Sooner than we thought, January is now over and we have a new month in the name of February. Were you able to achieve your goals for the month or maybe you think there are more days to go? Anyways I’m not here to remind you of your resolutions-(even though I’ve just done that).

What I’m interested to know is that are you newly self-employed? Or maybe not? Is your blog not your business? Then why then do you say you have no business? Ha-ha! Hey and remember this is not a post to just bloggers only but to anyone who claims to be self-employed on any field of endeavor. Good!

Now let us move on into details. But remember this post is being posted by looking through the eyes of Steve Pavlina. Okay, now let us look into ‘’5 Stupid Mistakes Made by Newly Self-Employed’’.

1.  Selling to the wrong people.

While sales are important to the survival of any business, you don’t need to push your business on everyone you meet, including friends and family.  Furthermore, it’s a waste of time to try selling to people who simply don’t need what you’re offering. Selling to the wrong people includes trying to sell to everyone.  Some customers are much easier to sell to than others. Just because someone is interested in doing business with you doesn’t mean you should accept. Don’t network with random people just because you think you’re supposed to network. If an offer doesn’t excite me right away, I usually decline or ignore it.  Most relationships simply aren’t worth pursuing.  Learn to say no to the weak opportunities so you have the capacity to say yes to the golden opportunities.

 

2.  Spending too much money.

Until you have a steady cashflow coming in, don’t spend your precious start-up cash unless it’s absolutely necessary.

In 2013 I started this online business with only $10 cash even though I could have spent much more on it.  No fancy logo, no snazzy web design, no business cards or stationery.  I paid to register the domain name, and that was it.  That’s as much as I was willing to spend before I started generating a positive cashflow.  All other business expenditures came out of that cashflow. Your business should put cash into your pocket, so before you “invest” money into it, be clear on how you’re going to pull that cash back out again.

Obviously some businesses require lots of cash to start, but in the age of the Internet business, you can very easily start a lucrative business for pocket change. 3.  Spending too little money.

 

3.  Spending too little money.

It’s also a mistake to be too stingy with your cash.  Don’t let frugality get in the way of efficiency.  Take advantage of skilled contractors who can do certain tasks more efficiently than you can.  Buy decent equipment when it’s clear you’ll get your money’s worth.  You don’t have to overspend on fancy furniture, but get functional furniture that helps you be more productive.  Don’t use an antiquated computer with outdated software that slows you down if you can afford something better.

It takes time to develop the wisdom to know when you’re being too tight or too loose with your cash, so if you’re just starting out, get a second opinion.  Often the very thought of getting a second opinion makes the correct choice clear.  If you can’t justify the expenditure to someone you respect, it’s probably a mistake.  On the other hand, there are situations where it’s hard to justify not spending the cash.

 

4.  Putting on a fake front.

Many one-person businesses refer to themselves as “we.”  That’s something a lot of new entrepreneurs do, but it isn’t necessary.  There’s nothing wrong with a one-person business, especially today.

It’s perfectly OK to refer to your business as an I when you’re the only one working in it.  Pretending that you’re a we when you’re really an I is a bit silly.  It’s not going to gain you any respect in a way that matters.  Promoting yourself as an I may even be an advantage today, since people will know the buck stops with you, and if you make a promise, you’re the one who will carry it out.  Promises from a we sometimes aren’t worth very much.

If you’re a newly self-employed person, don’t pretend you’re anything else.  Price your products and services fairly for your level of skills and talents.  Some newly self-employed people think they must become actors.  The business they promote to the world is pure fantasy.  Trying to fool your customers in this manner will only backfire.  If you’re so desperate for business that you need to lie, you shouldn’t be starting your own business.  If you can’t provide real value and charge fairly for it, don’t play the game of business.  Develop your skills a bit more first.

5.  Going against your intuition.

Intuition is just as important in business as it is in other settings.  You’d be amazed at how many gigantic corporate deals are green-lighted or red-lighted because of some CEO’s gut feeling.  While you might think that logic is the language of business, that’s far from reality.  If you base all your business deals on hard logic and ignore your intuition, most likely you’ll be in for a world of hurt.

We humans aren’t very logical to begin with.  We simply don’t have enough data to make truly logical decisions because business deals depend on human beings, and we don’t have a logical system for accurately predicting human behavior.  Not being able to predict how other humans will behave is a pretty big gap in our logic.  And intuition has to fill that gap.  The real performance of human beings is what makes or breaks business deals.  But to assume everyone will perform as expected is unrealistic in the extreme.  No deal ever goes perfectly.

It’s hard to say no to a deal that seems juicy by the numbers when my gut is saying, “You’ll regret it,” but more often than not.

Intuition is a critical part of the decision-making process in business.  Since business deals depend on relationships, you need to get a read on the other people involved in any deal you consider.  If you get a bad read, walk away.  If you get a good read, proceed with caution.

The list is numerous but is limited to only 5.  ”5 Stupid Mistakes made by Newly-Self Employed”

Now all done and said. It’s now your turn! Your comments are greatly welcomed.