If you’re starting a new business, you’re probably excited about all the ideas you have for it. What you might not have thought about is all the things you shouldn’t do. Maybe that sounds unnecessarily negative, but it’s good to know some of the common pitfalls that can damage your new enterprise if you aren’t careful.
Micromanaging Your Employees
You might just think you understand the value of effective communication and are just making sure that your employees are following your procedures and doing a good job, but if you really feel the need to micromanage them, you have one of two problems. Either you’ve done a poor job in the hiring process by bringing in those who aren’t competent to perform the tasks you need them to, or you’re not empowering your competent employees for success. If the former is true, you can’t hover over them forever; eventually they’re going to make a serious mistake or you’re going to fall behind in the things you need to be doing. If the latter is true, your good employees are eventually going to leave you for a boss who gives them more trust and freedom to do a good job.
Ignoring Tech Solutions
This is a tough one because there are alleged tech solutions being touted every day, but very few of them are things you really need in your business. However, when it’s something that you do need, it can make a huge difference in how well your company runs. This is the case with GPS systems within fleets, which are invaluable for the savings and increased safety that they offer. If you aren’t already familiar with the needs of your fleet now, your fleet manager can probably tell you about how GPS-based solutions are crucial to solving transportation and operational challenges. Once you determine that a certain technology is important to your business, you shouldn’t hesitate to implement it.
Not Monitoring Cash Flow
You’ve got plenty of money and assets on paper, but what happens when you’re waiting on payment for a whole bunch of invoices, and at the same time, your vendors are agitating for you to pay them? They’re not going to be dissuaded by being assured that you’ll pay them as soon as everyone pays you. You need to make sure that you have a cushion you can rely upon if you run into cash flow problems, which can easily happen in the early days especially.
Expanding Too Quickly
Success can be thrilling. It should be; when your products are flying off the shelves or you’re having to ask people to book your services weeks in advance because you’re so busy, that’s good news. However, don’t make the mistake of expanding before the demand and the resources are in place. If you’ve got a retail space, you might feel as though you’re outgrowing it, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll be equally successful in a new location or that you need all the space it will give you. And expanding your product or services too quickly can mean spreading yourself too thin and no longer delivering the quality your customers expect.
