There is a lot to be said for entrepreneurs who have experience with running a business and know the right move to make in a variety of situations. It really helps to know what to what to watch out for, and to understand why some decisions only seem like they will benefit the business when they might actually be harmful. These points illustrate the difference between how a rookie business owner runs a company, and how an experienced veteran handles it.
Funding
The rookie business owner starts a new venture with a runway of only a few months; the veteran doesn’t open a new business until more than enough funding is available, to give the business the best chance possible to succeed.
Web Presence
The rookie throws together a basic website that barely functions, while the veteran devotes considerable resources to building a premium website because he or she knows that it will generate a significant portion of the business’ revenue.
The Advertising Budget
The rookie blindly dumps money into advertising in hopes of boosting sales; the veteran does extensive market research to find out what its potential customers are really looking for, and concentrates promotions on those areas.
Split Testing
Rookie owners make changes to their business because it seems like a good idea at the time; veterans don’t change anything without first doing their due diligence, using A/B testing to see how well an idea actually performs.
Going Boldly Forward
The rookie builds their business on an original, untested model; the veteran builds on the groundwork already laid by other businesses who have been successful.
Bad Reviews
The rookie is stressed out by negative feedback and bad reviews about the company, but the veteran takes it in stride and uses that feedback as an opportunity to improve the business.
The rookie allows its employees to be mistreated by customers; the veteran sets boundaries for customers to make sure that they are not abusing the team.
The Off-Season
The rookie owner takes a vacation when their small business is doing well and bringing in profit. The veteran owner doesn’t rest when things are good, but instead takes the opportunity to innovate and search for new ways to improve the business.
Stephanie
Stephanie is the Marketing Director at Talkroute and has been featured in Forbes, Inc, and Entrepreneur as a leading authority on business and telecommunications.
Stephanie is also the chief editor and contributing author for the Talkroute blog helping more than 100k entrepreneurs to start, run, and grow their businesses.