As an entrepreneur, developing an effective business strategy is vital to secure funding, launch your business and target consumers. Unfortunately, a few mistakes can derail your entire approach. Here are five mistakes commonly made in business strategy.

Style over strategy

Can you put lipstick on a pig? Developing stylistic brand ideas, without substantiating your product or service, is a recipe for trouble. Draw attraction with a well-developed business plan, properly researched and financed. Focusing on how it looks comes afterwards.

Misplacing your competitive advantage

It might be easy to know what you’re good at, but what do you do better than your competitors? Looking only at your own strengths, without comparison, it’s easy to overestimate your business power. Identify how your product/service meets different customer needs better than anyone else, and you will start to build a distinctive business.

Poor research

Poor research can make your business look sloppy and ill-conceived. Make sure the information you have is well researched, double-checked and substantiated. Use reputable sources and engage with the information you gather. With a little critical perspective, you might find new opportunities to develop your business.

You’re a tribe of one

You need a tribe; a core group of people who will give you objective feedback. It can be discomforting to put yourself and your ideas out there, but without that perspective, you risk over-familiarity blinding you to rudimentary error. Flaws like poor spelling or grammar can make your plan look sloppy, unprofessional, and potentially unworkable. Build a tribe to get the perspective you need. This is where your Virtual CFO can help.

Ignoring limitations

You might not want to highlight your weaknesses, but leaving them out completely leaves you vulnerable. A strategy is ultimately a problem-solving approach; the first step to solving problems is acknowledging they exist. Engaging with your limitations will help you identify strategies to overcome them, and possibly build them into strengths.

Building effective business strategies is about engaging with problems. Think more about developing a robust business plan, and keeping an open mind, and you’ll start to build the opportunity for success.

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