The biggest mistake made by people who think they are ready to go into business is they often leap into business ventures before they investigate the business. Then they eventually end up experiencing a rude awakening once they realize what they’ve gotten themselves into. Reevaluate before you jump in with both feet. Over-enthusiasm and under-education about a new business spells disaster.

Lack of Research: Most new business owners run their businesses by trial and error, but it doesn’t make sense not to do research. If you have little or no experience in the industry you’re interested in, get some. Learn as much as possible about the field from the inside before striking out on your own.

You can learn about a business by: 1) working with the reference librarian, 2) conducting research on the internet (www.goggle.com, www.yahoo.com, www.ask.com, etc., 3) reading as many books as possible on the topic, and 4) working with a mentor.

Not Having Enough Funds: Without enough capital to finance your business and your personal expenses in the lean early months of starting your business, you’ll fail. New business owners often underestimate the time it will take to acquire enough clients to turn a profit. A good rule of thumb is to have enough capital to cover business and personal expenses for at least six to 12 months. Of course, the more financial backing you have, the better.

Many business owners who have funds just don’t spend them wisely. Cut corners on items that aren’t required to help bring in business. Run your business out of your home until you can afford a storefront. If you have to have an office or storefront, lease equipment in the beginning, then buy nice, used furniture and rent space in a less-than-posh neighborhood.

Skipping the Business Plan: You should never skip putting together a business plan. If you do eventually you will get lost. Many entrepreneurs, anxious to launch their businesses, fail to make a detailed business plan outlining expenses, marketing information, which will also show the weaknesses and the strengths of their business.

People want to give themselves a title and print their business cards, but they don’t like to do the grunt work like doing a business plan. If you don’t have the experience to do a business plan then seek out a consultant or others to assist you. You will have to have a business plan if you plan on going to investors or banks to gain either start-up money or money to expand the business.

You will also need a business plan if you are working with partners. The business plan defines agreements between partners about what’s going to happen.

A business plan will be needed to communicate with a management team. The day-to-day business routine is distracting, problems come up, opportunities appear, and commitment should be followed and tracked.

Lack of Marketing: Marketing is what will drive your clients to you. Without clients also called customers and patrons, your business will not succeed. New business owners should spend up to 50 to 75% of their time marketing. Too many new business owners believe “if you build it, they will come.”

First you need to realize who your potential customers are and what they want from your business. Next, develop a variety of marketing tools that will sell your product or service. Remember that generating repeat business is easier than developing new clients, so you need to use newsletters (e-newsletters also called e-zines) and postcards as reminders for your clients.

Going Into Business with Friends/Relatives: Be careful going into business with friends and relatives! Your emotions will play a major part in how you run the business. Any decisions should be looked at carefully. You make these decisions without evaluating how your personalities will work together. Not everyone has what it takes to become an entrepreneur. For some, it’s something that has to be learned over time. With friends or relatives there will probably be tensions over control and investments.

You need to formally establish some ground rules before opening your doors. It’s very important to put everything down on paper, especially when it comes to financial agreements such as the return rate of an investment.

Failure to Develop a Monthly Routine: Every business needs a computer with a good accounting software program to help them keep track of the numbers. Then you will need to develop a monthly routine to review your financial statements.

Always keep track of your credits and debits, as well as your sales figures. When you are in good financial shape, you can establish a line of bank credit to tie you over during the rough spots but the worst time to ask the bank for money is when you’re strapped for money.

Hiring Incompetent Workers: When you get ready to hire full or part-time employees, be careful that those employees don’t end up costing you more time and money. Make sure they don’t steal from you by letting them know from the very beginning that you are watching them. It’s also a good idea to run help-wanted ads regularly, even when you are not short staffed, so you can have a replacement ready if an employee quits or didn’t work out.

Ignoring Competitors: When competitors come on the scene rather than compete with them by cutting prices, strengthen your hold on clients by offering better services and higher-quality products. It’s also a good idea to develop cooperative buying endeavors and referral networks when one of the businesses is unable to meet a customer’s needs.

Failure to Get Legitimate: Don’t wait to get legitimate (open a Sole Proprietorship, LLC, Incorporate, etc.). Get legitimate in the early stages of your business. If you are having trouble putting together your paperwork, hire an attorney to do the paperwork or to go over the regulations with you. Remember you need to have an attorney, accountant, insurance agent and others as part of your success team.

Failure to Brainstorm: Entrepreneurs are risk takers but many don’t want to admit that they don’t know everything. Every business needs a support system. So seek out criticisms of your ideas. You need to find experts such as financial, legal and marketing advisors so you can tap into their knowledge and experience.

You can also brainstorm by taking surveys in the community, by phone, fax or on the internet by using emails. Get reality check friends who you can run questions by. Your success team will change as you and your business grows.

When things are going well, it’s tempting to think they’ll stay that way. Keep the momentum going and don’t let other people take too much control of your business.

Cathy Harris is available for Lectures, Seminars and Workshops. She is the author of recently released book “How To Take Control of Your Own Life: A Self-Help Guide to Moving Forward” (www.HowToTakeControl.com). You can buy her book off her website at Angels Press, P.O. Box 870849, Stone Mountain, GA 30087, Phone: (800) 797-8663, Fax: (678) 254-5018, Website: www.angelspress.com, Email: info@angelspress.com You can also buy her book from Amazon.com and in Atlanta at Called to Conquer II bookstore, Beyond Your Ordinary bookstore, Medu bookstore, Nubian bookstore, Wisdom Hut bookstore, Afrikan Djeli Cultural Center and “The Shirt Works.” You can read Cathy’s other columns at www.angelspress.com/columns.html