[donnapacheco]

Originally Posted by fundfindr

This is a great topic and I'd like to add my two cents coming from the funding arena given that finding working capital can be a huge challenge (and make or break) for many new ventures.

Having now seen hundreds of young entrepreneurs "pitch" their ideas, I am amazed at how poorly some of the pitches are constructed. Guy Kawasaki is renowned for teaching the Art of the Pitch so I'd refer most people to him and his books/sites if they really want to dive in.

But if there was one single thing that I would say is consistently wrong with many pitches (and thus attempts to find money) - it's that too many entrepreneurs talk PRODUCT instead of talking MARKET.

The market is the opportunity, the pain that the product solves, the real potential of the business. The product and all its bells and whistles is a moot point if one doesn't identify the pain and how it is solved.

Identify the pain, find the business model for the solution, and then practice, practice, practice before you pitch.

Kevin McLeod
Development Director
fundfindr

I completely agree. As a venture capitalist, it really boils down to "What's in it for me?" Will it make me money? Or is it a fantastic product that takes millions of dollars to make with no one who can afford it? If it's the latter one, don't bother.

[CIsaac]

I say poor or no planning.

[jayrobinson15]

Originally Posted by donnapacheco

I completely agree. As a venture capitalist, it really boils down to "What's in it for me?" Will it make me money? Or is it a fantastic product that takes millions of dollars to make with no one who can afford it? If it's the latter one, don't bother.

Exactly, there are many cases of this, where a product is so amazing but it costs so much to manufacture that only the upper class can afford it and your market is not sufficient enough to support a business built around that product. What you want is a quality product that doesn't cost that much to make and can be distributed rather easily, while the average consumer can afford it.

[escentre]

I think the real evil in business is procrastination. Decide to take actions immediately -
make it a habit

[nocci01]

Not having enough knowledge about being in business

Not knowing how to market the business

Not having the tenacity to see it through...most people give up the moment before they were just about to break through.

A start up business is just the one step of a journey of a thousand miles. Not starting up a business is a much bigger mistake than starting one that fails. I know many people who are extremely successful that will say...they are so glad they made a lot of mistakes before they finally made it. A lot of the personal develepment and motivational speakers even say that you must double your rate of failure if you want to become successful. What I'm saying is...maybe they're not mistakes...they're just little obstacles that you must overcome to make you a better person and a better entrepreneur. They're obstacles that weed out the businesses that maybe weren't meant to be. You will never know unless you give it a shot!

[Warranties-For-Less]

Good point,

In my experience, it always comes down to being undercapitalized. You can have the best product in the market and if you don't have the money to properly promote it, you are lost. Raising capital is always tough for new start ups, and nearly impossible to get funding from banks and venture capitalists, especially in a recession, so having a well written business plan is essential if going the traditional route.

For those who think out of the box, there are other choices, one which I have used is working quite nicely to fund one of my new businesses. If anyone wants the link to check it out, PM me, it costs next to nothing to get software to get started, as in only $4.99, refundable as well. Talk about cost effective means to raise capital, this is it.

Good luck to all, Mike

[blumcorey]

Top Business Mistakes:

1. Not focusing on the most important few versus the trivial many
2. Not understanding your ideal client profile - Demographic and Pyschographic characteristics

[Aqeel]

Before starting his/her own business, entrepreneur should do job to get experience. In this way, he/she has experience and can avoid some general mistakes in his/her business.

[Bhalos]

My biggest business mistake would definitely be not taking enough actions on business ideas that I come up with.

A close 2nd, is focusing all my concentration on one project until it is done.

[RandRFinance]

Originally Posted by matt_15

In most cases, a business plan is vital, when setting up a large company. Maybe not for a small business. But if you are going into a big venture, you may need to get investors for capital. If you want capital from an investor, you NEED a business plan with weight behind it. otherwise they wont think twice about backing you. But I agree, you dont need a business plan necessarily.

Yeah, I agree. If you are trying to get money from investors or banks, they s usually want a business plan to see what the business entails and projections of what the business should make. I know with our company we require a business plan, but we offer a different kind of service than most banks or financial insitutions.

[AngelRS]

Great.... These are all the very simple things which will every internet marketer do and finally becomes unsuccessful in his business.... But I think with all the above, even starting an internet business without having knowledge is one of the bis mistake everyone will do...