Small Or Home Biz Start Up Don'ts

First of all, don't stop reading based on the headline if you're already in business for yourself. Let me tell you why; 99% of the small business owners I talk to every month have HOLES in their business. Sales and Marketing holes, many of which could be fixed for free or very little investment. They don't see these holes usually however because they're too close to their own business but that doesn't mean they aren't there.

I see the holes as huge opportunities for increased sales that could happen with such little effort or expense. In fact, often times the seasoned business owner is so set in their ways that they don't evolve with the times, therefore actually losing market share, revenues and overall marketing pizzazz; it becomes much more difficult to attract new clients when you're not moving the business in forward motion. It's important to continue evolving and changing your business as you go; you will never be done creating your online presence, your marketing or getting to your next level. If you decide to be complacent then your income will stagnate as well.

Here are some Small or Home Biz Start Up Don'ts:

1. Design your own website even if you have access to a free or low-cost template that seems pretty easy to get going because you don't know what needs to be on your website in order to drive traffic and convert visitors once they're there.

2. Develop a brochure or costly printed marketing materials until you're sure about what to write on them (most I see are horrible and will do nothing to build a person's business).

3. Spend money on advertising right off the bat because more than likely you will have not done your homework on the above two items first and you won't have a clear and effective message or call to action.

4. Try to do everything yourself; the sales, marketing, design, bookkeeping, technology, copywriting, etc. If you do, you'll quickly have a JOB that doesn't probably make you very much money because you'll be way too focused on the non-money-making activities than what really needs to get done in order to start making money.

5. Wait to ask for help because if you do, it could be TOO late by then and you won't be able to afford the help you need to turn the business around to start generating sales and clients. 80% of the entrepreneurs who come to me for help do so as a last resort; they've run out of funding for their business and can't pay their bills, and it's a shame because they often times have to give up on their dream to go get a JOB to get back on their feet.

6. Make decisions based on what's in your checkbook today, make them on what's possible for you and where you want to be. One of my mentors once told me to ask myself when faced with a particular decision, and I've found it to be true for me and my business plus many of my friends, 'What would a milliondollar woman entrepreneur do in this situation?'. My goal is to have a multi-million dollar business but if your goal is to have a 6-figure business then substitute that instead.

I can tell you that as a 6-figure business owner I definitely do not think twice about automating, adding systems or technology or adding people to help me or mentor me to where I want to be. I go with my gut and make decisions quickly now and so do most of my peers. Besides, if you made a $10,000 investment that could literally reap you $30,000 or more in revenues, wouldn't that be an awesome investment? Yes it would!

7. Make your marketing decisions based on what you like or don't like. For example if you aren't fond of email newsletters yourself don't not do one for your company because of that; email marketing is still a very effective piece of your overall marketing pie. Same goes for direct mail, social networking, speaking, video marketing and more. Your marketing decisions need to be based on what matters most to your target market in regards to your products and services, not what matters to you.

There are many, many more don'ts and do's to know when setting up, starting, growing and marketing your small business but you may want to invest more in yourself to find out what those are so that you stop making costly and time consuming mistakes and can build a successful business faster.