Getting yourself into the small business world can be both an exciting and anxious time. The excitement stems from starting your own venture and becoming the master of, well, your own business.

The anxiety and fear come from the unknown. What if you fail? What if no one likes my business? What if it all goes wrong?

It does no good to sugarcoat the fact that opening up and running a small business is hard. It’s not for someone who is going to tend to in every now and then. It takes hard work, determination, and focus.

But sometimes those three factors aren’t enough and small business owners fall prey to mistakes that could have been easily avoided. Below are five mistakes that all small business owners can avoid to take themselves to success and prosperity.

Avoiding the Internet

It may shock you to know that almost 40% of small businesses don’t have a website. Even though it’s 2019, that still seems absolutely shocking. The internet is used for countless things and not having a website where people can find you just sounds like lunacy.

If you are in that percentage that doesn’t have a website or haven’t started your business yet, making your website should be a top priority. It may sound like a tall task but is much easier than it appears.

Rejecting the Future

Every day, technology changes us in different ways. It’s changing education, personal interactions, and business. One of the ways that your business can fail is you fail to adapt to the new technologies and products that are available to you.

Returning to the previous point, one of these ways is avoiding social media. So many businesses are turning to social media to reach out to their public. This could be through their Facebook page, Instagram account, Twitter account or all of the above.

There are lots of tools out there that not only help you work more efficiently but help you save money. Remember, the excuse “We’ve always done it this way” won’t cut it for your future business.

Not Listening to the Customers

The oldest phrase in retail and sales is “the customer is always right”. Even though they could be completely wrong, sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.

The same overall principle applies to how you interact and listen to your customers. When you are providing a service or product, you may have the perfect idea of how you’re going to present it. It’s been set up in your mind for months now and you know it’s going to work.

After a while, however, you start to hear feedback from your customers about wanting a change or how something else may cater to their needs. This is where you need to listen to the customer and consider a change. It may hurt your pride to go away from your perfect plan, but your customers are your lifeblood.

Bad Money Management

If you’re opening a small business, you should know your finances backward and forwards.

• How long can you go without turning a profit?
• When do you expect to turn a profit?
• What are your financial goals?

The worst is to get caught in no man’s land and realize you don’t really have a plan. Another bad habit many owners fall into is overspending or underspending. Obviously, you’ll be investing a lot of money into your business, but you have to be careful to spend it correctly. If you’re running a smoothie store, you don’t need the best laptop out there in order to calculate your finances or send emails.

The same goes for underspending. If you have your smoothie shop, you should invest in a great blender instead of the cheapest option. Be a smart money manager.