Starting an online business can be fun, rewarding, and potentially lucrative. However, there are many challenges and potential pitfalls along the way. Today I’ll be sharing 15 common mistakes you should avoid to give your fledgling online business the best possible chance of success.
Mistakes to Avoid When Starting an Online Business
I currently have a few different online businesses on the go and have dabbled with several others in the past. I’ve made many mistakes but have thankfully learned a lot from them. I’m happy to share my experience with you so you can avoid making some of the same mistakes.
1. Not Defining Your Customer Clearly Enough
One of the biggest rules of business – possibly the biggest rule – is to know your customer. Who are they? What are their problems, needs, and preferences? What motivates them? What scares them? What makes them happy?
Without knowing these things about your customers, you’ll probably have a hard job persuading them to buy from you. And if you don’t know who your customers are at all, how can you tailor your products and marketing strategies to appeal to them?
Understand your target audience – otherwise, you’re effectively shooting in the dark. Create an ideal customer avatar (mine’s called Jamie), and get to know them. As well as basic demographics such as age, gender, and location, consider their interests, behaviors, wants, and needs.
2. Not Having a Clear Business Plan
One of my teachers at school loved to say “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” And while I did (and still do) find that statement incredibly annoying, it’s just as true for business as it is for writing a boring homework essay.
Without a clear plan, your business lacks direction and you risk being derailed by shiny object syndrome or other unforeseen obstacles. A defined strategy allows you to set goals and objectives for your business and ensure that you’re constantly working toward achieving them.
It also helps you stay focused and make smart decisions. Try to break your plan down into stages, with realistic and measurable goals, and be sure to track your progress. It’s up to you how to do this, but I find spreadsheets super helpful – I couldn’t run my businesses without them!
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3. Underestimating the Importance of Marketing
Whatever business you have or want to create, your ability to market it will almost certainly be crucial for your success. Many new businesses fail because they don’t invest enough in marketing.
Without effective marketing, you probably won’t be able to reach enough people – or the right people – for your business to grow and thrive. For online businesses, it often makes sense to invest in digital marketing; especially as this is the sphere in which your business operates.
There are many different types of digital marketing, but I’ve found that a combination of SEO, social media, and email marketing usually leads to the best results. Even if those words intimidate you, making the effort to get more comfortable with them is more than worth the return.
4. Neglecting Social Media
For several years I was guilty of this in a big way. Personally, I don’t enjoy using social media much. I find it addictive, a huge time suck and I hate how it seems that most people on there are constantly either trying to sell you something or show off about how great their life is, or both.
But here’s the thing: if you have an online business, you’re also trying to sell something. And, like it or not, social media is a great way to sell things and build up your own brand recognition.
You can succeed in business online without using social media, but neglecting it entirely may be a mistake. I’ve learned to use social media as an additional tool to help me reach a larger and broader range of potential customers and raise awareness of my brand, Just Go Exploring.
5. Ignoring Analytics and Data
Analytics and data are two of your best friends in business. Fortunately, having an online business means that both of these things can be accessible to you at the click of a button, helping you make informed business decisions. Ignore them at your peril.
I know data and analytics can seem pretty heavy, dry, and even downright inaccessible at times. But the key is figuring out which metrics you actually care about, and which ones importantly move the needle for you and your business – you can filter everything else out, literally.
If you have a website, Google Analytics is a gold mine of insight and information on your traffic, your users, and their behavior, which you can use to figure out how best to tweak your content strategy. E-commerce platforms such as Shopify also have built-in analytics tools which are invaluable when it comes to understanding where you’re at.
6. Poor Customer Service
This seems like an obvious one, but so many online businesses have worryingly bad customer service. Being successful online isn’t just about winning customers and making sales – it’s also about keeping those customers happy, and building trust and loyalty.
Happy customers come back for more, recommend you to their friends, write glowing reviews about your products and services, and help keep your business ticking along nicely. The opposite is also true – if you upset your customers, you can’t expect them to return, or say nice things about you.
Providing good customer service means listening to your customers, being responsive, acknowledging their feedback, and ensuring that any issues or complaints are dealt with quickly and fairly. Saving time and money by not providing good customer service is a false economy.
7. Not Diversifying Your Traffic and Customer Acquisition
Relying on a single source of traffic can be risky. If you put all of your eggs in one basket, you could be in a challenging position should anything change down the line – and things will change down the line. I’ve been burnt by this in the past and learned the hard way!
Say you get most of the traffic to your website from Google through SEO. This is great – until the Big G changes its algorithm (like it did recently) and your top-ranking articles and blog posts get booted out of the search results.
The same applies to traffic and customers that you generate through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, you name it. These are all great sources of traffic, but be sure to diversify so you’re not depending entirely on any one platform.
8. Not Learning from Your Competitors
Studying your competition gives you valuable insights into their strategies, what they’re doing, and what’s working for them. Competitor research can take many forms; from studying their website, content, backlink profile, social media accounts, and even customer reviews.
I’m not advising you to copy everything your competitor does – that would be unethical, poorly advised, and possibly even illegal. However, analyzing what they do and how they do it, learning, and taking inspiration is a smart move.
Studying your competitors’ products, content, and methods can also help you identify gaps in your personal offerings and can help inform your own content creation and marketing efforts. You’d be foolish to ignore all of this precious information.
9. Poor Financial Management
You don’t need to be a genius in mathematics or financial modeling to run a successful business. But you do need to be able to get your head around a few figures.
Your business will likely have several different outgoings that go out at different times throughout the month, and it’s important to ensure that you have enough income to cover these expenses when they fall due. In other words, you need to manage your cash flow.
Another crucial part of managing your business’ finances is budgeting. Make sure you have a budget, know how much you’re spending, and if you’re going over budget, be prepared to cut back on some expenses.
10. Poor Time Management
One of the best things about working for yourself is that you get to set your own working hours and schedule. I love this fact about my job, it’s so liberating compared with working set hours for a regular job.
But, there is a catch. You don’t have a boss telling you when or how long to work, so it’s all down to you to be disciplined and ensure that you get enough done, without working every hour under the sun (more on that below).
I find it’s really important to create a set routine on the days I’m working and to have a quiet, comfortable place that’s free from distractions and conducive to productivity. This helps me focus and get into the right mindset for work.
11. Trying to Do Everything Yourself
There’s only so much any one person can achieve on their own. Outsourcing time-consuming tasks can free up a lot of valuable time and help you either focus on higher ROI activities or simply work fewer hours.
This can be tricky when you’re first starting out, particularly if you’re bootstrapping your business and don’t have any spare cash to spend on outsourcing. However, as soon as you’re in a position where you can invest some money into your online business, it can make all the difference.
It can be surprisingly affordable to hire a virtual assistant to help you with your business. Platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are a good place to start your search, although be sure to do your due diligence before hiring anyone – look for reviews, ask for references, and ideally begin on a trial basis.
12. Not Investing in Quality Tools and Resources
When you’re first starting out with your online venture, you may not have a large budget. That’s totally normal and not a problem, but sometimes making a few strategic investments can pay dividends.
Take the example of running a travel blog, something I know a lot about. You can pay a few dollars a month for the cheapest hosting service, but you’re likely to have issues with it. It will load slowly, probably be buggy, and will most likely crash once you start getting more traffic.
On the other hand, if you pay slightly more for a premium hosting option, you’ll get a much better service. The same runs true for most things: SEO tools, email list services, writers, VAs, you name it. Budgeting is important, but remember that you often get what you pay for.
13. Lack of Consistency
Building a successful online business can be a long old slog. The prizes can be rich and plentiful, but you do need to be consistent. Show up every day, put in the work, and be prepared to play the long game.
The need for consistency also extends to your clients and customers. Inconsistent branding or communication will likely confuse them, so it’s important to cultivate a consistent brand voice across all the platforms you operate on. It also works on a deep human level.
Think about it: if you know someone is consistent and reliable, you’re probably more likely to trust them and give them your money in exchange for what they’re offering, right? The opposite is also true, which is why many successful companies invest heavily in building a strong and consistent brand image.
14. Ignoring Legal Requirements
I used to be a lawyer, so perhaps I’m more sensitive to this than others, but it’s rarely a good idea to ignore the law – nobody enjoys being fined or sued. The specific legal requirements you’ll encounter will likely depend on the exact type of online business you want to run.
However, one area of law that online business owners frequently have issues with is copyright law. If you use anybody else’s original creative works (including images, videos, and music), it’s vital to understand what you can and can’t do with them concerning copyright.
And let’s not forget other areas such as taxes, data protection, and consumer protection. Sometimes it’s a good idea to seek professional legal advice, but if you’re not in a position where you can do that, at least try to learn the basics as they apply to you and your business.
15. Overworking and Burnout
Finally, it’s common for entrepreneurs – especially solopreneurs – to work very long hours and not take enough time off. It’s only natural when you think about it, you want your business to succeed and so you put in all the time and effort you can.
However, it’s critical you learn to recognize the signs of burnout before it gets too serious. Burnout is caused by prolonged stress and overwork and can leave you feeling physically, mentally, and emotionally wrecked. Trust me, it’s a very real thing and you don’t want to go there.
Make sure you prioritize your well-being by taking enough breaks, setting realistic goals for yourself, and allowing yourself enough time off. It may seem counterintuitive to step away from your business when you’re trying to make it successful, but it’s absolutely essential for long-term success.
In Conclusion
Starting an online business and growing it into a success is rarely easy and you’ll almost certainly run into some bumps along the way. However, there are certain things you can do, and issues you can look out for to maximize your chances of success.
Now you know some of the most common mistakes to avoid when setting up your own online business. I hope this has been helpful and best of luck in whatever online ventures you embark on!