorship, is a great option.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask

It can certainly be intimidating to approach a mentor who you look up to and are inspired by. It’s intimidating to ask for mentorship, but if you don’t ask, you’ll never receive what you want.

It goes without saying that you absolutely must summon the courage to ask, because otherwise you stand no chance of gaining a mentor. 

Before you ask for mentorship, however, you must know the right way to ask. It’s best to demonstrate that you’ve done your due diligence before reaching out. It’s also best to avoid sounding entitled, be sure to have no hidden agenda, and respect the mentor’s time.

Never Approach a Mentor With a Sense of Entitlement

Remember that just because someone is successful and in a better position than you are, doesn’t mean they’re under any obligation to help you succeed.

I am a great business mentor, and I love mentoring others. However, I get messages all the time from entitled people who say things like, “Hey, Dan, help me out.”

This is not the right way to ask for mentorship.

Why should I help you out based on that short, entitled message?

What you need to do is show me that you’ve done your due diligence. Show me that you’ve done your research and have clear goals in mind. Explain to me why you’re worth my time, keeping in mind that I get hundreds of requests every week. Tell me how you can add value to my life, instead of acting entitled and saying, “Hey, can you help me out?”

Respect the Mentor’s Time

Learning how to find a business mentor is one thing, but learning how to interact with them is a whole other thing. Once a mentor agrees to have lunch with you, meet with you, or have a phone conversation with you, you must respect their time.

If they’re successful enough to be sought-after as a mentor, that means they’re likely very busy. Respect their time by having clear questions prepared for when you meet with them.

Research your mentor and their business. Know what you want to ask, and what you want to gain from your first meeting. If you stumble on your words, hesitate, or seem unsure of what you want to ask, you’ll seem unprepared. It’ll seem like they’re wasting their time meeting with you, because you were unprepared for the meeting.

Don’t Come at Them With an Agenda

When it comes to how to find a business mentor, know that you won’t find one if it’s clear you have an agenda. When you reach out to mentors, you should be very sincere and respectful. Don’t come at them with any sort of agenda. Make it clear that all you want is knowledge, and that you’d be very appreciative of it.

Don’t make it seem like you want a job, an introduction to some influencer, or some other favor. Avoid making it seem like you have an agenda.

If you approach them with sincerity, with no agenda, and approach them the right way – the mentor is more likely to be responsive to you.

Put Some Skin in the Game

Some people pay their mentors for their coaching services, to show their mentor that they’re serious. When you put skin in the game, the mentor knows you’re serious about your goals.

Not everyone does this, and you don’t have to, but it makes sense when you think about it. Mentorship is very valuable, so it’s a good investment.

You’re investing in yourself through your mentor. If learning from this person costs money, think of it as a great investment in yourself and your future.

Some business mentors believe that if you put money in, you’re more likely to implement what you’re taught. It’s sort of like buying a very expensive gym membership. Imagine it’s an upgrade from your old gym which was free or very cheap. Suddenly, you’ll probably go to the gym more, because you’ve invested all of this money that you don’t want to waste.

Now, remember that you don’t have to pay your mentor. There are other ways you can add value, as I just described, and no money has to be exchanged.

How I Met My Business Mentor

It’s time for me to tell you how I met my business mentor, who changed my life.

When I was in my early 20s, I met my mentor Alan Jacques. At the time, he ran one of the most successful financial education companies in Canada. They were doing a lot of direct mail sales copy. Many people might think of direct mail as junk mail. However, I actually collected the direct mail and read it, and I was learning about copywriting by reading his sales copy.

I was fascinated by how the marketing was done, and I realized I wanted to meet Alan Jacques, the person who was behind these direct mail pieces being sent out. Alan was brilliant. He was one of the first people to pioneer the concept of the free seminar model in Canada.

This clever sales model involves getting people to attend a free seminar or workshop, and from there, convincing people to purchase high-ticket programs.

One day, I was attending a free workshop, and I suddenly noticed the name tag of the person sitting next to me. The name tag said “Alan Jacques”. This man was my idol because of his marketing genius.

I immediately started talking to him, and I asked him, “Are you Alan Jacques, the one who’s been sending the direct mail sales letters, inviting people to attend the free seminars?”

Alan nodded and said, “Yes, that’s me.”

“No way!” I exclaimed. “You’re my hero!”

Alan was taken aback. “You’ve attended my workshops?” He asked me, inquisitively.

“No, no, not the workshops,” I explained. “You’re my hero because of the marketing in those direct mail pieces! I love the way you do marketing, it’s genius! In truth, I collect your direct mail in a binder, and I study the copy. I admire you so much.”

I could tell Alan was surprised by this. He probably wasn’t used to people acknowledging his direct mail strategy or his marketing copy. He was probably used to being recognized for his workshops, not his direct mail.

How To Find a Business Mentor by Taking Them to Lunch

I continued chatting with Alan Jacques a bit longer, and I couldn’t contain my excitement.

“Could I take you to lunch?” I asked him.

I knew this was a good approach, since lunch isn’t a big commitment, and man’s gotta eat.

Alan agreed to go to lunch with me, and that’s how our relationship started. I ended up offering to work for his company for next-to-nothing for one year. I was so excited.

Offering to work for him was how I added value in advance.

I wanted to add value to what he does, because I knew he didn’t need me. I wanted to add value so that he’d want to invest his time helping me later on.

At the office, we did a lot of direct mail, so I helped stamp, address, and seal the envelopes. I helped him organize his paperwork. I helped out with various other administrative duties. Eventually, I gained his trust and I got to help with more important responsibilities.

How My Mentor Changed My Life

One day at the office, my mentor Alan Jacques finally asked me what I was waiting for him to ask. He finally asked me to help him with some marketing copy.

Alan is the reason I learned my first high-income skill, copywriting. He taught me how to use words to persuade and influence people. Learning the lucrative skill of copywriting through Alan Jacques changed my life.

Alan gave me his spill-over clients. These were the clients he didn’t have time to take on, or the clients who couldn’t afford his high prices.

He got so many requests, that he was able to give me the extra work. He’d often tell his clients “My mentee Dan, who has learned directly from me, can do this for you at the price you’re requesting. My prices are a lot higher.” So his clients would often agree to let me write the copy.

The spill-over clients helped me master the art of copywriting. I didn’t know it at the time, but soon I would be a young copywriter earning over $10,000 per month. That’s how I got my start, and I owe it all to my mentor Alan Jacques.

I went all in with Alan Jacques. I learned everything about copywriting from him. It goes without saying that I would highly suggest going all-in on one great mentor, like I did.

Go All In With One Great Mentor

Don’t learn a little from everyone. Go all in with one great mentor. 

In martial arts, the great ones have been with the same instructor for years and sometimes decades. And they stick with the same style of martial arts, in order to learn and master one type of martial arts.

Imagine if one day you go to a Karate class, and the next day you go to Kung fu, and so on, what happens? It’s impossible to become skilled at any one of them, because you keep switching, and you’re not focused on mastering one type of martial arts.

Renowned martial artist Bruce Lee famously said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

Bruce Lee understood the power of focusing on one specific skill. In his case, he focused on mastering one specific martial arts move at a time, rather than trying to learn all of the different moves at once. Lee was known for the thousands of hours he dedicated to perfecting his skills as a martial artist. 

If you just go all in with one mentor and learn as much as you can about his or her specific type of business, you’ll end up learning a lot.

Need a Business Mentor?

If you need a business mentor, it’s probably because you’re sick of going in circles in your career. Or, you’re frustrated that your business is stagnant rather than growing or thriving. Perhaps you’re having trouble finding clients, or once you find them, you can’t close them. In other words, you need some help. You need some coaching.

Remember that business mentorship is not a short-term, quick-fix solution. Business mentorship is a life-long effort towards self-growth and personal development, which can lead to high performance and financial confidence.

My Exclusive High-Ticket Closer Certification Program is an elite group mentorship program that teaches you the most important skills required to succeed in the tough world of business. You’ll learn how to be a better closer, and how to close higher ticket offers that make you more money. You’ll also learn better business acumen, high-performing self-management, and you’ll learn how to improve your communication, team management, and business skills.

If you’re tired of going around in circles in your career, or tired of being unable to reach your business goals, click here to apply for my mentorship program.