ing entrepreneurs nearly always make the mistake of “giving away” the store. They give discounts to the first customers they receive as if to impress or court them. Often these customers are friends and family. Unfortunately, during these critical times an entrepreneur cannot afford to do this. He or she is only cultivating cheap clients that will never want to pay the going price for services or products. Additionally With twenty plus years of self employment in a variety of fields and the last several as a business coach, I can assure you I have either seen or lived thru all of these mistakes. It will take you only minutes to read but if you are starting a business it can save you years of strife. Below are 12 things I hope you will avoid in your pursuit to succeeding as an entrepreneur.

1) No Umbrella Business Plan or Strategy -- Without a plan, there’s no serious way to gauge the growth and progress of your business. You need a realistic map for where the customers will come from and where your business is going. You also need a plan to bail you out when difficult personal and business times come your way. Solution – get a plan together. Stop thinking about it and do it.

2) Getting Tunnel Vision and Never Leaving the Tunnel -- Many entrepreneurs get an idea, move forward with the preparation but never seem to be able to make it work. In fact at times they will hold so tightly to the idea that they will lose all their money, sometimes their family and ultimately their business. The sad result is they often lose the one thing that pushed them to begin with – their confidence. Without the confidence the likelihood of another run at self-employment diminishes. If the ship is sinking don’t go down with it. Get out while you are still able to breathe. Once you’ve caught your breath, re-evaluate, learn from the experience and dive back in. Solution – ask for some advice from other business people. Be honest with them and get some feedback. If you can afford it, hire a business coach.

3) **Make your business your business and your charity your charity.** Beginning entrepreneurs nearly always make the mistake of “giving away” the store. They give discounts to the first customers they receive as if to impress or court them. Often these customers are friends and family. Unfortunately, during these critical times an entrepreneur cannot afford to do this. He or she is only cultivating cheap clients that will never want to pay the going price for services or products. Additionally

y -- Without a plan, there’s no serious way to gauge the growth and progress of your business. You need a realistic map for where the customers will come from and where your business is going. You also need a plan to bail you out when difficult personal and business times come your way. Solution – get a plan together. Stop thinking about it and do it.

2) Getting Tunnel Vision and Never Leaving the Tunnel -- Many entrepreneurs get an idea, move forward with the preparation but never seem to be able to make it work. In fact at times they will hold so tightly to the idea that they will lose all their money, sometimes their family and ultimately their business. The sad result is they often lose the one thing that pushed them to begin with – their confidence. Without the confidence the likelihood of another run at self-employment diminishes. If the ship is sinking don’t go down with it. Get out while you are still able to breathe. Once you’ve caught your breath, re-evaluate, learn from the experience and dive back in. Solution – ask for some advice from other business people. Be honest with them and get some feedback. If you can afford it, hire a business coach.

3) **Make your business your business and your charity your charity.** Beginning entrepreneurs nearly always make the mistake of “giving away” the store. They give discounts to the first customers they receive as if to impress or court them. Often these customers are friends and family. Unfortunately, during these critical times an entrepreneur cannot afford to do this. He or she is only cultivating cheap clients that will never want to pay the going price for services or products. Additionally

entrepreneurs get an idea, move forward with the preparation but never seem to be able to make it work. In fact at times they will hold so tightly to the idea that they will lose all their money, sometimes their family and ultimately their business. The sad result is they often lose the one thing that pushed them to begin with – their confidence. Without the confidence the likelihood of another run at self-employment diminishes. If the ship is sinking don’t go down with it. Get out while you are still able to breathe. Once you’ve caught your breath, re-evaluate, learn from the experience and dive back in. Solution – ask for some advice from other business people. Be honest with them and get some feedback. If you can afford it, hire a business coach.

3) **Make your business your business and your charity your charity.** Beginning entrepreneurs nearly always make the mistake of “giving away” the store. They give discounts to the first customers they receive as if to impress or court them. Often these customers are friends and family. Unfortunately, during these critical times an entrepreneur cannot afford to do this. He or she is only cultivating cheap clients that will never want to pay the going price for services or products. Additionally

minishes. If the ship is sinking don’t go down with it. Get out while you are still able to breathe. Once you’ve caught your breath, re-evaluate, learn from the experience and dive back in. Solution – ask for some advice from other business people. Be honest with them and get some feedback. If you can afford it, hire a business coach.

3) **Make your business your business and your charity your charity.** Beginning entrepreneurs nearly always make the mistake of “giving away” the store. They give discounts to the first customers they receive as if to impress or court them. Often these customers are friends and family. Unfortunately, during these critical times an entrepreneur cannot afford to do this. He or she is only cultivating cheap clients that will never want to pay the going price for services or products. Additionally

ing entrepreneurs nearly always make the mistake of “giving away” the store. They give discounts to the first customers they receive as if to impress or court them. Often these customers are friends and family. Unfortunately, during these critical times an entrepreneur cannot afford to do this. He or she is only cultivating cheap clients that will never want to pay the going price for services or products. Additionally these are the times when cash flow is at a minimum. As a business consultant I often get bothered that friends and family fail to see this. The early years is when those close to you should be paying you more, not less for your product/service. Unfortunately, many people are under the false impression that if someone has their own business they must be wealthy. Solution - when conducting business charge your full rate to everyone. If you want to be charitable, write a check to your favorite charity. Or alternately be creative in how you handle these discounts.

For example, in my mobile entertainment business I told those I knew, that if they got married on a Thursday I’d do it for free however my Fridays and Saturdays are limited to just 52 times a year. If I don’t get my rates on these days I pass up income that I need to sustain my home and business.

4) Not Knowing Your Customers -- We live in a dynamic world. Constant changes mean that business too is always changing and in some way, large or small, your customers are changing. There are countless examples where companies both large and small fail to see the publics changing direction. Changes in your customers’ preferences and your competitors’ products and services can leave you eating dust. You need to know your customers well. What are their buying patterns? Where do they live? How often do they visit you? Why don’t they need you more often? What are they saying about your services or products? How do your customers perceive themselves? Solution – Make a point to call each customer on a regular schedule to see if there is anything they need or any improvements they see you can make.

5) Ign