10 •
The Lion King
• April - June 2017
BUSINESS
BY ANTHONY OSAE-BROWN
5 MISTAKES TO AVOID IF YOU WANT
TO START YOUR BUSINESS
M
any of us dream of starting our
own businesses someday. But
research has shown that 90%
of all news businesses fail within the first
year. Here are 5 common mistakes to
avoid if you do not want your business
to fail within a year of setting it up.
1:
Try as much as possible not to go
it alone. As they say, two heads are
always better than one. Research has
shown that startups with two or more
founders are always likely to succeed
than startups with a single founder.
2:
Presence is very important to any
business. It is wise to be visible to
your target market either physically
through alternative mediums. Startups
actually need higher levels of visibility
than existing businesses. If your target
market is not aware of your existence,
then you practically do not exist.
3:
Money is the blood on which a busi-
ness runs and remains in business. No
matter how strong your business idea, if
you do not have enough money to stay
in business in the short run, then you will
be dead in the long run. So, ensure that
your startup has enough capital to stay
up until the revenues start coming in.
4:
Define your target market right from
the start. You should not be in business
if you do not already know who you are
going to sell your products or services
to. It is not enough to know your target
market, understand and know the best
medium and approach to reach them.
5:
Keep your running costs low. You
should not allow your ambition and
desire to succeed drive up your costs
early. Be slow to add expense items but
be quick to take advantage of oppor-
tunities to earn extra revenue.
