To err is human – this is something that can’t be denied or disputed. People are inherently flawed, so it’s in our very nature to make mistakes, no matter how hard we try to avoid them. This is all the more true when it comes to starting and running a business, since these types of endeavours come with a high level of risk, particularly for those who are just starting out and lack practical experience.
Given all the intricate processes and the numerous tasks that entrepreneurs and business owners have to handle, opportunities to make mistakes abound. Whether it’s poor cash flow management, the lack of a well-conceived business plan, neglecting market research, setting unrealistic expectations, hiring ill-equipped staff, or ineffective marketing, there are many things that entrepreneurs can get wrong.
However, in the business world, mistakes can cost you dearly, and the validity of the aforementioned universally accepted truth won’t bring you much comfort when your errors bring you to the brink of failure. While blunders and setbacks often serve as great learning opportunities, they can also lead to irreparable damage and cause the demise of your business venture, and no one wants to go that far just to learn a lesson.
This doesn’t mean you’re destined to make every mistake there is as you’re trying to get your company off the ground. With the right approach and mentality, you can make smarter decisions and avoid many of the pitfalls that could stop you from achieving your goals.
Acknowledge your weaknesses
You can’t fix or improve something if you don’t know what’s broken or where the issue lies. Awareness is key to addressing existing and potential faults and flaws that can pose a problem to your business’s development because it enables you to take precautions and implement preventative measures early on. Start by looking for risk zones and areas where you are more likely to make mistakes or where you’ve already experienced issues in the past. Regular audits are a great way to bring to the surface vulnerabilities that you may have overlooked so far.
These assessments allow you to gain a more in-depth view into different business systems and processes such as accounting and financial management, security and fraud detection, compliance, operational efficiency, and so on. Once you know what aspects of your business you need to work on, you can start thinking about potential solutions and strategies that could help you patch up the weak points and prevent problems from happening.
Go digital
The monotonous and repetitive nature of certain jobs makes them time-consuming and tiresome for human workers – which also increases the risk of mistakes. Fortunately, the days when every business task and operation had to be handled manually are long gone. Now, we live in the digital age where many of our activities take place in the online environment and are facilitated by a whole range of digital devices and tools.
Automation and digitalisation have revolutionized how people work by streamlining workflows, standardising processes, improving data accuracy, reducing the physical and mental strain of routine activities, as well as the need for human intervention – and consequently lowering the risks associated with all these. No matter what type of company you’re running, there are countless tech and software solutions you can employ to improve operations and avoid human errors, from CRM systems to accounting and project management software, and so on.
Let data lead the way
As a business owner, you’ll have to make a lot of decisions, ranging from routine choices to complex calls that can have a major impact on your company’s future and even decide its fate. These responsibilities can weigh heavily on your shoulders, and the stress that comes with them can make it difficult for you to think clearly and maintain an objective perspective on what’s happening, leaving room for mistakes.
In these instances, the only thing that can help you eliminate incertitude and avoid emotional decision-making, which is a sure path to making errors, is to rely on hard data and evidence. Whenever you find yourself at a crossroads and are met with multiple options, not knowing which path to follow, you should focus your attention on research, studies, and stats, and look at what the data tells you. Choose facts over assumptions and thorough analysis over guesswork, and the risk of mistakes will drop dramatically.
Train your team
Mistakes can happen at every level in a company, so even if you‘re at the top of your game, acing everything you do, you still need to make sure your team members are just as prepared and confident as you are, because you can’t run a business on your own.
Investing in ongoing training and providing your employees with opportunities to improve their skills and knowledge, be it through online courses, mentoring programs, workshops, etc, is a sure way to foolproof your enterprise. Knowledgeable employees are not just safer, but also more productive and creative, and able to handle challenges more effectively.
Outsource
You can’t possibly be an expert in every area of activity, and chances are you don’t have a team full of specialists either. You might get away with improvising and cutting corners for a while, but eventually, the reality of being understaffed and underskilled will catch up with you and cause you to falter.
Therefore, you have to recognize your limitations and look for ways to fill the skills and talent gap in your company. Outsourcing is the solution when you want to access specialized expertise and ensure flexibility and adaptability. This can look like exploring wealth management options, hiring accounting and finance services, partnering up with IT and tech experts, and so on, allowing you to scale resources up or down as needed.
Final thoughts
A mistake or more may not be the end of the world, but they can be the end of your business if you don’t take action and learn to do better. There will always be external obstacles standing in the way of your success, so you should at least make sure it’s not you who’s hindering the growth of your company. You can either let your shortcomings get the best of you or you can cultivate a winner’s mentality and improve with every opportunity.
