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I like to tell people I’ve made so many mistakes as an entrepreneur that I can’t help but succeed from this point on. Unfortunately, that isn’t true. No matter how many mistakes one makes as an entrepreneur, there are more ways to fail than can fit into a lifetime. While failure may be overrated, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn from it when it happens. Wouldn’t it be better if you could learn from the mistakes someone else has made, rather than having to make them yourself. Here are some mistakes I have made and have watched other people close to me make; I hope you learn from these mistakes rather than repeating them.

Here are five of the larger ones:

Ignoring wise advice

I’ve had some great mentors over the years. The best one was and still is my husband. It’s a pity that when I most needed to heed his advice, I ignored it. I know it pained him to see me make mistakes he had told me how to avoid but I was stubborn and thought I knew better. If you don’t have a mentor who tells you when you’re wrong — get one, and listen to him or her.

Lying to yourself

Have you brought on the wrong partner or started a business that you begin to realize has no chance of success? I have watched people bring on business partners that are clearly not the right ones. Make sure you take your time to vet out your partner in business just like you do before deciding to get married. Don’t keep lying to yourself and hope your partner will change; realize you have made a mistake and move on.

Not learning to do things on your own

Never phone it in. Nobody is going to do it for you. Don’t bury your head in the sand and expect someone else to do your work because you don’t know how to do it and they can do it with their eyes closed. Rather than relying on your partner to make necessary changes to a spreadsheet or changes to your website because it’s so easy for them to do it learn how to do it yourself. I’m not saying that you can’t rely on your partner but there are times where something is going to need immediate attention and your partner might not have the time to do it. Don’t sit there with that pit in your stomach hoping that it magically gets done; learn how to do it yourself. Trust me, it will empower you. My best advice is just to Youtube it. It’s amazing what you can learn how to do.

Being too easily satisfied

If you’re not growing, you’re dying. If you ever become satisfied with where you are, you either need to set loftier goals or change your line of work. Don’t become too easily satisfied and take a break. Your business will never get past a certain point.

 

Not time blocking

It’s human nature of an entrepreneur to strive towards something better and not feel complacent; but sometimes we become to reactionary and start the day by taking care of what is immediately in front of us. It is essential to time block your day. The first part of your day should be prospecting for new business. If you don’t spend time doing this everyday you’re not going to have a business. Stay in front of our prospects so when they need someone with your services there you are. I use LinkedIn and email marketing campaigns to do this for my clients and myself.