There is a big difference between a business and a hobby, passion, or charity. And that is the bottom line. Business is driven by the desire to profit, and without profit, the business cannot survive.

Seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? Yet so many entrepreneurs and aspiring businessmen still fail at making confident profits. Why? Let’s take a look at the top three most common and crucial errors committed by business owners that result to the failure of their business.

No Plan in Sight

Ouch! This seems like a very elementary part of coming up with a business. Everything in life takes careful and well-thought off planning, and obviously running a business shouldn’t be any different.

The problem is most businessmen don’t start their business having the end goal in mind, as Stephen Covey once said in his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Imagine building a house without an architectural design or construction plan. Or baking a cake without following a recipe and the measurements for each ingredient. Or even buying a pet without researching and learning about feeding, grooming and basic care. What do you think the result would be? Failure.

Enter: the business plan. The business plan is the most important document you produce as a business owner. This documents what you intend to achieve during the next 12 months or over another set period, and how you plan to do it. The business plan needs to be expressed well to everyone in your organization to ensure everyone is working towards the same goal. 

Poor, faulty planning or a complete lack thereof is one major reason small businesses have a short life cycle.

Remember, planning isn’t about what you will do in the future. It is about the future effects of present choices and actions.

Missed Marketing Opportunities

If you’re an avid fan of the hit TV show Shark Tank, then chances are you always hear how the sharks ask the pitching entrepreneur what his marketing plan is for his product or service. It’s quite amazing how often the issue of marketing comes up in this show; that only shows how vital it is to any business.

Marketing is a function the business’ day to day operations, yet it is so often overlooked due to the fact that most business owners don’t really, holistically understand the process and importance of smart, targeted marketing. But at this digital age, you can’t really escape the power of marketing.

Content is king. Marketing is the high ruler in business. 

Having unclear or mixed messaging will cause your market to alienate your product. The business offering will be confusing. And the company will be missing out on billions of dollars worth of opportunities.

Unwillingness to Delegate Spells Disaster

You can’t do it alone.

By know, a thriving business should know by heart that its success doesn’t lie on the shoulders of just one person only. It is a collective, cumulative effort of hundreds or thousands of people, depending on your company size.

So don’t try to do it all yourself. Honestly, why even bother thinking this way? You know it’s a proven fact.

A successful business always has a team of advisers who all avoid making the biggest mistake of thinking that one can do it all by himself. While you can do almost everything, you’ll do almost everything poorly.  This is a sad and harsh fact. 

Leaders have one or two natural talents. And that leader is duly responsibility to identify those talents and focus on them and harness them. A great business owner or leader surrounds himself with people who are

strong where his talents are the weakest. 

Legendary companies are built on the foundation of maximizing a few strengths, not on trying to be masters of everything, or else you’ll remain at the bottom. 

The reason why these are spine-breaking mistakes is because of how simple they are, yet they are the backbone of every business. Not planning, not marketing, and not delegating are the three worst mistakes you can ever make in running your business. But conversely, they are also the quickest fixes to any problem that you may encounter in your company.