Entrepreneurship – What not to do

No entrepreneur begins their journey with the hope to become another statistic in the numbers game.

Yet, 90% of all startups fail. About half of them fail in the first year. We all hear about the 1 great success story, but the other 9 are readily forgotten in the hustle of success and the search for the next big story.  

However, here’s something interesting every entrepreneur that has failed has a 20% increased chance of success in his next venture.You don’t think they have a thing or two to pass on to the rest of us?

Which is why this event ‘FuckUp Nights’ by BHIVE Workspace is both special and important. Based on the global movement that originated in Mexico in 2012 to share business failure stories publicly, FuckUp Nights brings to the fore some of the least shared and most hidden stories- the stories of failure. With BHIVE, we can be as proud about our failures as our successes.

Because what can be a greater leveler than knowing the feeling of having failed?

The event FuckUp Nights is based on the global movement born in Mexico in 2012 to share publicly business failure stories. And yeah, it’s really one of the most difficult tasks in the world to tell the mistakes one has committed and the learning which came out as the result.

Listed here are some of the common mistakes committed by aspiring entrepreneurs:

Beginning with illusions of grandeur

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” – Lao Tzu

Business starts with investment in various forms like capital, location, credit, inventory, and management. Hence, dreaming of a lofty business and not selling till accomplishing the hypothetical target is one of the major mistakes committed by budding entrepreneurs. Starting with small prototype and improving along the way is one of the wisest things to do to initiate with business establishment.

Spending without making revenue is not advisable for the long run. This results in starvation of the company and disappoints the employees too.

Expecting Success the very next day

“ Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in ” – Bill Bradley

It’s very natural to get excited and anxious when someone starts a business but expecting others to be at the same level of adrenaline is not correct. Achieving business goals requires persistent and determined hard work, starting a venture requires one to be prepared for stumbling, falling, failing and rising again and again. Being entrepreneur is a long journey with opportunities to learn every moment. The path varies for each aspiring innovator and so is the pace of which one covers it. Enjoying the process instead of running after utopic goal of achieving success overnight will definitely help to achieve small and big landmarks.

Being in love with your product and not with your client

The core product is an entrepreneur’s brainchild making it difficult for him to find bugs in the same. There is a constant need to look for the opportunities to improve the product/ service. This will not only enhance the brand value but will add to the user-base also. As time passes clients determine the future of the product. They no longer remain users but are play important role in product evolution. The one who ignores clients is the one deviating the business to dead end.

Repeating mistakes again and again

“Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes.” ― John Dewey

Each day brings along with it the opportunity to commit mistakes and learn lessons from them. Smart are those who learn from their mistakes and from the mistakes of others. It is okay to make mistakes for the first time and is considered as an opportunity to learn, but one must remember that every failure comes with a cost. Therefore analyzing the mistake and learning from it will help you not repeat it in the future.

Trying to be one man army and not seeking help

One can not build a company single-handedly; it involves people with varied skills. With the increase in work probability of mismanagement increases and it becomes very difficult for a single person to do each and everything. Like-minded and passionate team members make it possible to realize the dream in an efficient way. Time has changed, now it is all about collaborating and helping each other grow and flourish. Professionals find networking and helping each other a very good way to explore and learn. It is one of the first steps to building a symbiotic community. Holding back oneself from doing so surely is equivalent to deliberately ignoring potential opportunities.

Not investing in learning

Nurturing a business is a dynamic process. Though the core values remain the same, the ones flexible to change according to client’s needs are the ones who survive. Change is the only constant and the only way to sail through the waves of change is by boarding the ship of learnings. Investing in learning opportunity is a long-term investment for both company and employee.

This article originally appeared on the Bhive blog.