What is the biggest problem you've had starting a business?

**jason_sullivan1983** · 06-18-2010 11:37 AM

As I start my business, I am encountering new problems all the time.

I am curious to know, what are the biggest obstacles that you have all encountered? Would you actually pay for a solution to any of these problems, or are they not severe enough?

**rogercbryan** · 06-18-2010 11:50 AM

poor financial planning... lack of understanding of the real start-up and one year operational costs.

**Carlos™** · 06-18-2010 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by rogercbryan

poor financial planning... lack of understanding of the real start-up and one year operational costs.

This is true for a lot of people.

But I'll make a new one: Its harder to convince venture capitalists in tough economic times. The one weakness about venture capitals (and VC's) is that there are "seasons" for them, this is inconvenient for extremely brand new start-ups. The other weakness they have is that it actually takes longer to GET funding anyway.

Bank loans are quicker, but most of the banks look at your credit more than anything else you have in your disposal. Not even having a job or income will save you from being rejected for a loan.

**Lemonade** · 06-18-2010 04:34 PM

My biggest problem I keep facing is lack of knowledge. I've been trying to base my businesses online and it's very hard to do this when you don't know the ins and outs of coding and such. It's hard to set something up on a website when you don't know what you're supposed to do. Google helps but google doesn't have all the answers :/ . And yes, I would be willing to pay and have in the past.

**rogercbryan** · 06-18-2010 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by Lemonade

My biggest problem I keep facing is lack of knowledge. I've been trying to base my businesses online and it's very hard to do this when you don't know the ins and outs of coding and such. It's hard to set something up on a website when you don't know what you're supposed to do. Google helps but google doesn't have all the answers :/ . And yes, I would be willing to pay and have in the past.

Ahhh... I had this problem for years... I started in online businesses in 2007 and I don't even want to think about how much money I've wasted... UGH! If I was able to go back and tell me what I know now... I would say this... Start a WordPress Blog and invest all your money in books on internet marketing. When it comes to coding... outsource when needed.. but only when you KNOW you have a profitable idea to bring to market. I spent countless dollars on 'ideas' that never panned out... I never applied basic business rules to my investigate... Which is most frustrating because I have two successful companies.. so I should know what I'm doing.

I can remember times where I would buy a site for $600 and then spend $2000 changing the site with out ever thinking about 'will I make this back' and 'how long will it take'... It kills me to think about all the money I wasted.

My advice is don't try to learn everything.. find what you are good at and then outsource the rest. I have some great developers I can put you in touch with if you need affordable design work. Concentrate on learning the marketing and capitalization of your site. If you are trained as a programmer.. higher a programmer... if you are not trained as a developer... higher a developer... \

I feel your pain and I've been there before... the best of luck to you!

**Lemonade** · 06-18-2010 10:09 PM

Originally Posted by rogercbryan

Ahhh... I had this problem for years... I started in online businesses in 2007 and I don't even want to think about how much money I've wasted... UGH! If I was able to go back and tell me what I know now... I would say this... Start a WordPress Blog and invest all your money in books on internet marketing. When it comes to coding... outsource when needed.. but only when you KNOW you have a profitable idea to bring to market. I spent countless dollars on 'ideas' that never panned out... I never applied basic business rules to my investigate... Which is most frustrating because I have two successful companies.. so I should know what I'm doing.

I can remember times where I would buy a site for $600 and then spend $2000 changing the site with out ever thinking about 'will I make this back' and 'how long will it take'... It kills me to think about all the money I wasted.

My advice is don't try to learn everything.. find what you are good at and then outsource the rest. I have some great developers I can put you in touch with if you need affordable design work. Concentrate on learning the marketing and capitalization of your site. If you are trained as a programmer.. higher a programmer... if you are not trained as a developer... higher a developer... \

I feel your pain and I've been there before... the best of luck to you!

Thanks. There is one think I like about investing online to get sites set up: it is a one time fee. Once you have the theme, scripting, etc, you are set. Then all that is left is advertising but advertising (should) actually bring you profit. Why do you say to start a blog?

PS: This is off topic but is there a button somewhere to view all topics posted on that I have posted on. Like on other forums there is usually a button that says "Show new replies to your posts." or something along those lines. Thanks!

**lawinc** · 06-20-2010 07:34 PM

Have I set long-term and short-term goals? And do they allow for me to become a consultant? If your goals do not match up with the time and energy it takes to open and successfully build a consulting business, then reconsider before making any move in this direction!

**killer2021** · 06-21-2010 03:49 AM

Getting customers. The main problem is the fact that people are slow to adopt to new technologies. Just think of the newspaper business. People still read paper newspapers when you can read all the news online. They slowly change over to reading it online.

Well, I guess I can't complain since my business is profitable and thats a difficult feat in of itself to accomplish for most businesses.

Thanks. There is one think I like about investing online to get sites set up: it is a one time fee. Once you have the theme, scripting, etc, you are set. Then all that is left is advertising but advertising (should) actually bring you profit. Why do you say to start a blog?

Yup, this is exactly my problem. Website is built, works great, its affordable for customers. Problem is actually getting people to realize that my site is out there and it can really help people out.

My advice is don't try to learn everything.. find what you are good at and then outsource the rest.

Yup, thats exactly what to do. My website started around an idea. I then extrapolated on the idea and figured out exactly what I wanted. Then I got to work building the idea. If I didn't know what to do I asked on a forum. If the task was very difficult then I outsourced it to people who could get the job done.

I tell people this all the time:

"The smart man tells others to go to school, work hard and get a (good paying) job. The rich man tells others to convince smart people that its a wise idea to work for him."

**MarketingManDan** · 06-29-2010 03:03 PM

having worked with literally 100's of startups in a consulting capacity the obvious number one challenges of most small businesses is MONEY, not realizing the true costs of any startup.

some other common traits that I see often are:

Unrealistic expectations. Thinking that you are going to come out of the gate with unbelievable sales, The realities of most startups having very little support (having to do everything yourself), having to work alone or with a very small group of people.

The other common thing that I see repeatedly is people that are great craftsmen, great technicians, simply great at what they do but they have no business acumen. They are disorganized, they have no sales skills, they are incapable of keeping the books...and in many cases they lack the financial ability to hire people that can correct their weaknesses.

The other problem that I see repeatedly is EGO. No one is the best at everything. No one knows it all..and when many entrepeneurs get to the point that they can hire help they hire people with skills less than their own so that they can appear more knowledgeable, so that they can teach. As business owners we are not replaceable in our own companies, the best use of your money and your companies money is to hire people with skills better than your own, to hire the best you can afford, I repeatedly see people fall into this trap.

**Anthony Tori** · 06-29-2010 05:21 PM

Definitely capital. Once you start making a lot of money it just keeps coming though... or least you hope.

**Remotestaff** · 06-29-2010 08:18 PM

My thoughts here would be: outdated business plan (that is, business plan is lagging behind rapidly evolving market), bad or weak product/service, ineffective branding efforts, weak promotion efforts, insufficient visibility of product or service in places of distribution, lukewarm or cold market demand, weak or lagging supply, lack of capital, lack of right personnel.

Any of these issues could trip up your company's productivity and profitability.

**daneb** · 06-29-2010 09:04 PM

MONEY. I've started several .com's only to not have the capital to really market them correctly. My friends usually say "Hey, that's a good idea", but these ideas haven't paned out like I invisioned.

**kakarukeys** · 06-30-2010 03:22 AM

no.1 is always money, no.2 is finding the right people as partner or employee.

**jingles** · 06-30-2010 06:40 AM

Return on Investment can be one of the major problem that one can face while going for a business.

**FishBowl** · 06-30-2010 08:31 AM

ROI can be a really difficult issue - a lot of the time work which should not take long can take much longer and, without experience, it's difficult to use the best channels or be as efficient in what you're trying to achieve.

The biggest regret business people seem to have is "I wish I knew then what I know now". Experience brings so many benefits, and what we learn can help us be more productive, efficient and successful.

This is why websites such as inafishbowl.com are so useful - learning from the experiences of others without having to make costly mistakes yourself. Alternatively, websites and forums such as this one allow the sharing of experiences to ensure we can all do better with support.