Made especially by beginners, but not only, mistakes in business are signs to analyze taking into account both internal and external factors.
This time let’s focus a little on the inner ones and see how the attitude of the entrepreneur – of the leader – can affect the development and the smooth running of a business.
The good part is that as you become aware of your actions and decisions, through repetition and practice you can right most of the wrongs you may not even know you are doing.
We discuss 7 common mistakes entrepreneurs make in online businesses, along with solutions to apply as soon as possible.
Summary 7 mistakes entrepreneurs make online
1. Entrepreneurs make mistakes when they assume.
They assume the right thing to do, and don’t rely on data, which they actually have at hand.
Unlike offline, online you have both reports in various tools that constantly analyze the business, and easy-to-use tools for gathering feedback.
Reports to check regularly:
- Google Analytics
- Reports from the eCommerce platform – unosoft
- Google Search Console
- Hotjar
- SimilarWeb
- Google Trends
Entrepreneurs are wrong when they assume they know:
Customers
- What do they want?
- What do they want?
- What do they like?
- What don’t they like?
- What do they need urgently?
- How do they look?
- When does it search?
Team
- What do they want?
- How much do they want?
- What do they know?
- How do I do it?
- What do they like/dislike?
Technology used
- Costs vs. results?
- How good?
- What to watch out for?
- What’s plan B?
- What happens when… [scenarii]?
Marketing
- How does it work?
- What fits?
- When is the right time?
- What channels?
- Who’s the message for?
- Worth it or not worth it?
Solution:
Use the data and actively ask questions to collect the correct data. Make business decisions based on it.
Read also: SWOT analysis – when and how to do it to grow your online store
2. Entrepreneurs fail when they don’t have a strategy.
They don’t have a business, marketing, growth strategy. They take actions when and how they want.
That way, it’s very hard to stay in control and keep track of actions vs. results.
Essential questions for a successful business:
- Do you understand your products?
- What are the benefits and advantages of the products you want to sell?
- Why do customers buy your products?
- Why would customers buy from you?
- What is the avatar of the customer?
Based on the answers, you can formulate a BUSINESS PLAN and unified strategies for each part of your business:
- marketing strategy
- communication strategy with customers / partners
- logistics strategy
- automation strategy
- scaling strategy
Solution:
You need a plan of action. Do it now!
3. Entrepreneurs make mistakes when they don’t focus on sales.
They are more curious about developments and design than selling.
And they tend to follow the big players in the market, without really understanding what’s behind it.
If you feel the need for new features for your store, think again:
- Does it use users and customers?
- Does it really help you sell or does it hinder the whole ordering process?
Only after you do an analysis, ask people (users of your site) and talk to your developer (who should normally have experience on various niches, including yours), do you decide if you really need those features or not.
Important to remember!
You don’t build your online store for yourself, you build it for your customers. For them to feel comfortable here, to easily familiarize themselves with its pages and offers and to use it extremely easily and confidently.
Tip!
Before you launch and in the first few months of business you need the basic functions and integrations into the platform (products, usability, payment, shipping, billing, CRM, minimal marketing).
Solution:
Focus on promoting your business and providing exceptional customer service so that customers can help you grow.
Read also: How do I find target products that I can be successful with from the start
4. Entrepreneurs fail when they don’t have a launch process.
They don’t have such a process for either the store, new products, or deals.
What does an effective launch process look like?
- Set the star products for launch – Unique, solves an immediate problem/need, is small in size, etc.
- Choose marketing channels for launch – pag. Facebook & IG, blog, PPC ads, newsletters, partners etc.
- Make sure you have your “starter kit” – landing page teasing/launch (shop/offer), banners, discount rules, popups, hellobar, emails etc.
- Do teasing before launch – pre-orders, pre-releases, postings etc.
- Test the sales flow in the shop – Urgent items, videos, order steps etc.
- Retain your first customers and make sure they bring you new customers
Solution:
NO wait! Everything will never be perfect. The important thing for you is to start the business, get into the market, gain traffic and make sales.
5. Entrepreneurs make mistakes when they don’t budget for the right things.
They don’t budget for online presence and activity.
An online store has a wide range of ways to promote itself, some at very low cost. But that doesn’t mean you can sell online without investing money.
What you budget for in an online shop:
- Domain and hosting
- Integrations with service providers: payment processors, shipping companies, billing, etc.
- eCommerce platform
- Specialized applications your store needs
- Budgeting for marketing: tools, strategy / outsourcing
Solution:
Keep your finances under control and organize a budget annually, which you can adjust monthly.
Read also: What expenses to expect for an online store
6. Entrepreneurs are wrong when they refuse to think about competition.
The blue ocean strategy is familiar to many of you already. But you can’t understand it, and more importantly, you can’t apply it, until you realize who your competitors are.
Your business operates in a chaotic, ever-changing marketplace – so it’s vital to keep an eye on your competitors.
What things do you watch your competitors for your own strategy?
- What do they all do well and offer their customers? – You identify the points of parity (which you should also offer).
- What do they do that you can cover? – points of difference
- How to promote? – you can use the same channels, because you already know your audience is on them.
- What messages are they sending? – what opportunities can you use?
- Where do I get backlinks from? – you can use the same sources for your shop.
Solution:
Take inspiration from your competitors (without copying them) and follow their moves constantly so that you have a chance to attract customer attention.
7. Entrepreneurs make mistakes when they rely too much on motivation.
The outlook and focus of many beginning entrepreneurs turns to motivation. You get the impression that if you’re motivated enough (and keep that motivation), you can move mountains out of place.
But the truth is that motivation without hard work and experience quickly turns to naivety.
What you want to build – a business of value – takes time, patience and perseverance.
The daily grind, the sleepless nights, the long hours in front of the computer, these are the things that over time replace the pull that motivation gave you when you started your business.
Entrepreneurial attitude is formed through experience and hard work, not by following a motivational hashtag on Instagram or reading books about entrepreneurs.
Solution:
The simplest solution to this mistake is simply to put your hands and work for your store.
Read also: 5 Mistakes when starting a business – and what to do instead
Have you made it this far? Great, congratulations!
Now it’s time to look at your business and how you’re doing as an entrepreneur. You may be making one of the mistakes mentioned today without even realizing it.
Apply the ideas you’ve received and, with time, you can revise your attitude so that you can get back on the road to success.
PS. You know what else you can do wrong? Not using the unosoft platform to its full potential!
You have +155 apps and integrations, hundreds of modules, from SEO and marketing to CRM and automation, and +14 customizable themes.
If you’re not selling with us yet, now’s the time. You can open a demo free of charge for 15 days to convince yourself of the advantages we offer.
Passionate about entrepreneurship and eCommerce, I started my online activity in 2000.
Together with my team I have helped over 2,200 companies grow their business on the unosoft platform.
