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Any business owner knows that the first few years in business are far from… glamorous. (Read: running on caffeine, instant noodles, and the odd power nap.)
Yet, amidst all the unpredictability of running a business, one thing is certain: You will make mistakes.
But that’s nothing to be scared about — mistakes are actually golden opportunities for you to learn something new and gain valuable experience. Plus, if you don’t make mistakes and try new things, how will you ever know what works and what doesn’t?
The most successful business owners are not the ones who avoid making mistakes; they’re the ones who know how to learn from them and come out stronger.
I’d love to say I reached multi-seven-figure entrepreneur status without any bumps along the road, but… I’d be lying. So, if you were to ask me the biggest lessons I’ve learned from starting a business (that I wish I’d known from the start), these would be my top picks.
Lesson #1: Know your numbers (and be realistic about them)
The sooner you know what numbers matter, the sooner you can track them and understand what they mean for your business. Too many entrepreneurs focus on surface-level metrics like social media “likes” or the number of subscribers on their list. But if it doesn’t translate into sales, it doesn’t do much to sustain your business.
Once you know what numbers to examine, it’s crucial to be realistic about them. For example, expecting a 50% purchase rate from 100 subscribers may be unrealistic if the typical conversion rate in your industry is between one and four percent.
Of course, your numbers will be specific to you, so you need to look at where you are and what dials you can adjust to start increasing those percentages.
To stay on top of those adjustments and their results, you have to be looking at all of your metrics, and you have to be looking at them regularly. One of the biggest (and costliest) lessons I’ve learned is that checking my numbers on a monthly basis is simply not enough.
Related: 10 Mistakes That Destroy Your Business
After hearing from my ad agency about how amazing my cost per lead was, I gave them the green light to scale up. But without keeping a close eye on my numbers, we ended up overspending $40,000 with zero sales to show for it. If I had been checking my numbers weekly, I would have spotted the issue sooner and adjusted our strategy before the losses piled up.
Yes, it was a painful lesson to learn—especially at a time when the business was seeing excellent growth — but it was necessary to improve my processes. Now, I check the numbers each week, and my operations manager goes in daily to catch any issues with ads or landing pages.
Lesson #2: Hire before you can afford to hire
Many of us are guilty of thinking we have to generate income first before hiring a new team member. And I can totally understand why — in the average consumer lifestyle, it’s pretty normal to save up for something and then buy it.
However, as a business owner, you need to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. You need that person to reach the next revenue level. You need to hire to scale; you don’t scale to hire.
It’s all too easy for our plates to get overloaded, and before you know it, it becomes too hard to even consider going through the hiring process. The thought of putting together a test, writing the job description, and sifting through the applicants… on top of your already mounting to-do list? No chance.
By leaving hiring until it’s too late — until you already need help — you’ll inevitably end up saying, “I’ll just do it myself.” But that’s not a wise move for the long-term success of your business. You need space to be able to think of and work on the things that only YOU can do. You should look to outsource anything that doesn’t belong on a CEO’s plate sooner than you think.
Related: Avoid Costly Hiring Mistakes With These Five Essential Tips
Lesson #3. Hire for the role, not the person
On the hiring note, remember to choose your team members carefully, as they can make or break your business. People often say, “You don’t have to hire for the role; hire the person.” When you get the right person, they can do just about any job, right? But, as I found out, that’s not entirely the case.
With a more creative mind, I knew I wasn’t the best person to handle the systems and processes in my business. However, when I began looking for an operations manager to ensure the business ran efficiently and effectively, I wasn’t specific enough in what I was looking for.
You must truly understand the traits a person should have before bringing them onto your team. Creating (paid!) tests before hiring someone (or even within the first probationary period) can help ensure that your new team member has the qualities you’re looking for.
Because I didn’t nail down exactly what I was looking for, I had to go through the (rather painful) process of letting that employee go, which is never easy.
Now that the team has solidified the pre-hiring process, we have an effective system for understanding how someone’s mind works before hiring them, so we know they’ll be the right fit for the role.
The longer you’re in business, the more you understand that mistakes are a natural part of the process.
Building a successful business doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, lessons learned, and, most importantly, enormous growth as a business owner.
But with a consistent selling system and reliable team members, you can build a strong foundation to navigate challenges more effectively and achieve lasting success.
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