Starting a new business means there are endless possibilities for the future.

You’re full of ambition and dedicated to working hard to make your business successful. But it also usually means making many errors along the way. We’ve surveyed a few of our clients and here are the top five things they told us they wish they’d known before starting a business.

We hope you can learn from them and benefit from their experience!

1.  Ignore the naysayers

Anytime you do something that requires stepping outside of your comfort zone, you can expect that whenever you tell people, they will most likely question your decision and try to talk you out of it.

• Naysayers love telling people that anything is impossible.
• The truth is, they are just projecting their insecurities onto you.
• If you are passionate about something, take a risk and follow your dreams.
• You don’t need anyone’s permission but your own, so get started and make it a reality!

2.  There will be plenty of mistakes

While we’d all like to do things perfectly the first time, that isn’t the case.

• If you ask any business owner, well, at least the honest ones will tell you that they have made more than their fair share of mistakes. Us included.
• Mistakes are inevitable, but what you learn from them is what matters.
• Think of making mistakes as free education.

3.  Adopt a growth mindset and prepare the be three times as big

When starting your business, you should adopt a growth mindset and embrace any challenges or setbacks. Instead of giving up when the first problem appears, work hard to find a solution and, over time, improve your skills with practice and effort.

You should also prepare for what would happen if your business suddenly became three times as big overnight.

• Do you have the proper infrastructure to deal with the sudden growth?
• Do you have enough products in stock or the ability to deliver an increase in services?
• Do you have the right employees who can deal with an increased workload?

These scenarios might seem far away. But, one day, they will become a reality, usually when you least expect it.

So, make sure to plan and be able to adapt to growth quickly.

4.  You will need to outsource to professionals if you want to have a professional business/brand

Don’t try and do everything by yourself. Most likely, it won’t be easy at first. You’re a perfectionist. We get it, we are too!

But the most important thing you can learn is progress over perfection. There are two different choices you can make:

You can learn to do everything yourself and end up working crazy hours and risking major burnout while taking a long time to achieve professional results.

You can outsource your work to a professional virtual assistant with years of experience and proven excellent results. You can reach more customers and grow your business and brand faster.

5.  Pay for the tools that your business needs

While it may seem like paying for software and subscriptions is like throwing money away when you start your business, doing so can help your business in the long run and speed up your growth substantially.

Software is expensive to pay for yearly subscriptions upfront, and the investment is a risk. But, you’ll usually find that the software will quickly start paying for itself over time.

Finding free alternatives can create a workflow that takes more than double as long to do anything.

A better solution is outsourcing work to professional Australian-based virtual assistants, such as AS Virtual Solutions. We already have a full suite of software and tools that you need to achieve the best results for your business. And best of all, you don’t have to pay for the tools!

Let us help you

Are you looking to save up to 50% of your time to spend on more important things in your business?

Well, we’ve got you covered! Our Virtual Assistant team members are standing by to discuss how we can help your organization grow and flourish. Call 02 8215 0775 or email info@asvirtualsolutions.com.au for more information today.