"Small Business Mistakes" ©Dr. Connie Sitterly The information contained in these responses should not be considered legal advice. Consult an attorney if you have any legal questions.

 

Dear Workplace Doctor,  

Recently my husband and I started our own business, a print shop, investing most of our retirement and savings. We would like to avoid making any mistakes possible. What are the most common mistakes that we could avoid?

Printing Everything but Money

---

Dear Printing Everything but Money,

The most common mistakes to avoid in starting and growing a business are:

• Under capitalization 
• Wrong location
• Poor credit planning 
• Lack of marketing/advertising 
• Lack of business plan 
• Accepting bad debts

Information is readily available from the Small Business Administration, local colleges, printing associations, Chambers of Commerce, and much of it costs little more than the time and effort to access and apply it. Many entrepreneurs become so frantic in running the business, they spend too little time learning what they need to know. 

No amount of information compensates for its application. 

• Define your business, its mission, vision, values, goals, strengths, target customers and market segments.
• Profile your competition, determine pricing structure, vendors, and project income and balance sheets, cash flow, befriend bankers, and choose an attorney and accountants that understand your business.
• Determine marketing strategy, hire employees, and a few more thousand details.

But like life, growing a business is a journey, a process, a do-it-yourself project, achieved one day at a time. Refer to The Female Entrepreneur 
for more information. Good luck! (Luck= preparation+opportunity)

The Workplace Dr. ^TM