More women and more women especially mothers are starting new businesses one and a half times faster than men.
This is probably because they want to invest more time with their children, desire additional income, or they want more flexibility or financial freedom. Or it is possible they can’t stand all the politics at work. They want to be more in control of their time.
Starting a business isn’t for every woman, however for those who want to run their own business, there is a sense of empowerment and accomplishment that comes with it.
However there are many unique challenges to running a business and some key pitfalls women in business should avoid.
I will like to share with you five costly common mistakes made by mums/women when starting out and how to avoid them.
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1 – Not having a VISION for your business
It is one thing to have a plan of a business idea. Like they say ideas are a dime and a dozen, the real work comes from having a solid vision. Some call this a business plan but I like to use the word “vision”. To create a successful life and business that you love, the foundation of the business must be right.
A vision is a clear mental image of what you want your business to be at some point in the future, based on your goals and desire. Having a vision will give your business a clear focus, and can stop you making wrong decisions.
Where do you see your business in 2, 5, 10 years? Dream big and write down your vision for your business. Don’t worry about how it will happen yet, just write.
If you are just starting out, take some time to set a vision for your business. If you are already in business, take a step back to make sure your vision is clear and set.
2 – Not having a target audience
When I talk to a lot of women and ask them who their target audience is they say “anyone that will buy” or they say “everybody”. To be successful in business, you cannot market to everybody, because if everyone can use your product or service, no one will.
A big mistake in business is not narrowing down your audience as to who you want to help.
Your goal should be to solve a particular problem for a particular type of person.
A target audience is the specific group of people you want to work with e.g. professional women,, men over the age of 50, children between age 0-5, brides to be, new mums who want to lose weight.
I know that a lot of women especially when starting out in business resist this step because they feel they will be losing customers if they narrow their audience. On the contrary, when you stay focused on marketing to one type of person, you get to speak to them directly, they identify with your message and in turn will buy from you.
The problem an overweight 50 year old man has is very different from a new mum struggling to shed the baby fat she put on during pregnancy. Which means your marketing message will be different if you want to reach a new mother.
3 – Setting your prices too low
Pricing is a big one for women in business. Many women in business set their prices according to what they think their customers can afford — and then resent them for paying too little.
Pricing can be linked to your confidence level. Do you believe in yourself, and that your business can help others? Do you believe you have something of value to offer that will change lives?
It all starts with you. You need to believe in yourself more.
By setting your prices right, you will attract a the right type of customers set of people. If you price your products or services too low, you may end up attracting customers that are not ideal for you, customers that won’t appreciate the value you provide or customers that will stress you out.
Before starting a new business, do some research. Find out if your niche is profitable. Find out more about your target audience. If you have no clue as to what you should charge, find out what your competitors are charging just to have an idea of what is out there.
Take into account the percentage you want to make on each sale, how much your costs are when setting your price.
4 – Not delegating
Almost every woman I know likes to think she can do everything by herself. This is a mistake to make in business because you will wear yourself out. The flexibility and control you desire will only be an illusion.
The key is to know what your core competency is and focus on that. Everything else should ultimately be outsourced. I know that you are managing your resources and it may be hard especially when starting out.
Yes, there are some things you would have to do by yourself before you can outsource. However make plans to outsource as soon as possible because it will pay off.
As soon as you can, employ at least one general Virtual Assistant (VA) that can help with less mundane work; www.odesk.com or fiverr.com is a good place to get VAs at an affordable rate.
Also outsource all the other tasks that you don’t have the skill set for i.e website design, accounting, social media. Your aim is to focus on what you do best that brings in the money.
5 – Not having an online presence
In this day and digital age we live in, it will be a big mistake not to have an online presence for your business whether it is via a website or social media platform.
If you have a website, make sure that your website clearly communicates the services you provide. Make sure it is user friendly for your prospective customers. A potential customer should be able to buy from your website, without you being physically present.
Make use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or Instagram as they are a very cost effective way to engage with prospective customers online. Don’t try and use all platforms as you might get overwhelmed.
Post valuable content to your social media accounts every day. With time, hire a social media manager to do this for you. The rule of thumb when it comes to content on social media is that you give 80% value based content and 20% sales content.
If you avoid or rectify these 5 mistakes mentioned above, you would begin to see a significant difference in your business growth. Not overnight but it will happen eventually.
‘Detola Amure is a Productivity and Transformational Coach. She is the CEO of Super Working Mum. She helps mothers who are overwhelmed maximise their time so they can manifest their God given dreams. She is an Author and International Speaker. She also helps her customers who are stuck with technology get unstuck.
