Kseniya I. Content Marketing Expert

11 Lessons from failed startups

If you think that all entrepreneurs are born with the talent to run a perfect business, you're wrong. Many businesspeople go through a series of failed attempts, deceptions, and a naive outlook on life before they succeed. But these are lessons that allow them to achieve their goal.

Here are some beginner's tips from those who have already faced their own mistakes.

You will never be ready for business

There's hardly a moment in your life when you realize you need to start your own business. And yes, the first day of running a business will be terribly scary: everything will be new and unclear, and instead of questions about clients, the thought of what to pay for office rent will flash through your mind. Just accept it and start taking action.

And also remember that the original idea of the business is usually greatly transformed in the process, so do not be afraid to make mistakes.

Choose your business partner carefully

Choose business partners and shareholders you can trust. It's easy to work with everyone in the beginning, but as the business grows, people change and tensions build. Select people based on shared values, attitudes, and character.

Content should be at the center of your business

Content is a way to show the customer what you can teach them. Do this with photos, videos, texts, and audio.

Fashion brands help people dress nicely, bakeries show them how to eat a quick and delicious breakfast, car companies can tell them about safe driving, and hotels teach them how to relax. Think about what you can teach your audience and start talking about it.

If you're just selling a product without touching customer value, you'll have to lower the price on it.

Buy practical skills, not education

In business, it's your experience and skills that matter, not your MBA. Experience making cold calls, understanding the basics of marketing and web design will help you get started more than on theoretical basics.

Focus on the practice necessary to make money. Everything else is trivial and useless.

Expect chaos

A new business is always a chaos with no system or structure. If you hate chaos, you may want to reconsider starting a business. Chaos is not for everyone, so there are traditional jobs.

Watch your ego

An out-of-control ego can kill an important deal and ruin your business.

Even if you have a business, you are no better than other people and don't deserve a gold medal. No one wants to do business with narcissistic and arrogant people.

Reduce your ego, and you will remove the barrier to good business relationships and profitable business.

Hire people smarter than you

The business owner doesn't have to be the smartest person in the company.

Find professionals who have skills in a certain area and use their knowledge instead of trying to be a jack of all trades.

Build your own mailing list base

Build your own mailing list base

Collaborate with like-minded people

You can merge your mailing list with other business owners instead of taking years to build a sales base.

The worst thing you can do is not to collaborate. Without partnerships, your business will grow very slowly. Plus, it's a great way to meet interesting people and even lifelong friends.

Learn how to lead people

People are at the heart of any business. Even if you have one person working for you now, that may change in the future. Learn how to interact with different people, and learn what motivates them to get results.

Interacting with people is one of the hardest things in business.

Everyone has biases, problems, and ways of thinking that prevent them from being effective. A simple business task is easy to accomplish, but once you get people involved, it gets more complicated. People make decisions based on emotion, not logic. That's why it's important to understand people in order to lead them.

Be realistic about your business

Sometimes the pursuit of a big business is overrated. The bigger your business, the more stressed you are. If you make enough money to cover all your needs, consider whether you need something bigger.

Some people like to be able to relax and be unknown while quietly going about their business.

We are all afraid of making mistakes, but it is only through bitter experience that we learn something new and find the right path. First you have to learn what not to do in order to start doing something worthwhile.

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