Cardinal Mistakes in Business – Beware
Are you being penny wise and pound foolish in your business? Sometimes we get so busy building business, we take on too many staff and overspend on marketing and promotions but neglect to take care of little things like servicing equipment and updating software. And these little things can take a company down…
This contributed post exposes 3 cardinal mistakes in business…
Is Your Business Doomed To Fall Victim to These Things?
If you start a business without the assumption that you’re going to need to spend some money, then you’re in for a seriously rude awakening. The old saying that you’ve got to spend money to make money might be something of a cliche, but it’s a cliche for a good reason! Without investing into your business then you’re never going to get anything out of it.
However, that doesn’t mean that you should be happy just throwing money at your business without really thinking. In fact, there are plenty of ways in which many businesses end up spending far more than they need to simply because they aren’t aware of how easy those costs are to avoid.
With that in mind here are some of the most common avoidable business costs and how to make sure that you don’t end up paying more than you should.
Equipment failure
No matter what kind of business you’re running, whether it’s logistics, manufacturing, construction, retail, or anything else, then you’re going to need to use various pieces of equipment in order for it to function. However, many business owners forget how important it is to keep their equipment well maintained and cared for.
If you don’t maintain your equipment, then it’s far more likely to break and cause serious issues for your business as a whole. Whether it’s equipment from https://iscsales.com/ to keep things functioning properly, IT management so that your infrastructure is always working properly, or simply encouraging your employees to turn their computers off overnight so that they don’t overheat, the importance of proper equipment maintenance cannot be overstated.
Sure, it might take up a portion of your time that you’d rather spend on other things, but it’s far less inconvenient than dealing with full-on malfunctions.
Too many employees
Many small businesses simply have too many employees. When that happens then there often isn’t enough work to go around, and employees end up bored and unmotivated.
By streamlining your staff more effectively then your employees are going to have enough work to keep them engaged throughout the day, and you’ll find that you not only save money on wages but your business becomes more productive as a whole.
Excess marketing
Marketing is undeniably an extremely important aspect of any business, but a mistake a lot of newer businesses make is that they tend to assume that more marketing is inherently superior to less marketing.
The truth is that it’s far better to have focused and well-considered marketing than to try and cover all of your bases at once. Not only is that a waste of time and money but most businesses tend to find that it’s not even very effective because you’re unable to dedicate enough attention to specific demographics and methods.
Of course, this isn’t going to take away all of the costs of your business, but at the very least it allows you to use your money in a more useful and productive way in order to truly make your business better.
Are you making any of these cardinal mistakes in business? Is your business doomed?
Nice post
At my previous job, I was working at a local feed mill and I am much aware of the problems that broken equipment can bring. I just do not know what the perfect balance should be between the employees and the amount of work should be. I do not want to break people that work for me and I also do not want any people standing around. Thanks for pointing out some of the mistakes that most entrepreneurs make regarding their business.
Thanks so much for sharing your personal experience, Viljoen. And what an interesting question. I’m sure there are many business owners struggling with exactly that challenge. Have you ever read “Maverick” by Ricardo Semler? He offers a brilliant option for exactly this challenge, have your staff working for themselves.