By Tikiela Mims

If you’re a small business owner, you may already have a lot of on your plate. To help you, we’ve created a list of the top five mistakes small business owners make, and show you to avoid them.

Problem #1: Failing To Plan

Benjamin Franklin once said that “Failing to plan, is planning to fail,” and it’s one of the biggest mistakes that small business owners make – they don’t create a strategic business plan and end up failing in the end. According to Bloomberg, 80% of entrepreneurs who start businesses fail within the first 18 months. But, that doesn’t have to be you.

Solution: Take the necessary time to create a strategic business plan. There are plenty of tools out there that make writing a business plan easy. BPlans.com offers over 500 free business plan samples, free of charge, and templates you can use.

Problem #2: Not Hiring The Right Talent

Another expensive mistake small business owners make is they hire the wrong people or they hire too quickly. This can be a killer for small businesses. According to a CB Insights finding, 23% of businesses fail because they do not have the right team.

Solution: Take your time in hiring and go through an interviewing process with everyone, including candidates you somehow already know. Also, before hiring a candidate, determine whether or not the candidate is a culture fit. We all know that teams work best when everyone gets along.

Problem #3: Not Putting It On Paper

When it comes to business partnerships, many small business owners make the mistake of failing to put anything into writing. With a partnership agreement, there needs to be written documentation that explains each partner’s rights and responsibilities, and the terms of the agreement. A business partner should be an extension of your team, so they should share the same values and vision for your organization, or there could be problems down the road.

Solution: When choosing a business partner, make sure they are in sync with how you want to run your business. By speaking with an experienced business lawyer, he or she can help you avoid making stressful and costly partnership mistakes.

Want to become our partner, check out various levels of partnership on our Commercient Partner page.

Problem #4: Ignoring The Competition

Ignoring the competition is another potentially fatal mistake small business owners make. Without getting to know your competitors, how can you know if your product or service is better or worse than the competition? Additionally, how can you can you make changes your products or services that will deliver the right features and support, creating positive buying experiences for your customers?

Solution: The best thing you can do is take the time to thoroughly research your competitors. There is a lot you can learn by scoping them out.

Problem #5: Trying To Do Everything Alone

Probably the greatest mistake that small business owners make is trying to do everything alone. Although you may have many talents, including keeping the books, design, customer support, sales, etc., you won’t be able to do them as well as someone focusing on a single task would. You can’t possibly be an expert in every area of running your business, and if you try to be all things all the time, you’re doomed to fail in one area or another. Trying to do everything alone will keep both you and your business from growing.

Solution: As the old adage goes, ‘two heads are better than one.’ Amazing things can be done taking a collaborative approach. So, don’t be afraid to hire help. It’ll make your life much easier, and you’ll thank yourself in the end. If you need help growing your business with the right tools, such as our SYNC integration app and IoT Pulse, Commercient is here to help you.