4 Start-Up Tips Retailer’s Should Not Ignore

The so-called experts out there will be quick to tell you all the reasons you shouldn’t start your own business, or at least highlight all of the ways that start-ups can fail. While their advice is rooted in experience to a certain extent, these tenants of what not to do are general pieces of advice and not always accurate to each specific business or each specific business owner. So while it’s a good idea to hear these no-no’s, it’s also a good idea to not take them all as gospel. Below are four entrepreneurial myths that you should know about when starting up your own shop, so you know what you possibly should and shouldn’t do.

Don’t Use a Credit Card

A study by the Erwing Marion Kauffman Foundation found that every $1,000 of credit card debt increases a businesses’ probability of failure by 2.2 percent. But that study lumps in a lot of people who own businesses and are not responsible with their money or debt limits. When used responsibly, credits cards can provide owners with additional value. For example, the Gold Delta Skymiles card, or one of the other business credit cards by American Express, offers 30,000 miles if you spend $500 in the first three months. If you get a business credit card with zero percent APR for the first year or so, you can also build your business and cover those initial expenses while having some time to pay off the card with out accruing any interest. However, you shouldn’t rely on credit cards and must make it your No. 1 priority to pay back whatever you spend on them.

Do Something No One Else Is Doing

Of course, everyone wants to be the next Steve Jobs. But guess what? You probably won’t be. There’s a reason people often buy the same things over and over — because it is familiar to them and useful in their lives. So take what you have observed on this front and come up with a business model that “makes it new,” as Shakespeare famously wrote. Everything has been thought, but not expertly executed. Concentrate on doing the latter.

Commit Your Life to Your Start-Up

Giving yourself over to your start-up is a great badge of honor for those successful entrepreneurs, but for many it is unhealthy and unproductive. Studies have shown that people need breaks to be more creative on all fronts, as well as other influences to give their business some diversity and depth. So be very scheduled and work very hard, but give yourself some time to relax when it all begins to feel like a true grind. It will pay off in the long run.

Once You Work For Yourself, You’ll Never Work for Anyone Else

If that’s your mentality, you probably shouldn’t start your own company. Because even if you run your own successful company, you will want to incorporate other people’s thoughts and ideas. You will want to have partners who will sometimes be calling the shots on certain fronts. However, with your own start-up, you will have created your own path and taken a shot on your own, giving yourself the opportunity to work with other talented people who have taken the same chance. Whether it works or not doesn’t matter — it’s the fact that you tried. You’ll undoubtedly learn something along the way and this will help you in whatever you do next.

Contributed by Kyle Silver.  Kyle holds a master’s degree in English and teaches creative writing at a community college. 

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