Entrepreneurs hate being preached to, but they love sharing. They share the lessons they learn, the success they achieve and the fun they have. While mentoring so many young entrepreneurs, I saw some common mistakes that many of them made. Included is a of things to look out for so that you don’t make the same mistakes that they did.
Look for Funding before you Work on Idea
If you are a young entrepreneur you probably aren’t working an idea that needs millions of dollars to start. If so, you are on wrong track. Don’t ask anyone to invest time/money untll you’ve done that yourself.
Often entrepreneurs sit on chairs waiting for money to come in so they can start. If you ask them, they won’t put their money into their own project. If you wont put your money in, why would anyone else? If you can’t trust yourself, no one can.
And if you do, you won’t need to ask anyone – people will give.
Delay Important Decisions
Young entrepreneurs delay decisions because ‘they are important.’ Irony! Because it is important – you should make the decision now and not delay it. Startups are very dynamic and fast in nature. Today you make a decisions and it’s executed within hours, unlike corporates where it can take years.
Make it and make it now and if you feeling doubtful, remember:
There is no wrong or right decision – just make a decision and prove it right.
Sail in Too Many Boats
Talented people tend to get into too many projects because every idea excites them. It’s good when you are experienced and know how to handle your time and yourself. Too many boats bite you back when you do a start-up.
It’s really hard to pull back from all the stuff you were doing so you can focus on your start-up. Its better you keep the number of projects manageable. If you think you can collaborate on a few more projects – that’s where you know that you have enough. Don’t wait till you feel that you can’t take it anymore.
If you into too many projects – you might be building plan B’s. All that does is sure up plan B.
Note: Not all entrepreneurs working on multiple projects are sailing in too many boats. There are other dynamics too, but you get the idea.
Restrain from Sharing & Talking About the Idea
You have a brilliant idea, and you want to keep it secret, keep it safe. Guess what? The world is not safe for ideas and it will be executed soon – if not by you then by someone else. I will get a bit philosophical here to make my point clear… ideas are not clump of thoughts that you generated. Ideas are a flow of thoughts that flow to and through many different people. Trust me, you will not be the only one with this idea.
Depend on Formal Education
I hear so many of say, “I want to earn my MBA or this and that course so I can learn more before I start out.” First of all that is not education – just literacy. When you start you will notice education comes though experience.
There is no edge that those degrees can give you over experience of a start-up. I am not suggesting that you discontinue your education, but don’t be dependent on it.
Ignore Inner Calling
They call it gut feeling, inner calling, passion and all sorts of things. The more I progress, the more I learn to trust that more than anything else. No matter what anyone (including me) tells you – do what you feel like.
Even if you fail, you will know that you made that choice.
Give up Too Soon – Success is 10 inches Away
In the book Think and Grow Rich, by Napolean Hill, there was a man who spent all is money trying to find gold in an area because he was sure he will find it. Just when he was 10 inches away from it – he gave up!
Success is guaranteed, all you need to do is survive untill it hits you. Keep going, and remember ‘Life is supposed to be fun’ and if it isn’t you, and only can change it.
My intent with this post is not preaching, just sharing my thoughts so maybe someone can benefit from it.
What other common mistakes can young entrepreneurs avoid?