Avoid the Common Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs

Don’t let the overnight success stories fool you, being a successful  entrepreneur is a long process of trial and error. But you can get a headstart by avoiding common mistakes. Here are seven of the most common.

1. Don’t trust you gut. It’s not as reliable as taking advice from experts and potential customers. Consult them instead.

2. Get your business to market as quickly as possible. Slow launches kill business ideas and delay the all important cash flow generation.

3. Don’t be afraid to pivot. Be honest about your mistakes and change course quickly. A strong entrepreneur will understand his mistakes and aim to address them.

4. Take advice. It can make or break your business. You’ll fly bind without it.

5. Marketing. Too many entrepreneurs think they can get by without it. You can’t.

6. Put the customer first. If they don’t like what you’re doing, you won’t get anywhere.

7. Network- ultimately, your success hinges on who you know. If you’re not out there talking to potential customers and industry experts, you’re bound to be missing out.

Royal Mail Shares Up 36% After Floatation

The long awaited IPO of the Royal Mail was met with exceptional demand from the public in anticipation of the government having undervalued the business. The UK’s biggest privatisation since the 1980’s proved a big hit with investors with the flotation being heavily oversubscribed when the offer closed on Tuesday. The shares were priced at 330p on flotation implying a valuation of around £3 billion. Popular belief among city analysts is that the company was sold off too cheaply with the business valued at closer to £4.5 billion.

The floatation took place on Friday and was so successful that broker’s sites such as Hargreaves Lansdowne were down for most of the day and phone lines were jammed. Slightly more controversial was a late decision to cap all successful subscriptions to £750 for individuals investing £10,000 or less. Applications for more than £10,000 were not issued any shares.

The share price rose 36% on the first day of trading representing a significant gain for investors. Shares traded between 431p - 456p in what is described as one of the most oversubscribed IPO’s in history.

UK Economy Shows Signs of Recovery with Spate of IPO’s Expected in 2013

The UK economy is showing signs of recovery as evidenced by the recent growth in the demand for limited company contractors, particularly in London. The environment of low interest rates has resulted in companies and savers having few options available to generate a reasonable return on their investment. This in turn has led to a rapid rise in the stockmarket as equities are seen by many as a safe haven for investors.

The current environment has led to increased optimism in the stockmarket. Companies in turn have built up large cash reserves whilst waiting for suitable investment opportunities. This does not just apply to large corporates. Limited company contractors find themselves in a similar position with significant surplus cash deposits awaiting a suitable opportunity for investment.

A number of high profile IPO’s are anticipated in the final quarter of 2013. The Royal Mail is expected to announce its flotation next week with the government planning to sell a 60% stake in the business valued at £3.3 billion. Other flotations in the news include Countrywide, Crest Nicholson, Rightster and Zoopla.

The flotation of Foxtons, the estate agent, was particularly successful with its IPO being oversubscribed by approximately 10 times. Outside of the UK, Twitter has announced its much publicised IPO with the social media company looking to raise $1 billion in its public share sale.

This is a positive time to invest in a flotation. Contractors with spare cash in their personal accounts may be interested in investing through their ISA. The UK government have recently announced that individuals can invest in AIM listed companies through their ISA.