It is usually the desire for independence and self-determination that drives a founder. Many are often not able to identify with a foreign company goal. Still others are pursuing a business idea and absolutely want to bring it to market on their own. As different as the motivations and initial situations may be, one aspect is the same for almost all founders: they all jump in at the deep end with their start-ups and have practically no experience. Sure, because where should these empirical values come from? In order to remedy this, Business Coach Maximilian Schreiber points out to founders the most common mistakes that happen in the initial phase and gives tips on how to avoid them.
Equity is an important indicator for investors
A mistake that is made very often is that the founders start with too little equity or simply do not want to invest it. However, if you don’t want to take your own money into your own hands, as a founder you shouldn’t expect investors to step in and willingly make their money available. You convince investors primarily through your own commitment. Anyone who has been in the business as an investor for decades will immediately recognize what the founder is willing to invest. Many think: “The money comes with the first orders.” But this approach is fundamentally wrong and failure with this attitude is basically inevitable.
funding
But you don’t necessarily have to be a multi-millionaire or take out a million-euro loan from your house bank to start a company. What shall we do? This brings us to the next point that most founders pay little or no attention to, and that is government funding opportunities. There are plenty of advice centers that can be arranged, for example, by the local Chamber of Industry and Commerce. It is important, not to say absolutely necessary, to deal with possible subsidies in good time before founding a company, because once the company has been founded, it is usually no longer possible to apply for many subsidies afterwards.
It stands and falls with a business plan
A good business plan is another important building block for a successful start-up. No matter how good a business idea may be, if you don’t know how to set up and calculate the numbers, you won’t ultimately survive on the market. Dealing with these figures is not necessarily something everyone is born with, but then you should at least get a partner on board who can support you with these tasks. Many start-up projects also fail because many cost factors have not been taken into account and therefore slide straight from the start into insolvency.
Brand new to the market, many founders also find it difficult to find the right advisors who can help calculate costs. What puts many off is that consultants are well paid for their tips. However, there is also the possibility for founders to take advantage of consulting grants, and anyone who thinks they have to save on good advice is definitely saving at the wrong end. Depending on the type of advice, appropriate grants can be claimed both before and after the foundation. Those who inform themselves about this before founding receive important know-how and this is even subsidized or even completely free of charge.
Bad cards with bad credit
Another aspect that many founders do not give enough thought to is their own creditworthiness. Many lenders inquire about this and withdraw when they find out that the founder’s creditworthiness is not particularly good. The connections are clear, because the more liabilities the founder still has in the form of old debts, the worse the company’s chances of survival are estimated to be. The same applies to subsidized loans, since the founder has to guarantee 100 percent. Founding a company out of a private bankruptcy or something similar that has just been overcome is therefore a more than difficult undertaking, so in this case it is advisable to think the decision over carefully and, if necessary, to bridge the gap elsewhere for some time.
Conclusion
Starting a business requires careful consideration. However, many obstacles can be avoided from the outset if you get an overview of the funding options and your own financial situation. In any case, founders should not shy away from making full use of the advice and funding opportunities.
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