17 Mistakes of Start-Ups

Entrepreneur Magazine has a great interview with John Osher - noted inventor and start-up guru.  He has come up with a list of “17 Mistakes Start-Ups Make”.  You can view the article and the list here or here (this one is easier to read).

We wanted to highlight #16 and #17 …

Mistake 14: Lacking simplicity in your vision. “Many entrepreneurs go in too many directions at once and do not execute anything well. Rather than focusing on doing everything right to sell to their biggest markets, they divide the attention of their people and their time, trying to do too many things at [one time]. Then their main product isn’t done properly because they’re doing so many different things. They have an idea and say they’re going to sell it to Wal-Mart. Then they say they’re going to sell to [the] Home Shopping Network. And then the gift market looks good. And so on.”

Mistake 15: Lacking clarity of your long-term aim and business purpose. “You should have an idea of what your long-term aim is. It doesn’t mean that won’t change, but when you aim an arrow, you have to be aiming at a target. This [concept will] often come up when people ask ‘How do I pick a product?’ The answer depends on what you’re trying to do. If you’re trying to [create] a billion-dollar company with this product, it may not have a chance. But if you’re trying to make a $5 million company, it can work. Or if you’re trying to create a company [in which] family members can be employed, it can work. Clarity of your business purpose is very important [but] is often not really part of the thought process.”

Clarity, focus, purpose and other words are too often viewed as some sort of abstract navel-gazing exercise.  However, we believe that most business mistakes arise from these areas - as articulated by Mr. Osher above.

In short, purpose inspires action.  If you don’t know what your purpose is and you don’t have simplicity in your vision, then EVERY step you take is a potential mistake.

A tip of the hat to ValleyWag for the heads-up.

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