There is an array of human weaknesses that can harm our business career. Many people have a dream of starting their own businesses and any of us have an ego.
Pride is an all natural tendency for people and we may need to swallow our pride if we want to build a successful business. In this case, we should be able to ask for guidance. Complacency is another thing that we should avoid. It could cause us to underestimate the amount of time needed to complete a job. Starting a new business can be quite effortful. As an example, a task that we expect only take a day to complete, may actually take four days and sometimes, we may need to stay up until three in the morning. Some businesspeople get so tired that they get a cab home, because they are too tired to drive. Unless we are well prepared for it, the physical and emotional strain of starting a business can cloud our judgement. This will certainly affect the smooth running of our new business at its most critical point. Be warned that if we are buying a new business, we are acquiring it entirely, including all the chore and hardship associated with it.
Greed can also be harmful when buying a business. Asking for too low can be a turn off for sellers. Undervaluation is quite common among investors and business buyers. If we ask for too low, the prospective company could actually be sold to the highest bidder, causing us to miss a valuable opportunity. Buying a business is also about choosing the proper timing. Of course, we may not be able to predict unforeseen events, like natural disasters. But we are still able to project when the market requires specific products and services.
Laziness can be a real weakness, even for hard-working business owners. In this case, our efforts can be focused only on marketing and sales, but we could neglect less gripping areas, like bookkeeping. Admittedly, not all business owners come from financial background, but it can be a real pain if we don’t keep records properly. The pain will be intensified by the time due diligence begins. We may think that bookkeeping is quite straightforward and easy to do, but it requires a real effort and solid system. Many new business owners are unable to gain loyalty from employees who have worked in the company for years. In fact, in business, the main asset if experienced staff, who knows how to operate equipments, manage systems and work with customers.
Any company is a people-based business, so we should take employees along with us. We should be extremely proud of the fact that we are able to finally hire qualified workers. This also applies to senior employees who can advise us on how things should be operated based on past experiences. Focusing more employees can even be more important if they also own some shares of the company. Another common failing among business buyer is that success will happen naturally. It may be possible to run our business based on events in the marketplace, but without a clear vision, things can be more difficult in the long run. Much of the business operation should be based on plans.
