10 fatal errors of starting a business in Germany

Entrepreneurship and the worst stumbling blocks of starting a business in Germany

To alert you ever against the most common errors or failure reasons before the company was founded or a possible self-employment, I have written here is a small summary. In addition, I have divided the 10 errors in the company’s founding in the three main categories. This should help you to set up a business successfully.

Who wants to know more can contact me under info@dresden-beratung.de or 0351/41886876.

Finances

1) Not enough seed money and too little buffer

Most frequently founders seem to fail due to financial difficulties. We now speak once only from preventable financial problems, although often one does nothing for financial trouble, even. So starts when the company was founded often already with too little money. This then is missing for a qualitative equipment and especially for advertising. Thanks to all kinds of state aid for reasons, particularly in the form of low-interest loans up to 100,000 euros for just about any founder, this is not a problem. So Talk early with the Economic Development Office or a professional coach founders, whose fees will be promoted to 75%, thus already represents your first government funding. Check to set all options with enough money and being able to put aside for emergencies simultaneously enough. If you look out only in case of a problem / in a crisis for more money, it is in almost all cases is already too late, since it with loans often takes up to three months until the money is yours and you in a lopsided anyway nobody wants to give more money.

2) Excessive costs and ill-considered spending

Poor pondered expenditures are not a typical error of founders, even successful companies still wasting huge amounts of money. Only they can afford to give. but you can likely not to, if you are still only at the stage of foundation. You should always plan with additional costs, so simply planning more pessimistic than optimistic. You should also think carefully or have externally audited by your Founder Coach, what issues and in what amount are at all useful or appropriate. Any investment, especially in advertising, you should closely examine their effect and the effectiveness of (blank). Economy in the right place, as well as sensible and judicious investments, are the benchmark for establishing a business. The ability between “cost” and “investment” are different, this is the first and most essential of argue.

Market, customers, competitors

3) Insufficient income

Insufficient revenues are naturally the biggest problem after the company was founded. This is but rarely a purely financial problem, but goes back to the lack of analysis and planning of the market in advance of the establishment. A realistic estimate of the potential and a promising marketing plan to reach this potential, are essential and should likewise be best performed with a founder or coach with experienced agencies or contractors in your business; and prior to the reasons! It is not enough that all my acquaintances tell you that you very well have great need of your services / your product and you lay the foundation to the heart. You must make sure in advance that enough people would pay enough for it, and you can also reach these people! In order here to be able to successfully start, you must also your availability, your cost structure, your sales potential and the most effective marketing campaigns know exactly.

4) Faulty Offer

Many founders overestimate unfortunately the usefulness or the benefits of your offer, whether product or service. Often all it takes is the overestimate of the purchasing power and especially the willingness of potential customers to let start his enterprise on the wrong course. For anyone who wants to start, it is important from vorherein, always think from the customer out and to have the existing competitive offerings directly in view. You must also bring your product / service and then to the right customer. From the beginning, so the marketing plan must already be kept in mind. Anyone offering a new product or an innovative service, must at least ensure that it positively stands out from the competition. The product / service has to be sufficiently better than the competition in order to move customers to the competition for change in many cases! Again, creates a marketing-oriented planning by a suitable start-up coach Remedy. A qualified counseling may discourage a false start or modify the offer promising before the company was founded.

Personal error of the founder or the team

5) Lack of business skills

Not everyone needs a university degree in Business Administration, to start a business. But a lack of business skills is a major cause of failure of businesses. After the reasons, it can very quickly go downhill when you have from making money no idea, no matter how good their own business idea. So if no business administration, he has in the team, should definitely seek advice and take part in the Gründercoaching Germany. Additional courses of IHK training center or VHS should be additionally allocated from the beginning or before the company was founded. A successful business creation depends heavily on the correct interpretation of the information and this requires a lot of tools that can be fortunately learned, or at least “borrowed”. No entrepreneur should start without knowing its breakeven or knowing which provide its products which “margins”. Who starts a craftsman without meaningful hourly rate calculation, no need to be surprised if he gnaws despite full order books still on hunger cloth.

6) Overconfidence

Positive thinking and a fundamentally optimistic attitude are an essential success factor in the founding and for each self-employed. Almost all successful founders have these properties. However, 90% of failed entrepreneurs these properties in the luggage had. The line between optimism and overconfidence is narrow and too often will either be overestimated themselves or at least underestimated the needs of future business activity! Especially often the time required is completely underestimated! Accurate timing is as important, or sometimes even more important than any financial planning. As founder coach it is my job to help you with both. You should know in advance what you are getting into when you start. In many cases, up to 50% or more of the available working time for marketing and organization will have to be used. It is extremely important to plan all processes and time and a cost-benefit analysis for the necessary time as an entrepreneur to analyze carefully before the own prices are set. As with all the previous points, the following applies: Ask an Expert AND other entrepreneurs in this area, as long as you can.

7) Lack of family support and non-functional teams

Very important is the family support in the founding of a company. Not only to get fast times to borrow money at a pinch to (although in fact one of the most important factors), but also to have enough time for his business. As I said, many people underestimate the time required for starting a business, then who but must be on time at 17 o’clock at home with the children, has a problem. The free Help the family is never to be underestimated and if it’s just honest feedback!

The personnel selection or the choice of the founding team of reasons and their cooperation I have built on this point. Here’s why: When you create together, you are like a family to grow together. We have this new family dysfunctional, your business will have to fail solely for personal reasons, even if you do everything else right. Choose your cofounder carefully. Many businesses fail need to consider that you simply obtained from the reasons each buddy on board, but unfortunately nix can. Check your skills, self-motivation and stress resistance ability of your Founder and your staff. Do not rely on your gut feeling. Only in second place should be only sympathy. Separate yourself also quickly from team members who are not on the same page and do not fit into your new family. So quick and painless as possible!

Additional ruinous errors

8) Wrong legal type of business

Please ask an expert / Founder Coach. Your accountant will always recommend a corporation (GmbH, UG), because he deserves it more. For most start-ups but are completely unsuitable legal forms. Just call me and I’ll help you further.

9) Unprofessional Business Plan

Who needs to raise money (almost all founders) need a professional business plan! Point! It is almost impossible to write a high-security business plan, if you are not adept (itself a business degree would be here no more than a good condition).

If you want to try it but without my help (or that of another expert), here are the first indications of the net.

10) Lack of preparation / testing / testing phase

Start as small as possible and test your idea first before you invest time and money into a business idea (and lose) that is not working. There wonderfully simple methods from the Lean Startup area from Silicon Valley.

 

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