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Filed under: Tip of the Day
Back in 1992, my good friend Bill thought he had what it took to start up his own produce company. A year and nearly $10,000 of lost savings later, he threw in the towel - the tiny customer base just wasn’t offsetting the unforeseen overhead costs like rent.
 In this month’s installment of “Second Act“, Counselor magazine examines another ad specialty startup and what they did right and wrong. Here are three classic mistakes to avoid during your first year of a startup company:
- Don’t Mix Personal And Business Finances. Too many small-business owners dip into personal accounts to cover business costs or slap down their business credit cards to buy a new couch for their living room. For distributors, working out of their home and funding the entire startup themselves – like Terri and Jim Brooks – it may seem fine to mix finances, since they’re likely coming from the same pool. Don’t do it, experts say. Why? It makes tracking finances (i.e. separating personal and business expenses) down the road a nightmare.
- Commute Every Day, Even If The Office Is At Home. If your daily commute involves walking from the living room to the den to set up shop, consider yourself lucky. But don’t forget about the doldrums that can set in from never leaving home. Get out and create a commute, advises Jeff Huckaby, CEO of rackAID LLC, an IT management firm in Jacksonville, FL. A quick, 10-minute walk around the block or to a local coffee shop is enough to create the sensation that you’re leaving home to go to work. The same should be done at the end of the day as well, he says.
- Know When To Quit. For many startup distributors, the office is tucked away in a corner of the house. That means work is always accessible and often a gnawing presence, making it hard to ignore. But it’s important to shut off the computer and step away from the home office at the end of the day, experts say. To do that, Huckaby suggests distributors set time limits for working after hours at home.
And for those of you who are wondering, Bill is doing well these days - he’s a regional produce manager for Whole Foods Market. Not the entrepreneur he’d hope to be 20 years ago, but not a bad gig I’d say.
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