6 Business Mistakes I Hope You Make

When I started my first small business, I was only 18 years old. Freshly into college, I needed something to do with my free time. I knew a lot about web development, so I chose to do that as my career for my stay in college to help pay my tuition. I took on a huge chunk of to-do lists very quickly and made some mistakes along the way. I hope you can learn from them or have the opportunity make them yourself someday.

1. I hated what I signed up for
To be perfectly honest, I do web design in a manic state. I have an idea, code it up in a week, design it, buy the domain, and then never touch it again. Clients don't like this method - they want long-term service after a short, energetic burst. I hate the idea of designing websites all day every day, so I failed to do even one website bar meeting with a few clients.

2. I had little experience
Other than the supervising teacher of the high school newspaper, I had never really worked to appeal to a taste other than my own. Text is easy to "fix." Designs as a whole? Not so much.

3. I couldn't market
I had never sold anything in my life (not even chocolate at school), so I had no experience in marketing my business. I am both gifted and cursed with an acute honesty that appeals to some and repels others. Marketing is a form of lying, in the sense that you both stretch and conceal the truth, so I couldn't really sell a website to anybody who didn't want one.

4. I started for the wrong reasons
My reason for starting my business was to pay my tuition. Unfortunately, tuition is expensive and daunting to pay. Also, student loans are very appealing. I had no real pressure or desire to get started, so I never really did.

5. I spent my energy in the wrong places
I spent a lot of energy on designing a logo, laying out business cards, finding networking conferences, registering the business, making money for actual licensing costs, and forming a mailing. What did I neglect to do for this entire time? Go talk with somebody and design a website for them. I did not use my existing contact list to begin with. I didn't ask for recommendations. I jumped into working with strangers, and it destroyed my chances.

6. I gave up
So the title isn't exactly accurate. The only thing on this list I never want any of you to experience is giving up. Fail, make mistakes, learn, cry, and neglect to do things, but never give up. If I had not given up, perhaps I would have found the right client to get me accustomed to the work. Maybe I would have learned to design websites every day without becoming either obsessed or burned out. But I didn't stick with it, so now I do nothing in the field I enjoyed so much for so long.

Whether or not your business is "successful," what matters is that you are trying. Maybe you will need to postpone a full-time self-employment and go back into working for somebody else to pay the bills, but someday, you will make it. Change your approach and try again. That's all you can do to finally find something that will make you happy.

Have you found the perfect career? How about the perfect marketing strategy? Have you made the same mistakes I have? Share in the comments.