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1. Lack of discipline

Discipline, over the years, has played a vital role in many success stories of  entrepreneurs. Millions of people look at the achievements of Henry Ford and envy him, but discipline contributed largely to this great success story. Ford set his mind to make automobiles affordable to the average American household and achieved this dream by committing himself day and night to this course until he built his multi-billion dollar empire. In this scenario, he paid the price and reaped the benefits. Behind every success story lies a successful mastery of one’s chosen course, which requires this element of discipline.

2. Inadequate foresight

Foresight refers to the “ability to see the future outcome of one’s present decisions”. This ability helps the entrepreneur plan a business successfully on an effective day-to-day basis, which would lead to a fruitful future outcome. Inadequate foresight caused a great country like America to be driven into a market crisis, and Ghana to experience successive periods of load-shedding of electricity. Foresight is a very critical element in the running of a business, thus an entrepreneur without foresight can be likened to an aeroplane without adequate fuel to reach his destination.

3. Understanding competition

In this era of globalization, companies are in constant competition with each other, even across country and continental borders. This competition is so fierce that developing and developed countries are on a levelled field in the competitive battle in the business world. An entrepreneur who chooses to neglect this highly crucial factor would be forced out of business. Entrepreneurs, therefore, should consider this in their planning.

4. Procrastination

This, they say is the thief of time. Postponing events and deadlines leads to an information overload. Procrastination contributes to major setbacks in the life of the entrepreneur. When an entrepreneur discovers an idea or a business opportunity which has to be taken advantage of, procrastination, if allowed to set in, causes that opportunity to go to waste. In business, choices are to be made. These choices are also time-framed and some are not available forever. If an entrepreneur wishes to make his mark in the minds and hearts of his followers as well as his generation, then procrastination should not be part of his dictionary.

5. Ignorance

With the inflow of high-tech devices (the discovery of the Internet, fast transportation systems, the mobile phone and many others), knowledge has increased so much over the past two decades making information widely accessible. In this highly competitive era, which is usually referred to as the Information Age, a modern entrepreneur has to take it upon himself to be adequately equipped in his field of endeavour. This knowledge, if adequately used, would make the entrepreneur  a master in his/her field and lead to an assurance of success. A friend once taunted Abraham Lincoln asking him why he read so much. “Education has been of no help in earning a living,” he said. “I am not educating myself to earn a living,” Lincoln made it clear. “I am trying to find out what to do with a living if I ever earn it.”

6. Inadequate planning

To be assured of success, you must have plans, which are faultless. Thomas A. Edison “failed” ten thousand times before he perfected the incandescent electric bulb. That is, he met with temporary defeat ten thousand times, before his efforts were crowned with success. When we were growing up, we were always told that ‘practice makes perfect’ (which was very wrong). Practice does not make one perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect. Perfect practice can, however, not be attained until one subjects himself to the act of planning adequately before taking an action. In planning, an entrepreneur should divide his goals into three parts. Long-term, medium-term and short-term goals. In attaining the long-term goals, which are the final aims of his/her business, one should compare those goals with the immediate short-term day-to-day decisions and see whether they are aligned to those goals. The business of an entrepreneur, as well as all the factors involved, such as the labour, capital and the like should be re-examined regularly to ensure long-term success.

7. Bad control measures

Control measures are checks, which make sure that the business does not lose its focus. These checks are to be documented in the company rules and regulations, as well as in the business plan of the company or agency. An entrepreneur should make a mission statement, which is to serve as the map to his/her business to ensure that the expected future of the company is attained. These control measures are put in place to make sure that the goals are achieved. When they are defaulted, then ruin sets in. An entrepreneur who wants to have a taste of success should make sure that these control measures are put in place and made to function properly.

8. Lack of capital

Capital resources needed by the entrepreneur are mainly in the form of funds. Funds are also rarely accessible these days because potential investors are getting too many business plans and opportunities to invest their money into. Entrepreneurs who want to make it can generate capital by two main methods. The first method is to work and save towards it, which happens to be the rather longer method and is inapplicable in some cases due to the magnitude of the needed capital. The second is to approach venture capital firms for assistance. Approaching these firms for assistance requires a lot of convincing and a good business plan. Anyone who wants to make it by this method should be good in the art of communicating effectively in person and especially on paper.

9. Giving up too early

When Saraste, famous Spanish violinist, had given an exceptionally brilliant performance, a critic acclaimed him a genius. “Genius!” exclaimed Saraste. “For thirty-seven years I have practised 14 hours a day, and now they call me a genius.” In the life of a business, there are always times where one faces challenges, which when not controlled, may lead to the end of the business.  Entrepreneurs face so many challenges from the start-up stages of getting all the needed materials through the sustainability of the business to other unforeseen challenges which may come about as a result of factors which cannot be controlled. An entrepreneur who seeks to make the most out of his dreams must have it at the back of his mind to keep seeking after his dream, irrespective of the challenges which are faced.

10. Knowing when to stop

When an entrepreneur has a dream which he/she wants to follow, the examined idea should be examined to see how viable or beneficial it is. Some dreams or ideas are not workable and should not be followed.