When I was a teenager, I started an online business. At the time, it seemed like a great idea—I could take my love of video games, movies, and comics and turn them into something profitable. But now that my company has grown (and evolved) into an empire with a multimillion dollar annual revenue stream, I look back on those early days with some regret. Here are five mistakes I made when starting out:
Not doing your research
When you’re starting a business, it’s important to do your research. You need to know who your target market is, what they want and how much they’re willing to pay for it. If you don’t know this information, then how will you be able to sell anything?
You can learn from other people’s mistakes by checking out books or reading blog posts on the subject of what not to do when starting an online business at a young age.
Focusing on the money, not the mission
When you’re starting out, it’s easy to get caught up in the money. It’s natural for anyone who has worked hard for something and finally achieved it to want to make sure they’re compensated fairly for their efforts. But focusing on the money can be dangerous because it can lead you down a path where your business becomes more about making money than doing good work and helping others.
The best way I’ve found around this is by focusing on my mission first–the reason why I started my company in the first place–and then building everything else around that mission: my products, services and marketing strategies all stem from this central idea of what I’m trying achieve through my business. If I ever lose sight of this central idea (and sometimes even if I don’t), then I know where I need fix things before they spiral out of control into an unprofitable mess
Jumping into the deep end without putting on a life jacket.
You have to think about the long game.
When you’re young, it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of starting an online business and making money right away. But if your goal is long-term financial stability and growth, then it’s important to take a step back and make sure that you’re on the right path. If your business isn’t growing quickly enough or profitable enough, then maybe it’s time for some changes–but only after careful consideration!
Don’t give up when things get tough; instead use those challenges as motivation for future success by learning from them (and building upon them) until eventually those hardships become distant memories from which we all learn valuable lessons about ourselves along with what works best when starting an online business at young age like myself 🙂
Not networking with people who have been there before you.
Networking is one of the most important things you can do when starting an online business. It’s how you will find your first customers, connect with other bloggers, and get help from people who have been there before you.
When starting out in your career, it can be hard to find people who are willing to help because they are so busy themselves! You might think that your age would make me less trustworthy or less knowledgeable than others but I promise that isn’t true at all!
If this sounds like something that could be useful for someone else then please share this article with them on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest etc 🙂
Giving up too soon.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when starting an online business at a young age is giving up too soon.
That’s right, I said it! Giving up too soon is one of the most common mistakes that people make when they first start out with their own businesses. And this isn’t just true for those who are just starting out; even those who have been running their own companies for years still fall victim to this trap from time to time. There are two main reasons why people give up too soon:
- They’re afraid to fail, so they quit before they even try anything new or different (or they try something new but give up after only one failure). 2) They’re not patient enough–they want results NOW rather than working hard over time until their efforts pay off (or even worse…they expect instant success without putting in any effort!).
When starting an online business at a young age, it’s important to think about more than just your bottom line.
When starting an online business at a young age, it’s important to think about more than just your bottom line.
Think about the mission of your business and how you can help people with it. Think about the people who will be working with you and what they bring to the table. Think about where your future is headed in terms of growing this company and making a difference in the world in some way (even if that means simply providing jobs).
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of starting an online business at a young age. But if you want to make sure your venture succeeds, it’s important to keep your eye on the long game and think beyond just making money. You need to make sure that whatever you’re doing aligns with your values and interests as well as fits into your lifestyle so that when things get tough – which they will – you won’t give up too easily because there are other factors at play besides just financial ones!
