The obstacles in your entrepreneurial path

Everybody who starts a business wants to enjoy a certain level of growth and success. But very few business owners actually manage to create the business they envisioned and lead the life of freedom and abundance they long for.

So why is that?

Well experts point at several possible obstacles. Fortunately, if you can identify those obstacles and remove from your entrepreneurial path you can easily walk to your business success and good life.

First, it your attitude, beliefs and habits towards money that create reality and determine the level of your success and happiness.

Money is like a seed that must be multiplied before it can be enjoyed. If you consume seeds too soon you end up in want. You must use money to get more money.

Contrary to what many people think there is enough money or rather market share for everyone. The reason why you are not selling as much as you would like, is not because your competitors are selling. It is because of other things such as the quality of your products, your target customers, your marketing agility or perhaps you have not yet netted enough customers. This requires both time and patience. All these are within your control.

Second, it is having a single source of income. This does not mean you start so many businesses simultaneously to increase sources of income. It means not relying on one or few customers, investing part of your income in other areas outside your business, developing new markets and new products within your area.

Use your business as a bridge and explore every option to develop yourself by acquisition of empowering skills. This will increase your ability to make money through other income streams and accumulate the wealth without deviating from your core business.

The third obstacle is financial illiteracy. This may sound petty but most people are illiterate or semi-illiterate when it comes to money matters. The basic cornerstones of financial literacy are knowing how to save and invest your money, how to calculate and take manageable risks, how develop and stick to a budget.

The fourth obstacle is managing debts. Debts are what Shakespeare compared to strong medicine, which is curative if well taken and poisonous if misapplied. Most firms struggle because they slipped into debt trap and cannot get out. They find themselves in viscous circle where they have to rob Peter to pay Paul.

The fifth obstacle is failure to seek money advice from the experts.

As a general advice treat your business the way you treat your body. If you are unwell, you immediately know the expert to see - general physician, dentist, gynecologist, psychiatrist and so on depending of your problem.

Likewise seeking business advice from experts in your area can save you from making costly mistakes that can easily bring down your business.

Mr Kiunga is a business trainer and the author of ‘The Art of Entrepreneurship: Strategies to Succeed in a Competitive Market’.