Learn from these 6 Business Hurdles

If you thought coming up with a business idea was tricky, we guarantee running a company (even if you’re the only one working for it), is harder. But there are lessons to be learned from other people’s mistakes, which can help make those dreams a reality.

One Reddit user detailed the difficulties they faced being self-employed when launching their own cleaning business. These lessons may be useful to anyone running a small to medium business:

1. Funding

We all love watching the success stories on Shark Tank, with unique start-ups getting a lot of interest from investors. But a cleaning business, for example, doesn’t attract the same venture capitalists as tech start-ups from Silicon Valley. Costs the Reddit user hadn’t factored in included registering the company, opening a bank account, listing their website’s domain name, hosting a website, and even printing collateral. Make sure you have start-up capital for the obvious expenses, like supplies and equipment, as well as hidden costs.

2. Pride

Potential clients may be people you know, like those you went to school with. In this case, the Reddit user said they found it difficult when people asked what they had been doing the last few years. At the time, they were broke and had been hired to clean the house of someone they went to school with (including their toilet). The first thing they needed to do was get over what people thought of their occupation and remind themselves they were budding entrepreneurs.

3. Naming

Coming up with a name for your business is harder than it seems, and it’s important to do your research. Ensure the name is memorable and not too similar to an existing business. Also make sure you explore the domain name options. The one you finally come up with may not get accepted if it’s too common, so it’s important to have back-ups.

4. Partners

Are you going into business with a friend or family member? This is something you may want to reconsider. Businesses have the potential to ruin personal relationships. What happens if you don’t have the same work ethic? What about if one friend/partner works harder than the other and therefore dividing profits may not seem fair? There are several similar scenarios, but if you still want to team up with your buddy, ensure you clearly communicate at the very beginning and set up some agreements.

5. Pricing

It can be difficult to price your services or products when you first start or even change them as time goes on. Don’t make the mistake of having too low prices, or too high. It might be worth doing the research and getting quotes from your competitors, as well as feedback from the market before you set your prices.

6. Legal

Make sure you have contracts in place before you start offering services or selling products. People can, and will, take advantage of you as a newbie and if agreements aren’t in writing, then it’s very easy for them to do so. Try Googling free online templates for service agreements and getting clients to sign before commencing work.

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