I enjoyed this worthy article by essayist and programmer Paul Graham: The 18 mistakes that kill start-ups. Anyone planning to launch or grow a business should read it, and then print a copy for reference.
My only comment would be to expand item #12 to read: Spending too much or too little. Business owners can often gain ground by focusing on what they’re good at, and delegating the rest.
Not too long ago, Webcopyplus interviewed business expert Mark Wardell to discuss this exact topic. In the article Delegate or die: 6 steps to business growth, Wardell explains many entrepreneurs don’t employ this vital tactic because they fail to place value on their time.
Many businesses fail because not enough thinking was done around the initial idea. One of the toughest questions for a new entrepreneur is how to determine the potential for a new venture opportunity. How do you know if an opportunity is just okay or could be the next Google (not that the Google guys saw that one coming when they started out!)
At INSEAD, I taught a course entitle “Venture Opportunity.” From that course, I developed a white paper on the Top 10 Business Idea Mistakes, which is located here
I agree! If you spend to little and do too much your clients will suffer and so will your business. It’s sometimes hard to let go because we think no one will care for our business like we do, but it’s essential to growing and maintaining a successful biz.