Starting a small business can be very exciting and very nerve-wracking, especially if you are bringing your International business into the States. Once you have decided to start your own business in the American market, you can save yourself a lot of frustration by learning from other businesses that made the same mistakes. There are quite a few common mistakes that small businesses make and we are going to discuss the 3 most common mistakes.
1: Do You Have a Business Plan?
Many small businesses fail to set up a business plan. It may be tedious work, but it is imperative that you, as an entrepreneur, have a plan that you can follow and put into action. Have you done your research? Have you looked at the market potential for your product or services you are going to offer? The most important plans to focus on when you are just getting started are your business plan, your financial plan, and your marketing plan.
If you don’t have these plans written or typed up somewhere, there is a really good chance that you are going to lose your focus. These plans don’t need to be long and extremely detailed. By taking the time to chart out your business plan, you will be able to visualize and stay on target for your goals and will allow you to “celebrate” each monumental goal you have written down.
2: Have You Done Your Market Research?
Silly question, right? Wrong. Just like the business plan, many small businesses fail to do their market research. Some questions to ask yourself would be: How large is your potential market? Who are your competitors? How do their products or services compare to yours? Would you be able to improve on their business model? You could even ask the opinions of friends and family to get their insight on your plan.
When doing your market research you also need to figure out who your customer is going to be. Have you tested out your product and or service? Does it work? Who are you going to market to? Once you have figure out who you are going to market to, all of the marketing efforts should be pointed to your target audience.
3: Are Your Prices Too Low?
Fear of failure is one of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs and small businesses make when setting their prices. You need to make sure that you are setting your prices right to be sure that your International business will be successful in the American Market. What is a unique value of what you have to offer? If you need to do a small discount to start up your customer base, that is fine, but you need to make sure you are not setting yourself up for failure before you even get started.
It is important that you also consider all the costs in producing your product or service, especially if you are going to be importing goods. Undervaluing your products or service is a difficult road to recover from. Be sure you are searching the market thoroughly as you start your small business and don’t cut yourself short on funds.
Making mistakes in a small business is bound to happen. ReachOut Business Solutions is here to help! Let us help you learn from others mistakes and let us help you get your small business up and running in the United States. Click here to contact us! Be sure to follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to keep up with all the latest news for your International business adventures.
