Despite the perceived impact of Brexit, small businesses in the UK appear excited about the prospect of a future outside of the EU. SMEs are planning with renewed confidence ahead of 2017, with the level of business sentiment having risen by a staggering 11% during the last financial quarter.
Such confidence is sure to be alluring to aspiring entrepreneurs, many of whom may be tempted to launch their own ventures as a result. Business success relies on more than a strong economy and positive sentiment, however, particularly when entering competitive market spaces where start-ups must compete with far more established competition.
3 of the Biggest Mistakes That Entrepreneurs Make When Entering a Competitive Space.
The failure to recognise is this is just one of the many mistakes that travel entrepreneurs, in particular, make when starting out in the competitive market, but it is far from the only.
Business class flights and luxury holiday market leaders JustFlyBusiness have listed the three other errors that have the potential to derail even the brightest business ideas:
1. Failing to Plan or Scale Towards Future Growth.
Let’s start with what is arguably the single biggest mistake, as failing to plan or scale towards future growth can be extremely detrimental. Most importantly, it can prevent a business from growing organically in line with demand, as it remains bound by a restrictive infrastructure and lack of funds.
To resolve this, entrepreneurs must have detailed two, five and 10 year business plans in place from the outset. While there must be room for flexibility, such plans at least offer an indication of how they intend to develop their business over time. Beyond this, they must also consider ways of boosting their working capital and generating income, whether this is through diversification or external investment.
The travel industry is ever-changing, and with external factors significantly changing the popularity of certain destinations, it does make it difficult to completely ‘future-proof’ your business strategy.
2. Not Delegating Work and Responsibility.
When managing a business, there are two main types of tasks; strategic and non-strategic. While the former relate to the optimisation of profit through activities such as marketing and sales, the latter revolves around daily operational tasks that drive the function of your business.
As an entrepreneur, it is imperative that you focus heavily on the strategic elements of your business, as you look to stimulate growth in line with your plans and overall vision. This requires you to delegate non-strategic tasks to trusted employees within your venture, as otherwise your run the risk of being overwhelmed and consumed by relatively unimportant details on a daily basis.
3. Failing to Strike the Balance Between Passion and Profitability.
One of the most common pieces of advice that entrepreneurs receive is that they should follow their passion, as this helps them to remain motivated in a challenging and competitive market. While this is sound advice, however, it is also important that entrepreneurs do not become obsessed with their passion and overlook the need to create a commercial viable business idea.
The balance between passion and profitability is crucial, particularly when you are competing for a relatively small and coveted market share. Without it, you will either lose interest in pursuing your business idea or invest heavily in a concept that simply does not have demand among a particular consumer base.
