Common Mistakes When Starting a Business: What to Avoid

0:00:01 - Intro

You are listening to the National University Podcast.

Hello, I'm Kimberly King. Welcome to the National University Podcast, where we offer a holistic approach to student support, well-being and success the whole human education. We put passion into practice by offering accessible, achievable higher education to lifelong learners. Thank you for joining us.

Today we're talking about starting a new business and, whether it comes to marketing, managing filing legal documents or taking risks, today we get an inside look from one of our National University's guests, and joining us is Dr. Kentaya Beeler. Dr. Beeler holds a BS in accounting, a master's in taxation and a PhD in business with a specialization in accounting. Dr. Beeler's work experience began in New York City, where she worked as an external auditor of financial institutions for a subsidiary of the State of New York Department of Treasury. She transitioned to the public accounting industry and as a tax accountant after obtaining her master's in taxation And then, eager to expand her horizons into higher education, Dr. Beeler obtained her PhD in accounting and has worked as a professor of accounting over the last 16 years. And, Dr. Beeler, we welcome you to the podcast. How are you?

0:01:27 - Doctor Beeler

I am good. Thank you for such a warm and wonderful welcome.

0:01:31 - Kimberly King

Oh, I love it. I'm very impressed And I am very interested to hear what you have to say today. So why don't you fill our audience in a little bit on your background, your mission really, and your passion, before we get to today's topic?

0:01:44 - Doctor Beeler

Well, a little bit about my background. I am from sunny St Petersburg, Florida, So I am a Florida girl And I got introduced to accounting in high school as a future business leader of America. So I know a lot of us have heard about that where kids are FBLA, And before that I thought I wanted to be a statistician until I went to NASA and realized that it was very boring inside And I love math. But that wasn't it. And then a high school teacher came to me after that field trip and said don't be so bad, All is not lost, Come join future business leaders of America And we want to give you a test audit kit. And I had to find fraud. So I realized then that being a fraud or auditor was something that piqued my interest because I could still be a being counter, be engaged in numbers, But now it gave me the opportunity to work in different industries being an auditor. So it really came from high school in St Petersburg, Florida and it grew from there, fascinating, and I love it.

0:03:00 - Kimberly King

It sounds like you had good people around you that can help you know, mentor you and put you where you needed to be and what was comfortable, and not in that boring place at NASA. Right, you're fascinating For me, yeah, for you, no. I understand that. I get it. Today we're talking about the common mistakes that people make when starting a business, and it's so relevant. I'm eager to hear what you have to say, Dr. Beeler. So what are some common mistakes that entrepreneurs make when starting a business and how can they be avoided?

0:03:30 - Doctor Beeler

Well, your prior questions said well, tell us a little bit about you. So I have a history of working as an accounting professor, as you've heard, for the last 16 plus years, and a part of that is I make my students engage in the community that the college or university sets in. So I have been a part of the VITA program was volunteer individual taxation, where we prepare taxes for low income families, are elderly in the community, for free. The students have an opportunity to work what they learn in a textbook to actually helping those in the community that have very basic tax returns. I've also helped women entrepreneurs help start their business.

So when you say what are some of the pitfalls, it comes from actually sitting down and watching people either the lack of planning, or they're coming back and saying, hey, i had a business before but it fell, so what can you do to help me or coach me or mentor me in the community to use it? And so some of those things can be a lack of planning number one, right, not really looking at all of the core concepts of a business. So let's take a person that does baking cookie. You know they think about okay, i make these cookies, and they may even look at how much the mix costs And then they say, okay, if I can buy the mix for $3 and make 12 cookies, then if I wanted to, you know, do them more than the 50 cents or 60 cents, then I am doing good.

And then that's where the pitfall is, because you're not even considering time, your time. How much is your time worth? Also, what is your overhead? So in managerial accounting we teach that there are three core concepts are looking at the cost of production, which is materials, labor and overhead. So I would say overhead, not even thinking about the electricity, all of the time that's being put in, and the lights as well. You know, not just the power to the stove, but the lights, the water, everything for the infrastructure. So two primary components to answer your question would be one, the time, money, the cost of your time and two, overhead.

0:05:57 - Kimberly King

But so important to talk about that And really, when you sit down with them, you know, really clarify that. And also, i love what you're doing with your students in the community to help others. That seems like a lost art. so good for you for giving back and teaching them, you know, while it is happening. Can you provide an example of a startup that failed due to a mistake that could have been avoided?

0:06:21 - Doctor Beeler

Yeah. So I always use this example. There was a student of mine at a private institution and he wanted to sell t-shirts, right. So you know, young people are good at wearing t-shirts, whether it's for a sorority or fraternity or any type of organization or celebration. And he wanted his model or his branding to be $5 t-shirts, right. So he felt like all students could at least afford $5, right, that's something that was disposable. So because he was thinking of the mindset of students and their income, he felt like $5 branding was everything to him, was the core concept of his business. But in my class he would come back on Mondays after a weekend of selling and he's like Dr Beeler, i'm still not making money. So we start to look at what is the issue. If your sales price is stuck at $5, then you also have to think of what is your profit margin. So his business failed because the cost of the shirt was like $1.50. Then he had to pay a vendor fee, and sometimes they vary. So even if his vendor fee was $100, he needed to determine how many shirts he needed to sell. Well, we know there's 20 shirts at $5, right. And then just to cover the vendor fee. And then what about the eek to press on the t-shirts, all of those additional costs?

We learned that his shirts, the cost of doing business, was not just related to the raw materials of the cotton shirt, but it ended up being like $7. So with him selling it at a flat of $5, he was losing $2 on the norm because he didn't even consider the vendor fees, transportation, his time of not having a job and this being his primary concept. So that's an example of just simply. His cost was $7. His branding, which was popular and he did get sales at $5, but because he was selling in the red or at a loss already, no matter the volume, his business was still not making a profit, if that makes any sense.

0:08:43 - Kimberly King

It does, It does- And again, it's really kind of making sure we do the research on the backside, And I love that you pointed out that time is worth money. I mean, you know we just that's how we get paid. What? how important is it to conduct market research before launching a business and what are those risks of not doing so?

0:09:04 - Doctor Beeler

So market research is critical before you even enter a market So you can have these great ideas in your dreams. I tell my students that all the time are regular professionals that want to go into business. But what is your niche in the market? What gap are you fulfilling? Why would you get routine customers?

Because you don't make success out of just one customer visiting you one time.

You have to have a brand and you have to have customer loyalty right. And so when you do not have market research, it makes it difficult for you to expect something, especially resources for a demographic that you know nothing about. So this prior example about the student he did great market research right. He knew that his demographics were the students around campus, so he understood that their economics and what they'd be able to afford was good for what he wanted to do. So use his market research example. As you study the market maybe you do some samples you see how well people are responsive to it. You look at your competitors to see what they're doing in the market. What are their pricing? If they are a publicly traded company, go out on Edgar's filing under the SEC and you can look at their 10K report to see how well they're doing or what are some of their downfalls, but that market research is very critical for the demographic that you will be co-dependent on serving and that you're looking for their consistent business.

0:10:53 - Kimberly King

Okay, interesting. I love that answer too. What are some common pitfalls when it comes to managing finances in a new business and how can they be avoided? I think this is something that I mean, and you're where you're teaching at National University. you're teaching this, so I think everybody, though it, should be learning about how to manage finances, especially when you have any business.

0:11:20 - Doctor Beeler

Correct. So the number one, where everyone is capital you have to have enough capital. Now, what is capital? for those of you that may not be familiar with that language, it is your startup money. How much money are you coming into the game of the business with? that, if nobody walks into your door, you're able to survive, and I say at least a year before inflation. But now that we're in a market where everything is inflated, you actually need a year and a half to two years worth of capital, enough money to cover your expenses, like salaries, like your building, like your utilities, like your cost of materials, all of your routine costs that you have on a monthly basis.

So if you set a budget and look what are your costs going to be that you have enough money, whether it's a line of credit from a banking institution, you have an investor or you have your own money You have enough from day one that you want to open your doors, to run your business for at least a year and a half to two years. If you have that money upfront, then you can realize that you may have to do a little more pushing or we say hustling to get customers to know about your product and whatever service you're providing And you're not dependent on them supporting your business. Just yet, without capital, without having your expenses covered, you are bound to fail. I run into a situation where we call you liquidity short, where you have no liquid resources, monies, to fund your business.

0:13:15 - Kimberly King

Is it a question for you about just how long is the kind of the standard amount to get your business up and running? When it when, or is there a standard timeline? Is it like a year? I heard you say a year to two years. Is that a standard or is that?

0:13:31 - Doctor Beeler

So the year to two year timeframe is how much money you should have calculated to the side to cover your expenses once you open your door, so that you're going to have the two years that you have enough money to pay everybody if you don't make a profit. Okay, as it relates to how much capital you're going to have, that depends on the type of business and the expense to run that business. So your rents, your insurance, your employees, your utilities, your security, your building, if you have a mortgage to pay the mortgage, if you have a lease to pay the lease, like I said, your office staff, your materials, if you make an assurance to eat all of that, that, if nobody bought anything and you just had to give out free samples, you have enough. So it just depends on what type of business you have and how much it costs to run that business Got it?

0:14:32 - Kimberly King

How do you balance taking risks with being financially responsible in a new business?

0:14:39 - Doctor Beeler

Well, being an entrepreneur is a risk itself. Right, that's your vision. Okay, if you believe in the higher power, the higher power gave you the vision. Now, internally, you have to find a way to take it out externally and have someone believe in you. So risk is very much so associated at a high level with entrepreneurship. However, it goes to say low risk, low reward, high risk, high reward. There is an association with that.

Now, what are you risking? Your time, your energy, your finances, your transparency, those believing in you. The characteristics of the risk also change based on how much you're going to expect to receive in return. So, for my student, that was a t-shirt business. That was low risk, right, he didn't have a building, necessarily. He probably had a t-shirt printer that he bought off of Amazon and some ink Right, and all he needed was his innate tenacity and motivation to go out network with someone Let me make shirts for your sorority or fraternity. He does a quality job, he delivers Right, that's a different set of risks for someone saying I want to open a hotel chain.

Okay, I'm going to open a hotel chain near Disney World. I'm going to make a billion dollars in the first six months because we're going to be kid friendly and I'm going to set my price lower than a Disney resort. That's high risk because you're talking there about prime real estate. You're talking about a lot of insurance, so it just goes to see what type of venture you're expecting. But overall, being in entrepreneurship is not an easy walk. It is very risky.

0:16:42 - Kimberly King

I could talk to you all day about this. We have to take a quick break, so stay with us. More with our interview with Dr. Kentaya Beeler and we're talking about things to avoid when starting a business. We'll be right back. Stay with us. So welcome back. We are back to our interview with Dr. Kentaya Beeler and we're talking about things to avoid when starting a business and some questions to ask, and you have been so great to really get that behind the scenes, bird's eye view and really speaking to a lot of people that have businesses. What are some common mistakes that entrepreneurs make when it comes to marketing their new businesses? Dr. Beeler?

0:17:24 - Doctor Beeler

Thank you so much again for giving me this opportunity. When we talk about marketing, let me make sure I say it depends on the demographic that you're marketing to. So we're in a unique business world now where we've been entered into technology, where you have a lot of ads being run on social media platforms versus you also have people that do snail mail as a marketing and you still have radio and television for marketing. So this is different from even five years ago, right, because you have so many streams and you have to understand your audience. You have to understand your audience. The reason why I say that is so. if you done market research, you know what demographic you're going with and who your competitors go with. But if you're looking for the baby boomers, who were the 50s babies, you're not going to really catch them on Twitter, right, because that's not where they are normally. You may catch them on Facebook more. You may also catch them on the news. So if you do a commercial or advertisement, you need to understand it needs to be in a timeframe or in a space where you will meet your audience. If you have not done a test of where your audience is, it will be wasted money in the incorrect capacity of marketing.

So again, my student that had the t-shirt company right, this audience is going to be on Twitter, going to be on Instagram, going to be maybe on Facebook, but they also are going to like text messages. They're going to want something posted around campus. They're going to want you to communicate with wherever their specific audience is. So if it's in the dormitory, then it's also going to be in the dormitory. That is different from if you're running a healthcare business and you need to look for where patients are. So you might find that in the ads that are run between 12 and 2 pm, because that demographic is watching the noon news.

So marketing is very keen, but what I have found with all demographics is that we are inundated with technology advertisements now, so people really like one-on-one, personalized Thank you for your business. Hey, it's good seeing you, mark. Hey, it's good seeing you, Kimberly and Mike, I miss you coming in to get a cappuccino. I miss seeing you here on lunch break. The fact that they are being acknowledged for their well-earned money is what I found, that all customers like. So what I found is, yes, understand the demographic you're serving and where you're going to capture their attention. And that costs money. So you do need a budget for marketing, but the old school familiarity has been taken away, even at our banks today. Right, you just go up to an ATM. Actually going in and talking to a teller is even something that the young people want. So just getting back to being familiar with the person that you have a money and service or product exchange with is needed and still works. So I would say to any entrepreneur get to know your clientele, send them happy birthday, happy anniversary messages. Sometimes pick up the call and do a phone tree so they feel like their money is valued, and that's where you'll see the loyalty, not just running social media ads or sending out SMS.

0:21:36 - Kimberly King

That's probably my favorite thing you said, because, even though it is old school, i remember my dad was an entrepreneur and you know, especially at Christmas, but he had a secretary that remembered holidays and helped him along, and so those little things do go a long way and I remember growing up watching my dad, you know, make those deliveries being face-to-face, one-on-one, and it does. It does go a long way And I'm glad to hear that this new generation is really keen to that as well. I love it.

0:22:03 - Doctor Beeler

Yes, do you remember the calendars? the holiday? Yes, everybody. But you remembered it because it was on the refrigerator with a Magnet and you could flip it and you knew, okay, if you need a referral, you would say, oh, i do have someone for you for insurance. You know, I do have someone for you for water delivery, right, because it was there. That's, that's marketing itself too.

0:22:32 - Kimberly King

It is, and it's that old-school kind of marketing like you're saying, but it does go a long way, and so I think we that's kind of nice and refreshing to hear that it's not just always about that technology So, and it's the humanizing part of it too. Ah, i love that. How important is it to have a solid business plan in place? I know the answer to this, but what are the risks of not having one? So?

0:22:58 - Doctor Beeler

Here's the thing I sit with entrepreneurs all the time, or somebody's calling me to run over the idea, and it is the vision, and I think we need to clarify what's the difference between vision and business plan. Okay, vision is what you aspire, our dream, the outcome of this new venture to be. The business plan is the step-by-step of the requirements to get you to that vision. A Lot of people mix vision up with business plan and then they fail to plan, so their business fails and they are Still having the vision. So they're like I don't know why I keep dreaming about this but it's not working, like I'm reaching all these obstacles. Well, those obstacles are because you haven't done the research to understand what's required. Is there a business license required? How much funding? do you need to have an employee Identification number from the Internal Revenue Services? does your state or locality require you to file a business license? Do you have a business structure that requires board members? who is going to be on your board? What are your articles of incorporation look like? What are your Rules and regulations for making decisions? look like What happens if your business fail. Will you liquidate assets and how will that work? That's not in a vision, right, because that's getting down to the details and the specifics of Operating.

So when you don't have that in place, you are caught by surprise when your vision becomes to be diminished by all of the things you should have planned for. And a lot of the time We skip past that because, trust me, it does take a lot of work and research. And let me just say, with the workforce being very Skeleton and a lot of administrative places, there's a lot of run-around, there's a lot of hurry-up and wait and that becomes Frustrating when you have this vision. That's really driving you. But take your time Right now. Everything, do what we call it math of. If there are analysis, if this scenario doesn't work, then what is my next step? and if that doesn't work, are you playing a, b and C? you must plan because if you do not, something will catch you by surprise and it may Cost you for that surprise.

0:25:35 - Kimberly King

That's such a good point. I love that planning really. With these scenarios, you know it's good to know what's around the corner and if, but when, or if, then you know that's great. What about what? what are some common mistakes entrepreneurs make when it comes to hiring and managing employees?

0:25:55 - Doctor Beeler

Oh, that's a good one too. A lot of conflict resolution in that. Number one, let me just say, as entrepreneurs, normally our go-to is family and friends. Initially right, because they're the ones that you're so excited with. They have a direct connection with you and you often share your vision with them. So if you start off at a vendor at a flea market or a pop-up shop or a Saturday shopping market, a lot of the times the first individuals that will help you is your friends or family. However, when you want to scale your business, sometimes people are not excited about your growth And if they're there to, as we say, count your pockets, they tend to think that they should get paid more. But their work ethic sometimes does not go with the value of what they expect to get paid. So one of the number one things I tell you is to pay everybody from the very beginning. Have a budget to pay everybody. There's no favors in business, because personal and business should never mix. Not knowing the person, but personal. You did me a favor and business should never mix. If you're going to do business, do business Even if it's your mother. Buy her a gift card. That's the value of her services. If she doesn't take cash, because family and friends know the most about your business, can see how much you're making and the scaling of your business And they become the number one threat to the success of your business. So make it always a W2, a 1099, or a gift card, but make sure you pay everybody for their work.

So the number one mistake is hiring friends and family in your business. Number two is make sure whoever you hire, they have the skill set for the duty that they are to complete, because when you are the business owner and you're really trying to make your business work, you cannot constantly train people on their job and market and grow your business. So make sure they are skilled in that area. If not, go to a headhunting agency and find someone that has some history in that. That should be a party or business plan in your budget, knowing how much a person with the expertise that you're looking for is going to cost. And then the third is understanding that you're going to have high turnover in any business Because, remember, it's your vision, not the person's vision, and people work to get paid. So the next person that comes with another opportunity that's paying more, they are going to leave. And when an employee leaves. The knowledge that they have leaves with them. And so three primary components family and friends. Pay them as their regular employees, make sure that they have the skill set to do the job. Second, hire a headhunter to make sure that you have people in place and budget for that job. And then, third, know that you're going to have high turnover and you need to have a succession plan in for every role. Oh, and fourth, you, as the business owner, should know how to do every job in your business, just in case someone doesn't show up to work. So, if it's making hamburgers and you the CFO, you know how to account the books, you know how to do the marketing call, you know how to procure your own products the hamburgers, the buns and you also know how to fry the French fries and flip the hamburger. You must own your own vision all the time.

0:30:04 - Kimberly King

I think that's my favorite thing you said so far. It is true, you kind of have to. Really, you're running the company. You have to know how to do everything. You must own your own vision all the time. Good, how important is it to have a good understanding of the legal and regulatory requirements And I know there are many for starting up a business, and what are some common mistakes people make in this area as well?

0:30:28 - Doctor Beeler

Always go to your small business administration in your state or locality, because they normally have attorneys there that would do pro bono work. You always need to have contracts in place. Again, there is no favors in business. There's no personal. You need to have a legal structure set up. You need to have bylaws. You need to talk about the best case scenario and the worst case scenario.

There always going to be individuals that want to look at what can they benefit from your company if they find a great area. So you want to protect yourself. Even if you have a LLC because that's popular now on TikTok. I get this all the questions You have the limited liability corporation and the definition of that is if you have an LLC L, limited L, liability, C corporation, a person can only sue you for the value of your business. So if it goes past that, that's the max. However, you still should have some liability insurance on top of that. And so, talking to an attorney, writing up all of your documentation, paying that extra money, put it in your budget, put it in your business plan. To understand, what does it mean for me to go into a coffee shop? or what if someone gets burned by the coffee or the espresso. What will be your liability of that, based on your structure? It is very important, so I always say have at least two people constantly on your payroll, that's, an accountant and an attorney.

0:32:17 - Kimberly King

Again, great advice there, so true, And it's nice to talk to you because you are that vision for people that are just now getting started. Can you provide an example This is the last question, by the way Can you provide an example of a startup that succeeded because they avoided common mistakes in the early stages of their business? So can you bring us a previous one?

0:32:37 - Doctor Beeler

Yes, there was a young lady now another student who loved to do hair. She was really into doing hair on campus, she did a lot of hair in the dorms and she wanted to scale her business. Of course, her dream, her vision, was this very phenomenal, beautiful salon with a garden wall, the neon signs that they have now so people can do selfies. She had mirrors and all this vision. But then she looked at the finances, the up cost. She was going to a college on loans. She didn't have the capital, she didn't really have people that would invest in her and she didn't have the mindset. So what she did was she bought an office suite within a group of salons So it's like a new concept where there's several barbers and stylists up under one roof. They all have their individual 12 by 12 studio, right, 12 by 12 studio where they operate their business in there. So it's a shared cost, right. So her overhead was like pennies on a dollar compared to what she was going to do with her fantabulous vision. She downsized her costs to reach her vision. The vision was still there, but it can't be on Rodeo Drive, you understand. It had to be under the roof of a shed light structure, but inside that 12 by 1244 square foot she still had her wall, because it's just a wall. Your phone can only look at so much of a diameter.

She's able to book her clients by using a service called Booksy, where they pay a deposit. If it's a no show, she stills get the money for them. not showing, because that talks about the value of her time, right. So you pay a deposit, you want my expertise, you don't show. I missed another client. I still get my money. My cost is pennies on a dollar. I still have that wall. My social media is free, but my customers come here. I develop a quality service. They post and she already had a built-in demographic.

She just moved out of dorm rooms into a shared space where she can't afford to pay for that. She had enough money left over from her financial aid and she started writing in for grants and going to the small business enterprises and getting small grants like $200, $500. She started building her credit with a secured credit card where she put up $200 on it in her business name. She charged gas, she paid that off. That kept building her credit. So she can get a line of credit now. But you know what she said, Dr. Beeler, I still don't want to spend that amount of money on a big space. Now my clientele is so big that people book me to come out to weddings and do whole wedding parties, so they don't have to come to me, i can come to them and they got the same exposure from my clients by them posting with my little brass wall on Instagram. That's a success. Yeah, that's a success that is.

0:36:10 - Kimberly King

That's amazing. That's a great story And those really are popular. I love that she's collaborating under a shared space, but that she was able to flip the script, really flip her vision in a way that made it work for her, So that's a great example. It's been so fun talking to you Oh, go ahead.

0:36:29 - Doctor Beeler

One other thing I just want to say. the other thing is being in a shared space like that was cross marketing. So even individuals like barbers that were coming in to get inviting their male clients to come in, when the men were passing and seeing her work, they were bringing back their daughters to get their hair done, they were bringing back their wives to get their hair done and vice versa. Her clients was seeing oh, the barber does a great job. So that was extra cross marketing. So I just thought about that. when you said she's in a shared space, that's cutting down on also the marketing. If you were in a standalone business and you were just depending on one set of clientele to tell your story and expertise. So that's it. That's all I wanted to add.

0:37:15 - Kimberly King

Oh, i love it, and that's such a good point too that cross marketing. Sometimes you can't pay for that right. It's right across the hallway from you, so thank you so much for your time today, doctor. If you want more information, you can visit National University's website. It's nu.edu, and we really look forward to your next visit.

0:37:36 – Doctor Beeler

Bye, thank you.

0:37:43 – Kimberly King

You've been listening to the National University podcast. For updates on future or past guests, visit us at nu.edu. You can also follow us on social media. Thanks for listening. You can also follow us on social media. Thanks for listening.