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Starting your own business is tough. In fact, only 39.5 percentof new businesses remain open after six years, according to theSBA's Office of Advocacy. Gene Fairbrother, lead small-businessconsultant for the National Association for the Self Employed andpresident of MBA Consulting Inc., reveals the five most commonstart-up mistakes:
1. Failing to set up strong and established financialroutines. Entrepreneurs often don't know where their money iscoming from or where it's going.
2. Not conducting the proper market research. Even worseis when start-up entrepreneurs don't respect feedback fromcustomers or potential clients.
3. Charging less than the market will bear. This leads tosmaller profit margins and ultimately too little revenue to stayopen.
4. Getting caught up in day-to-day tasks without futureplanning. For example, some entrepreneurs market only when theyneed new business, not realizing it could take months to reap theefforts of their campaign.
5. Not seeking proper support. Remember, businessconsultants, accountants, lawyers and industry organizations areall a startup entrepreneur's best friends.
