The seven most common mistakes of entrepreneurs

Running a business isn't for the faint of heart. There is so much to do and know that everyone makes mistakes along the way.

But errors become the lessons that lead to success. It’s when you fail to recognize your mistakes, and rectify them, that you put your business dreams at risk.

Here are seven classic business mistakes every entrepreneur should watch out for:

• King Arthur Syndrome: This is the feeling entrepreneurs get when they think they know everything. It especially afflicts those who have enjoyed early success, and don't realize how much of it was luck. B.C. real-estate entrepreneur Peter Thomas says you’ll know you have this syndrome when you stop discussing deals with your advisors or your spouse. Once you think you know it all, you're riding for a fall.
  
  
• Trying to do it all: Even King Arthur let his knights manage the dragon-slaying and Grail-searching. Many business founders have trouble delegating; they’ve done every job in the company, and think they're best at every one. For your business to succeed, you have to continually delegate routine tasks to other staff, so you can handle the highest-value tasks. (Hint: they usually involve customer relationships, product development, or training and mentoring people. Not fixing equipment or counting pencils.) Hire good people and let them do their jobs.
  
  
• Expanding too rapidly: Many entrepreneurs are driven by a need to grow, grow, grow. If you have a product, you need a product line; if you own one store, three is better. Growth comes with a price: the rising cost of materials, supplies, people, real estate, and management complexity. Keep your overhead in check. Do research to confirm your market really wants more of you. Make your systems solid (production, sales, distribution, management and communications) before you expand. A little slack now can cause dangerous imbalance as you grow.
  
  
• Expecting customers to find you: Many entrepreneurs today put so much effort into building classy websites and online services that they forget Rule No.1: there is no business without customers. Make sure your budget includes a professional, ongoing marketing campaign. Whoever said, “If you build it they will come,” wasn't talking about websites.
  
  
• Not understanding what makes you distinct: I've met many entrepreneurs who have trouble articulating the values and benefits that make their products and services unique. Every morning you must ask yourself, “Why will people buy from me today?” If you can't state a unique value proposition, how can you attract new customers?
  
  
• Not charging enough: Sure, you have to be competitive. But if your business has a solid value proposition and customer trust, maybe it’s time to raise prices. Do what the big brands do: introduce upgraded versions of your product or service, and give customers a reason to buy more. Build a higher base price so that if a good customer demands discounts, you have sufficient margin to survive.
  
  
• Sticking too long with a losing product or business: Entrepreneurs expect hardship, rejection and setbacks. They're in for the long haul. But sometimes persistence is no longer a virtue. If years of hard work and great ideas fail to ignite customers’ passions, maybe it’s time to move on to something else that will. Ottawa technology entrepreneur John Kelly puts it this way: “When the horse is dead, dismount.”