We always hear people that it’s better to become an employer than an employee. Of course that is true. Who wouldn’t want to become the ‘boss’, right? It’s liberating. Plus, you can see a lot of business owners just sipping coffees in Starbucks during office hours or travelling whenever they can. Nice life! 

But before you dream of living that life, you have to take note of some important things. You will find below the things you shouldn’t do when you are establishing your own business. Ready? 

Starts business for the wrong reasons.  Ask yourself why you want to start a business. Do you want to establish one because you are tired from your day job? Are you thinking of having your own business because you envy those who already have theirs? If these 2 are your main reasons, you might want to rethink your priorities. These are not valid. Starting your own business is serious. You need to have the best reasons why you want to start your own. 

I believe that a successful business comes from passion. Those who are passionate about the services or products that they are offering are usually those who make it big in the trade. From passion comes dedication, which is an essential ingredient for a business to prosper. If you believe that your business idea came from your passion and you know that you are ready to dedicate your time and effort for it, maybe you can start your own business. 

Gets too excited to start the business. A lot of small businesses fail because it was started out of excitement. But that’s not how things work. Even small businesses should be thought of carefully. The nitty – gritties should be accomplished. Let me give you a simple checklist for those who would like to start a food business. 

1. What foods are you going to offer? 
2. Where are you going to establish your business? 
3. Do you know your target market?
4. Have you studied the competition of your business?
5. How can you make your product unique?
6. How can you market it to your audience?
7. What kind of employees do you need to hire?
8. How much are you willing to invest?
9. How much are you expecting on a daily basis? 

Believe me, the above list is just a minute part of what you should be answering if you want to start a food business. It’s not enough that you plan for a week. It should take you months, or even years to create a feasible and effective plan for your business to survive. 

Always thinks and acts like a boss. Yes, you are definitely the boss. But that doesn’t give you the license to become bossy. Be a leader instead. If you have employees, don’t just give orders. Learn how to follow your orders. If your employees need to be in the office at 8:00am, be there at that time too. If your employees need to wear corporate attire, don’t go to the office wearing your gym clothes. Be their example. Plus, learn how to become one of them. After all, you were once an employee, right? 

Thinks of profit alone instead of building relationship. Thinking of profit isn’t bad. But in business, it’s not all about profit. To reach your business’ full potential, you will need to establish relationship. You need to create a good relationship with your employees and your clients. Be friends with your employees and you can expect great productivity. Be friends with your clients and they will keep coming back for your products or services.   

Scared now? Don’t be.

These things shouldn’t stop you from dreaming of having your own business. Instead, this article should prepare you. Starting up a business is like going in a battle. You need to have a strategy and you need to have the appropriate weapons to survive.

Barbara Watson is a small business owner and a regular contributor for Phoenix Kiosk. She shares her knowledge on managing small businesses. She based her tips from her experiences and wants to guide blossoming business owners.