4 Mistakes I Made When Starting a Business
4 Mistakes I Made When Starting a Business
Starting a business can feel like a leap into the unknown. You’re filled with enthusiasm and hope, eager to bring your idea to life. However, as I’ve learned over several decades of entrepreneurship, there are many pitfalls along the way.
As Vernon Sanders Law wisely observed, “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.” I made plenty of mistakes, but fortunately, I never made the same one twice. Each misstep taught me valuable lessons, shaping my journey and making me a better entrepreneur.
Here are some of the biggest mistakes I made when starting a business and what I learned from them.
1. Falling in Love with My Great New Idea
When I first started, I was thrilled with my great new idea. I had researched and proven that it was an excellent concept: new to the market, unique in its value proposition, improved efficiency, and good for the environment. It seemed like pure gold.
But there was one problem—I needed a customer. I had initial success selling my product to a niche market of high-density farmers who paid in cash and didn’t ask for receipts.
However, for my idea to scale, it required a complete alignment across multiple industry sectors that were notoriously resistant to change. Each sector operated in a silo, defending their traditional practices. My innovative solution, vermicast fertiliser harvesting, failed to gain the widespread acceptance it needed.
Lesson learned: A startup needs to be needed by others, not just admired for its innovation.
2. Missing the Social Discord About an Industry
Another mistake I made was launching an online business model to replicate an inefficient sales process in an industry I knew well. I had years of experience and saw an opportunity to improve efficiency through technology. However, I didn’t anticipate the growing social discord surrounding that industry.
The government responded to community concerns by halving the size of the industry. Suddenly, my efficient new model was irrelevant because the public wasn’t interested in efficiency—they wanted the industry reduced. My business, tied to education export, lost its social license to operate.
Lesson learned: Even when you know a business intimately, you must double-check whether your idea is still applicable to an industry with a valid social license; otherwise, you risk being behind the market.
3. Being Too Far Ahead of the Market
With an eye on future trends, I predicted that environmental concerns would become a significant issue. I believed agriculture would shift towards sustainable practices, using natural fertilisers instead of toxic chemicals. It seemed like an obvious improvement, but I was ten years too early.
At the time, few people understood the concept, and even fewer cared. It took a decade for the market to catch up to the idea of using natural fungicides against nematodes in grapevines in Australia and bananas in the Philippines. By then, others were already leading the charge.
Lesson learned: Timing is everything. Being too far ahead of the market is as bad as being too far behind.
4. Misjudging a Partner
One of my most challenging experiences came from choosing the wrong partner. I teamed up with a brilliant technology guy who shared my passion for innovation. However, over the years, his eccentric habits turned into excessive indulgences, leading to personal and professional conflicts.
His escalating needs and wants ultimately destroyed his personal relationships and jeopardised our business. I left the partnership, and not long after, the company we had built from scratch was placed into administration.
Lesson learned: Fun and charismatic partners aren’t always good for business. Choose your partners carefully.
Moving Forward
These experiences taught me to approach my great new ideas with less emotion and more critical thinking. I began following current affairs more closely to gauge whether the community would accept the business I was investing in.
Additionally, I minimised the number of partners I took on, avoiding a repeat of the mistake of bringing another eccentric personality onto the board.
Mistakes are inevitable when starting a business, but each one provides a valuable lesson. The key is to learn from them, adapt, and move forward with greater wisdom and clarity.
Tags: business owner small business tips
About the author
Alan Manly
CEO Universal Business School Sydney
Alan Manly OAM is an accomplished entrepreneur, published author and renowned company director with over thirty years of experience in technology and ...
