Dec 1, 2010

8 Deadly Mistakes When Running a Business


Anyone who have been in business made mistakes. In fact, the longer you’re in business, the more mistakes you’ll make. It’s just that the ratio of good decisions to bad ones improves over time. To help you guide not to commit some of the obvious ones, we list here 8 deadly mistakes you would likely commit. Keep on reading.

1. Underestimating the importance of cash-flow management. You can be making plenty of money, but if the cash is not arriving in time to meet the payroll, finance your borrowings and buy inventory when it’s needed, you can be quickly out of business.

2. Sloppy record keeping. Good records are a key decision making tool. If you are not keeping track of your business, you are denying yourself the tools to make good business decisions.

3. Ignoring inventory. If you end up with stale inventory, discount it and get rid of it. Otherwise you are tying up money and storage space.

4. Neglecting collections. Unless you have a systematic collection plan and make sure it is carried out, people just won’t pay.

5. Disregarding employee concerns. Get expert advice on human resource issues. While it may look expensive, it can save you a bundle in the end.

6. Failing to delegate. Turn some of the job over to the best assistant you can hire and trust that person to do the job. If you insist on doing it all yourself, you can’t grow.

7. Offering something the customer doesn’t want. Talk to customers and respond to what they tell you. The house recipe might have been in the family for three generations, but tastes do change and you will have to adjust to that.

8. Letting costs get out of control. Be careful not to spend all the profit. Keep your personal funds separate from your business money. Reinvest a healthy percentage for business expansion or bank it in reserve for a rainy day.

Source: Business Line, photo courtesy of learn.south-thames.ac.uk

1 comment:

  1. These are great and useful business advises. I read this several times. thanks

    ReplyDelete