5 Mistakes I Made When Starting My Own Business

A one-person band can't play every instrument.

When I made the decision to strike out on my own and build a small business, I was excited. Like, really excited. So excited, in fact, that I dove in head first, eyes closed, all engines at full blast.

Boy was that a mistake. Actually, it wound up being many mistakes.

You see, I thought that building a business meant having all the trappings of one. Unfortunately for me, those trappings were expensive. And even worse, it turned out I didn't even need most of them (at least not yet). Here are some of the blunders I wasted money on in the beginning.

1. Creating an LLC prematurely

One of the more expensive mistakes I made in the beginning was assuming I needed to form an LLC for my business before I even really got started.

For some reason, it never occurred to me that I could exist as a sole proprietor. Instead, I filed all the paperwork, came up with a sweet business name, and paid lots of fees for the privilege of setting up my LLC.

Then, less than a year later, I dissolved it.

For my purposes at the time, an LLC was overkill. I was the only employee, I didn't really have business assets to protect, and my liability risk was low. In other words: I could start my business as a sole proprietor basically for free, no paperwork required.

Do some new businesses need an LLC? Yes, if they need the liability protections and tax flexibility. Was I starting one of them? Nope.

2. Setting up a business phone line

Twenty years ago, having a dedicated business phone line was a natural move. That's simply how people communicated. Nowadays, however, even major corporations have ditched the customer service line in favor of email and chats.

So why did I think I needed one for my one-person shop? I have no idea -- but I set one up anyway.

And a few months later, I canceled it. I wasn't talking with vendors, taking customer calls, or even ordering work lunches with it. All that phone line was doing was mocking my outdated assumptions (and costing me $30 a month).

If you really need a phone line for your new business, consider a digital or virtual line. They're often cheaper.

3. Ordering (way too many) business cards

To say that I was obsessed with my business cards would probably be underselling it. I spent hours in Adobe designing the perfect card. I made my logo, agonized over fonts, and compared colors until my eyes blurred.

You know how many business cards I've handed out in the years since I started my business? About five.

Can business cards be good tools? Absolutely. Do you need to order 500 of them your first week in business? Absolutely not.

4. Stressing about my website

In the modern world, a business website can make or break your business. But when you're just starting out, that website does not necessarily need every bell and whistle in the box.

Even if your business is an online store of some kind -- which mine definitely was not -- your website doesn't need to be perfect. It just needs to be functional and easy to navigate.

Sure, you could hire someone to build it and maintain it. But for the average new business owner, a simple drag-and-drop website builder can probably give you a workable website that gets the job done until your business grows.

5. Trying to do it all

This one was the hardest mistake to overcome. You see, when I started building my business, I was convinced I needed to do it all -- and that it all had to happen now.

It didn't. It doesn't.

You are one person. There is a limit to what you can do before you fall over, pass out, or simply lose your mind. That tired old saying about marathons versus sprints? Building a business is 100% a marathon.

It also tends to go better as a team sport. We all have those things we're really good at -- and those things at which we absolutely suck. If possible, delegate the latter. This doesn't necessarily mean you need an employee; independent contractors are easy to find and hire, especially with websites like Upwork and Fiverr.

You don't need to do it all yourself. More importantly, you may not be able to do it all yourself, especially not all at once. At the very least, you need to pace yourself and just tackle one thing at a time. If you can, hire people to help you where you need it.