3 Mistakes to Avoid

We all make mistakes, but as a business owner, mistakes can cost you money! Today I'm sharing an article I recently read from businessinsider.com featuring an interview with a small business owner as she shares mistakes she has personally made and how to avoid them.

Lowballing Prices
"When I first started my business, I was so desperate to gain credibility in the industry that I offered a very low rate to my first five clients. I even offered two of them my services for free in exchange for testimonials. But even as my business became more well-known and inquiries were entering my inbox, my mindset stayed the same. I wanted to have a revolving door of clients booking my services and I felt the only way to make that happen was to charge very low fees." The business owner goes on to say she ultimately increased her prices 20% after evaluating business expenses and now increases prices 15% each year to account for inflation.

Failing to Diversify Income
"As a solopreneur, I'm the only one who provides the set services for clients. For my business to make money, I have to work with a set number of people every month. By the third year of running my business, I realized that this model wasn't scalable. There were only so many people I could work with every month and I was getting burned out." She mentions a great idea to avoid this was adding streams of passive income, like an online course.

Paying Business Expenses With Personal Funds
"While I do keep a close eye on my personal finances, that hasn't been the case with my business finances. Over the years, I've overspent on products, services, software, and other expenses for the business. I often have credit card bills that wipe out most of the income my business earned that month. In order to pay those bills and save for taxes, I have to give my business loans from my personal savings account a few times a year." An ideal way to avoid this for the business owner was to hire a bookkeeper to help keep her accountable. (Hey, QuickBooks could help too!)

What about you? What are some mistakes you've made that you think all business owners should be aware of? Let's chat in the comments.