10 Biggest Mistakes Small Business Owners
& Entrepreneurs Make - And How to avoid them
to get more customers, more sales and more profits.
Claudeville Mc Garrell, M.B.A
https://cmassociates.coachesconsole.com
+ (592) 223 0823 phone
+ (592) 651 9846 cell
Copyright@2013 Small Business Academy
You are welcome to share this document if you include my contact information.
Please contact me if you wish to reprint any portion of in in any periodical or
Website.
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever wondered why it is that some Business Owners & Entrepreneurs have all the
customers they need while others struggle to get only a few? Is there a hidden secret that no one
is talking about?
The answer may be not be as difficult as you think. In this Free, but Special Report, you will
discover the mistakes you may be making now that are actually sabotaging your success in
getting and keeping more customers.
You will also discover some simple ways of avoiding these mistakes or overcoming them
altogether.
I have been working with Business Owners & Entrepreneurs of small to medium sized enterprise
like yours since 2000, helping them to make money with less effort and showing them how to
manage and grow their businesses successfully to the next level so that they earn a better living
doing what they love.
Please take a few moments now to read this simple Report that can help your business forever.
1|P a ge
Small business owners & entrepreneurs need to focus on what matters, if they are to take their
businesses to the next level, whatever that may be, says Claudeville Mc Garrell, Marketing
Consultant & Small Business Coach at CMASSOCIATES.
Running a small business can be perilous. You have to become a jack-of-all-trades, sufficiently
versed in Marketing, Sales, Product Development, Customer Service, Database Management,
Human Resources Management, Time Management -and everything else in between – to keep
your business growing. That’s why it’s so important to focus your attention on what matters
most. In a recent interview, he revealed the most common mistakes he’s seen small business
owners make – so you can take action to avoid them.
Being successful in business is a delicate juggling act of doing the right thing while
simultaneously avoiding costly mistakes.
Unfortunately, many small business owners--especially new business owners-- make simple
mistakes that could easily be avoided with a little diligence and some inside knowledge.
Here's a list of ten of the biggest mistakes I've observed during my years working with small
business owners & entrepreneurs:
1. THEY UNDERCHARGE
When first starting out, many business owners tend to undercharge for what they sell. They
compete on price and this drives their margins down lower and lower killing all their profits.
There are two reasons for this:
First, they don't know how to correctly set an effective price, and second they think they need to
have the lowest price in order to get business.
Both circumstances result in low profits and poor cash flow. These "bad habits" frequently
continue even after the business has gone through its start-up phase.
In order to survive in business, it's crucial that a business owner receive maximum reward for his
or her efforts.
From my experience, many small business owners would easily survive--and be much better off
financially--with a well thought out and properly implemented strategy for increasing their
prices. They need to do effective Market Research.
2. THEY CONCENTRATE EXCLUSIVELY ON SALES
When first starting out or having a background in marketing, many business owners and selfemployed individuals see only one line on their profit-and-loss statement: SALES! They think
the more sales they have, the bigger and better their business will be.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
2|P a ge
While no one can deny the benefits of having a boatload of business, focusing exclusively on
sales is oftentimes a recipe for disaster. A "more sales only" mentality and growing too quickly
are classic examples of how a business can fail during its peak growth phase.
Believe me, it happens.
Running and operating a successful business doesn't require exceptional talent, but it does
require vital and basic business skills covering a wide range of areas. Your sales people need
training. They are all doing it differently in that mad rush to increase sales. To succeed in
business you must focus on your WHOLE business, not just parts of it.
3. THEY EXTEND CREDIT TOO EASILY
In an effort to increase revenues and grow rapidly, many business owners extend credit to
customers who pay late, or worse, never pay at all.
While nearly all businesses have their share of late or uncollectible accounts, it's important to
minimize bad debts and slow paying customers by reviewing credit policies and picking and
choosing customers wisely.
If selling on credit, be sure to perform credit checks on all of your customers. Also, make sure
your customers completely understand and agree to your payment terms BEFORE doing
business with them. Many slow paying customers like to take advantage of ambiguities in
payment policies.
While it may be attractive to take on as much business as possible--especially when bills need to
get paid--keep in mind that it's better to have no business than to give away free business.
4. THEY THINK ABOUT TAXES AFTER THE YEAR IS OVER
Taxes are a subject many owners put off until the last minute. This procrastination costs money
in the form of paying more tax than is required.
One of the reasons business owners fail in their tax strategies--besides not having any--is because
they neglect to seek knowledge and advice BEFORE they engage in any activity that has a
taxable effect.
If you're serious about saving money on taxes, learn to consider tax ramifications BEFORE you
act. Planning is the key to reducing the amount of taxes you pay each year.
Since taxes represent a large expense in any business, it's absolutely essential that you do
everything possible to minimize the cost. This means getting a grip on your taxes BEFORE and
DURING the tax year, not after.
3|P a ge
5. THEY DON'T HAVE A PLAN OF ATTACK
You've heard the saying, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
It amazes me how many business owners and self-employed individuals don't have clear, concise
and written goals. And the goals they do have are frequently vague and imprecise.
Would a homebuilder build a house without a blueprint? Certainly not
Then why build a business without one? You need to set S.M.A.R.T. Goals for your business
If you don't have some idea of the overall picture or end results you wish to achieve, your efforts
will be average at best. It’s not that average is necessarily a bad thing; it's just that I feel many
Business Owners /Entrepreneurs are capable of even greater success. Much more than they
initially imagined. You Need a Business Plan
6. THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO HIRE AND KEEP GOOD EMPLOYEES
A common problem business owners have is their inability to effectively manage their
employees. Not only do they make hiring mistakes, but they also don't know how to keep good
workers. You need to master the skill of attracting the right employees and retaining them long
time.
Besides the owner, a good employee can be a company's most valuable asset. In fact, in a small
business, employees can actually make or break the business. That's why it's essential that you
hire the right person for the job. HR Management is an imperative here.
When hiring an employee, think real hard about whom it is that you're actually hiring. An
employee's lifestyle is definitely going to affect their performance on the job.
Likewise, if you want to keep good employees, be sure you have a system in place that rewards
their efforts.
7. THEY DON'T PROVIDE OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE
The fact is any business can provide good customer service. But if you want to build a highly
successful business, make sure your customer service is "beyond industry standards".
While numerous factors are responsible for success, by far the easiest way to expand your
business is to provide customers with customer service that is "beyond industry Standards".
Doing so is like planting money seeds that will grow and yield basketfuls of profit.
Sadly, many business owners don't provide the level of service that is frequently the difference
between mediocrity and success. It has been said that the primary business of every business is to
stay in business, and to do you, you not only need to get customers, but you also need to keep
4|P a ge
them. The value of a life-long customer cannot be overstated. Customer Relations Management
is necessary
8. THEY'RE ECONOMICALLY DEPENDENT ON A SMALL GROUP OF
CUSTOMERS
The easiest way to give away financial control of your company is to grow your business on a
small group of customers. While this may look tempting and free of hassles at first, relying on a
small group of customers is not a good thing and it should be avoided at all costs.
Unfortunately, many business owners did just that and paid the price for it when the customers
stopped doing business with them. Realize that both the size and quality of your customers are
important to the success of your business. Implement a “Customer Centric” policy in your
business
9. THEY LET EMOTIONS GET IN THE WAY OF SOUND BUSINESS DECISIONS
Some people get consumed with their emotions and frequently make business decisions for the
wrong reasons.
Examples of this include spending money on sexy, expensive advertising just to boast or beat
their chest. Other examples include keeping unproductive employees because they feel sorry for
them, or going out and spending crucial capital on equipment that isn't needed yet, or employing
family just because they are family
To make good decisions, make sure you rely on the facts and sound business principles.
10. THEY FAIL TO DEVELOP AS LEADERS AND MANAGERS
Many business owners limit the amount of success they attain by failing to continue learning. As
I said earlier, running and managing a successful business doesn't require exceptional talent, but
it does require basic business knowledge. Without this knowledge you're at a substantial
disadvantage.
You should do everything possible to learn whatever you can about the complexities and nuances
of your industry or profession--and not just once, but regularly.
Of the many things I've learned from highly successful business owners, one thing stands out:
they never quit learning about their business. Good Leadership and Management skills are
paramount in this respect.
Most Business owners all over the world suffer from these mistakes. Just one of them can kill
your business over time. Several of them together have got to be the reason that 80% of small
businesses fail in the first 5 years of operation.
5|P a ge
You need to, and can, avoid making these costly and deadly mistakes in your business. If any, or
all, of these mistakes resonate with you, just get in touch with us at the address below and see
what you can achieve when we work together and focus on your success.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
I hope you have found the ideas in the FREE REPORT helpful. If you don’t as yet own a copy of
my course “SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS PACKAGE 2” (SBSPK 2), I’d like to invite you to
purchase it at:
https://cmassociates.coachesconsole.com/v2/add_to_cart?pid=463a0cc987bf31e22fceea7570939
f46
The cutting edge Course provides you with a Step-by-Step approach for doing just what this
REPORT suggests-doing simple and effective things to avoid or overcome the mistakes that are
currently holding back your business success. If you have received this REPORT as a gift and
are not yet receiving my free email newsletter, please consider subscribing at our home page.
If you already own my SBS PKG2 Course and subscribe to my newsletter, then a big THANKS
to you.
Please visit my website https://CMASSOCIATES.coachesconsole.com/ more often to find out
about new products, services and programs that will help you succeed in taking your business
forward.
Best wishes for your continued Success
Claudeville Mc Garrell, M.B.A
6|P a ge