Why Most Entrepreneurs Fail – How to Avoid Similar Mistakes

The number one dream of any entrepreneur building a business is to build a business that will survive for many generations. You have taken the risk from becoming an employee to becoming an entrepreneur. Good risk!

Do you remember what makes you decide to become an entrepreneur? Was it the freedom that attracted you, travel when and where you want, spend more time doing fun things with your family, make your own decision and be your own BOSS?

If you are in sales, network marketing, or entrepreneurship, stay glued because in this post you are going to find out why 8 out of 10 entrepreneurs who start their businesses failed within their first 18 months.

A whopping 80% of you sadly crash and burn because you don’t understand and apply one crucial key to take your business to the next level.

Why is it that there are 7 figure entrepreneurs all over the world bringing in cash and making it look easy while others struggle to bring in a fraction of that, ending up frustrated, burn out, and broke.

The truth is, business success is not just about location, location, location. It is not about being the first business to penetrate your market, or even having the absolute best product or service around. Business has gone far more than that.

If you are struggling, and not growing your income as you’d like, you can bet it is because of one of these 5 reasons;

1. Having No Business Plan

There are lots of entrepreneurs who just venture into business without thinking of writing down a plan for their business. Talking of business plan here, I am not talking about those 22+ pages business plan that is used to seek for loans. I am talking about a plan on how you intend running your business which can be a piece of paper.

Some entrepreneurs even fool themselves that they have all the knowledge inside their head, even if you have the information inside your head, you still need to carry out some research, advertising plans that need to be written down.

“Do not venture into any business without a business plan!”

2. Living the Dream too Early

This is one of the biggest reasons most entrepreneurs fail and I was also a victim of this mistake. At my early stage of starting my business, money started pouring in and I started living my dream lifestyle by buying new things and spending money as if I was doing ritual.

I stopped writing and started outsourcing gigs out to writers while I keep the difference. I was buying new clothes, electronic gadgets, taking my friends out and travelling, supporting my mother with cash for her business without investing back into the business.

Eventually, I was broke and in debt. If I was just broke, it would have been better but I was in debt. I owed my writers money and I had to write myself so I can raise money to pay them.

This is one thing most online entrepreneurs do when they start making money from their business, they just believe it will continue to pour in as if they put the money in autopilot.

Living the dream too early is one pitfall for most entrepreneurs which is not advisable because the number reason why you created your business was to stay in business.

“Living the dream too early is one pitfall for most entrepreneurs”

3. Lack of Focus

Lack of focus is one reason most entrepreneurs fail in the 21^st century business. As their business begins to boom, they want to dive into another business niche because to them they are already making a whole lot of success in their present niche and start thinking of another niche where they can start making money.

I wanted to do this too but I started thinking about most successful entrepreneurs that are making millions with their business and they all stand out in one thing.

When you think of Mark Zuckerberg, what comes into your mind? Facebook. When you think Apple, what comes into your mind? Steve Job. When you think of Warren Buffet, what comes into your mind? Investing.

Robert Kiyosaki? Real Estate. Bill Gate? Microsoft. But when you think of yourself, what comes into your mind?

These people made sure they focus on one niche and build it into an empire before even thinking of investing into another business. Mark Zuckerberg now owns Instagram, WhatsApp but when you remember his name, Facebook first pump into your mind before you will remember that he also has bought Instagram and WhatsApp.

I am not against multiple stream of income, but have you built a system in your business that you are very sure you can build another business from scratch? Do you know you have to hold a business for at least 6 years before venturing into stream?

Focus is what most entrepreneurs lack and this alone can destroy a business.

“When you think of yourself, what comes to your mind?”

4. Taking Time for Granted

Most entrepreneurs take time for granted, just because there is a set time to work does not mean that you have to follow it. The work of an entrepreneur involves calling customers, marketing, advertising, invoicing, bookkeeping and others and you can’t accomplish that with the normal work hours.

I don’t take time for granted in my business, I work whenever I open my eyes and stop whenever I close my eyes. I have no work time schedule. I take my work with the spirit of urgency; I learnt this from successful entrepreneurs.

Time cannot be gotten back when it is gone, so you have to make sure you make good use of it if you want to succeed in business.

“I don”t take time for granted in my business”

5. I Can Do All Things

This bad mindset is what kills most entrepreneurs. They think no one can perform a given task better than them and want to do all things themselves. Great things are hardly achieved alone. An entrepreneur who does not wish to empower his or her team members or seek help will definitely end up in failure.

“Great things are hardly achieved alone”

What other reasons would you attribute to why most entrepreneurs fail? I will like to hear yours through the comment box.