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5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make

Guest post by: Terri Levine

Article Overview: How to recognize and deal with 5 common mistakes made by entrepreneurs.

5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make

Mistake Number One:

Failure to have a Marketing Plan with a Marketing System to accomplish the marketing plan. Not having a marketing system that consistently, predictably, and profitably brings in new customers/clients who are eager to purchase what the business has to sell is the ultimate downfall of a small business.

Business does not simply come to you because you have a card or a website or because you intend for business to flock to you. To make it in business, you must have a marketing plan along with a marketing system.

Without a clear marketing vision, the entrepreneur doesn't have a clear action plan and they lose focus and tend to get pulled in different directions. The foundation of success as a Master Entrepreneur is a formula that contains a marketing system that works.

Mistake Number Two:

Not knowing who the target market is and offering services and products to any audience who might buy. You must target your market. If you aren't clear and focused you will not attract the clients you want. Without traffic your business is dead. Traffic is like oxygen, without it you die. Traffic brings you potential customers. Some potential customers turn into money spending customers. That is the sequence for making money in any business. The Internet is no different. If you don't do everything possible to attract visitors to your website to purchase your goods, you won't have any sales. You sell a product or service and must tailor this to a very specific audience.

If your business doesn't solve a specific problem for a specific highly targeted audience, you won't make much money and you probably won't have a business after a year. Don't just sell real estate to anyone... or coaching/consulting to anyone... or a car to anyone... gear up to sell a service or product to one audience like financial planners, or first time home buyers only, or people who own $100,000K Chiropractic businesses. Then your message can be focused and targeted and will yield effective results. One message to one audience.

Mistake Number Three:

Not using "leverage". Master Entrepreneurs leverage everything. This is a huge secret of their success. Don't spin your wheels creating a document, having conversation, and going to a workshop or anything else that doesn't allow you to leverage all your resources. Think about how you can leverage your time, money, relationships and learning. In other words, develop a system that helps you accomplish more in much less time and make more money from applying the system.

Entrepreneurs who suffer from the "The Lone Ranger Syndrome" try to handle everything themselves. This sets them up to fail because they eventually run out of time, money, health... and suffer from burnout.

You need to use strategies of working with others and asking others for help. The more resources of time, space, money, people and information and learning from those who have gone before you, the more likely you are to be around next year. No one that is successful does it alone. Consider connecting with other Business owners and start a Mastermind group. A support group helps you to take actions consistently and can come up with solutions to problems that you have since they are not involved directly in it.

Mistake Number Four:

Getting discouraged and not sticking with their business in full force. When the going gets tough and there are setbacks, getting stuck dwelling on what is lacking and what is going wrong. The Master Entrepreneur, instead, has clear techniques to focus on success. In fact, in a study of 50 businesswomen interviewed by the Ontario department of industry and commerce, success as an entrepreneur comes from the personal quality of persistence. For 43.8% of these women interviewed, the most important quality would appear to be determination.

The Master Entrepreneur has a huge drive to achieve and succeed and quitting is never an option. They have full confidence and believe in their own success.

How can you increase your personal determination? Look at the beliefs, behaviors and patterns in your business that are keeping you stuck and start on a plan, step by step, to make changes. Do you think it is hard to get clients or accounts? Do you believe the economy is negatively impacting your business? Look at the words you are speaking. Your brain cannot tell the difference between fantasy and reality - If you are talking about how things are not going well, your brain registers that as reality and you will find yourself not doing the actions you need to do.

Mistake Number Five:

Believing they don't have to sell. The Master Entrepreneur recognizes they are in the business of selling their products and services. They have dealt with any issues they have about selling and sales reluctance. They are clear on what exactly they sell including the features and benefits and how to language what they sell to others. The Master Entrepreneur thinks outside the box when selling. They take selling actions every single day and create business and opportunity as their main function.

Do YOU have what it takes to be a Master Entrepreneur?

Do you have the energy and focus?

Do you have the desire?

Do you have the vision?

Do you have confidence?

Do you have the belief?

Do you have the confidence to accept any failures and turn them into opportunities?

Do you have the energy reserves, for stress and success?

Does your business feel very important to you?

Do you have support?

Are you realistic about how long success may take, and are you committed to making the business work?

Do you have all the knowledge and support you need?

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Article Tags: business, entrepreneur, leverage, marketing, small business, target market



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