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Every year, millions of businesses are started around the world. 👉 And a large percentage of them don’t survive beyond the first 18 months.
It’s not because people don’t work hard. It’s not because they lack skill. It’s not because there isn’t a market.
👉 It’s because they’re built wrong from the start.
After more than two decades of building companies, leading as a CEO and helping many clients become successful in their markets, I’ve seen the same patterns again and again.
There are many mistakes when starting a business. 👉 That’s normal when it’s your first time.
But there are three that destroy businesses quickly.
The last one is the most common. And the hardest to fix.
ERROR 1 👉 Trying to do everything yourself
This usually happens when an opportunity appears.
You’re offered more work. You want to move from being self-employed to running a proper company. Or you set up your own Ltd because you’re already earning well.
And you think: “If I keep costs low at the beginning, I’ll grow faster.”
👉 Big mistake.
Saving money in the wrong places keeps you small.
There are areas you should never try to master alone.
– First, the right accountant who actually guides you.
Not someone who just files your taxes. Someone who shows you your real margins, tax structure, reinvestment strategy, cash flow and planning.
👉 A good financial adviser is not a cost. It’s a growth tool.
– Second, marketing and image.
If your growth depends on reaching the right clients, trying to learn everything yourself while running operations is unrealistic.
And let me be clear:
👉 You never get a second chance at a first impression.
Your brand, your presentation, how professional you look – it directly affects how much you can charge and the type of clients you attract.
Think about ordering a pint in your local pub compared to drinking the same brand in a luxury hotel. Same product. Different perception. Different value.
How your client sees you can increase your income without you changing the actual work you do.
– Third, strategic direction.
Trying to run a growing business without real practical knowledge and without external guidance usually ends in burnout.
One of my clients in telecommunications had been operating across the UK and Europe for years. He was technically strong. The market respected him. There was always more work available.
But he was close to breaking point.
16-hour days. No real financial clarity. No clear understanding of what he was actually making per project. No proper delegation structure.
He joined one of my 12-month programmes. And what he valued most wasn’t “my help”.
👉 It was clarity.
For the first time, he could see for himself what he’d been doing wrong for years. He understood his margins. He separated emotional decisions from strategic ones. He learned when to say no and when to say yes.
His company grew with control.
But more importantly, he regained time, stability and peace of mind. He earned more while working less.
🚦Practical question:
- If you stopped working for two weeks tomorrow, would your business continue running smoothly?
- And another one: do you know exactly how much profit you make on each job?
If you hesitate, you’re still trying to do everything yourself.
And that leads to the second mistake 👇
ERROR 2 👉 Thinking the company’s money is your personal money
In many trades and sectors, a contractor can earn £130,000 or more per year. Some easily invoice £20,000 a month.
👉 That sounds impressive. But invoicing is not the same as profit.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is founders believing that everything that comes in belongs to them personally.
There must be a clear difference between you and your company.
Most people never received proper financial education.
They don’t separate accounts. They don’t review numbers weekly. They don’t set a structured salary. They don’t understand reinvestment. They don’t plan taxes properly.
I’ve seen business owners pay over half a million pounds in personal tax in a single year because they withdrew money in the wrong way to buy assets in their own name.
That wasn’t bad luck.
👉 It was a lack of practical knowledge.
The same capital, managed properly, could have been invested and multiplied over time.
Poor financial management doesn’t usually destroy a business in month one.
It slowly eats away at it.
Pressure builds. Cash tightens. Stress increases.
And eventually, it breaks. 👉 The company simply stops existing.
I’ve seen founders who invoiced huge numbers end up broke and in serious debt.
All because of impulsive spending decisions and no financial structure.
They never learned to separate the business from themselves.
🚦Practical questions:
- Do you know your true net margin after tax?
- Do you have a clear reinvestment strategy?
- Are your personal and company finances completely separate?
👉 If not, you’re walking on thin ice. And when it cracks, it’s usually too late.
Which brings us to the most dangerous mistake 👇
ERROR 3 👉 Growing before structuring
This is the most common one.
You start invoicing. You work hard. The market responds. Clients offer you more contracts.
👉 And you say yes to everything.
More clients. More staff. More turnover.
But no structure. No solid growth plan.
Growth without strategy and structure multiplies chaos.
I’ve worked with companies invoicing £20 million a year that collapsed. Not because of lack of work. Not because of a lack of clients.
👉 Because of a lack of strategy.
They were excellent in the field. But they couldn’t organise. They couldn’t plan. They didn’t structure finances properly.
They ignored mistake one. They ignored mistake two.
And when demand increased, the business couldn’t handle it.
👉 It collapsed.
Fast growth is attractive.
But if it’s not supported by processes, financial clarity and clearly defined roles, it becomes a ticking time bomb.
And when it explodes, it does so dramatically.
🚦Practical question:
- If your turnover doubled next quarter, would your current structure handle it calmly?
- Or would stress and chaos double too?
Final reflection
The sad part is that I see this all the time.
Skilled people. Real market demand. Genuine potential.
👉 Gone within 18 months.
And the worst part? 👉 It’s avoidable.
With the right practical guidance at the right time, these mistakes can be prevented.
So here’s advice from someone who has built multiple successful companies and helped many others do the same:
👉 Don’t ignore these errors.
You can’t sweep them under the carpet. Sooner or later, they will surface. And the longer you wait, the bigger and more expensive they become.
If you’re good at what you do and you want to scale,
- do it with clarity.
- Do it with structure.
- Do it with a proper strategy.
👉 Working hard is not enough. Building properly from the beginning is what makes the difference.
👉 Which one are you ignoring right now? 🤔
