The Biggest Mistake I’ve Made as an Entrepreneur

“An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.”
—Niels Bohr

When you make the decision to leave the comfortable corporate life to be an entrepreneur, you’re bound to make some mistakes. Ask any successful business person how they got to where they are today, and they’ll probably tell you it was by learning from their costly mistakes. While many people few mistakes as huge blows to their business, I believe it’s better to cherish these mistakes and to learn from them so that you’ll be a smarter, more effective entrepreneur.

So, by now you’re wondering what the biggest mistake I’ve ever made is. Let me start by giving a little background- I’m a freelance copywriter. As a freelancer, there is no set salary, and sometimes you don’t know where your next paycheck is coming from. This is something all entrepreneurs can identify with.

The mistake I made was I got comfortable. Things were going surprisingly well at an early stage of my business. I had more than enough work on my plate, and all of my clients were happy with the copy I was providing them with. Things couldn’t have been better.

Then, it all came to a crashing halt. Projects were done; contracts were completed; and suddenly, I had no work. Just as quickly as I had built a successful business, it was all gone. I had committed the cardinal sin: I stopped marketing myself because I was too busy working for my clients.

You see, I had fallen into the trap of believing that everything I did had to be for an instant financial gain. When you’re working on your own, it can be easy to get so focused on chasing money from paying projects that you forget to do the little things to set yourself up for the long-term. It’s not easy to take the time out of the day for promoting yourself when you could be working on a paying project instead, but it’s something you have to do.

It took several weeks for me to get my business back on track, but thankfully I was able to do so. However, it taught me a valuable lesson: never forget about working on yourself. Don’t get so preoccupied helping your clients that you forget to work to promote your business.

The best way to avoid falling into this dangerous hole is to create a plan for marketing your business. Each entrepreneur will have their own preferences, but I’ve found a method that works for me. I typically spend normal business hours (9-5 or so) doing projects for my clients. Then, during early mornings, evenings, and weekends, I set aside some time for marketing my services. Whether this is something as simple as making new contacts online or crafting a sales letter to send out to prospects, the point is that I’m always doing something to improve the future of my business.

Remember, mistakes are okay. They’re a crucial part of the learning process. Just make sure you actually learn from them, and you’ll be a better entrepreneur for it.

What mistakes have you made as an entrepreneur? Share them with us in the replies—you could help a fellow YGGer avoid the same mistakes.