Profit Killers: 10 Entrepreneurial Mistakes to Avoid in 2025

Every entrepreneur dreams of building a profitable business, but many find themselves stuck in a cycle of zero returns despite their best efforts. What separates successful business owners from those who struggle isn't just hard work—it's avoiding the critical mistakes that silently sabotage your progress.

Throughout this eye-opening episode, we unpack ten entrepreneurial pitfalls that consistently derail business growth and profitability. The journey begins with the perfectionism trap that prevents many from even launching, as we emphasize that "perfection is the enemy of progress." From there, we explore how inadequate self-investment, neglected branding, and poor pricing strategies create invisible barriers to success. 

Drawing from personal experiences in the candle business, we share candid stories about underpricing products at pop-up shops and the importance of adapting to changing customer preferences. The conversation digs into why trying to do everything yourself leads to inevitable burnout, and why understanding your financial numbers isn't just bookkeeping—it's the lifeblood of business sustainability. Perhaps most valuable is our examination of time management, which many entrepreneurs identify as their greatest challenge.

The episode concludes with a bonus strategy on building multiple income streams for greater stability and a special gift for listeners—a free downloadable checklist to serve as your reference guide whenever your entrepreneurial journey feels overwhelming. Whether you're just starting out or looking to break through a growth plateau, these insights provide the clarity needed to stop the profit-killing mistakes holding you back. What business blindspot might be costing you everything? Listen now to find out.

Subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share with fellow entrepreneurs who might benefit from these hard-earned lessons. Your business success story starts with avoiding these common mistakes!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello world, welcome back to Not Just Candle Talk,
the podcast where we dive intothe real strategies, struggles
and successes of entrepreneursand small business owners.
Today's topic we're going toget into 10 entrepreneurial

(00:21):
mistakes you must avoid in 2025.
Going from zero to profit allright, whether you're just
starting your business or you'vebeen hustling for years.
We're just going to break downthe 10 biggest mistakes
entrepreneurs make that keepthem stuck at zero profit or,

(00:43):
worse, losing money, and, mostimportantly, how to avoid them
so you can start seeing realprogress.
Ok, so let's, let's, let's jumpright into it, let's get into
it.
So the first mistake is hismindset the all of the all of
nothing mindset, the all ofnothing mindset.

(01:04):
Many entrepreneurs believe theyhave to get everything perfect
before launching.
In reality, perfection is theenemy of progress.
Let me repeat that Perfectionis the enemy of progress.
Don't wait until everything isflawless.

(01:26):
You got to launch it.
Learn and improve as you go,all right, uh.
So, like I said, uh, perfectionis the enemy of progress.
Uh, learn as you go.
If you, if, if you can, um,that's.
That's key to to a lot of um,to a lot of mistakes people make

(01:49):
when they're first starting off.
Everything will not be perfect.
It's going to be peaks andvalleys all the time.
Mistake number two notinvesting in yourself.
Trying to do everything forfree or cheap will just hold you
back.
So, instead of doing that,invest in education, tools and

(02:15):
resources.
Resources are critical.
Okay, the right courses you cando, mentorship or you can get
some software can help you levelup way faster than trial and
error.
So always be open to educatingyourself, ok.

(02:39):
Mistake number three neglectingbranding and marketing.
If your audience doesn't knowwho you are, they can't buy from
you.
Invest time in building astrong brand presence, both
online and off.
Consistent visuals, messaging,storytelling are essential.

(03:01):
I've done a lot of marketingoffline, going to networking
events, pop-up shops, a lot ofmarketing and getting my brand

(03:21):
out there.
In that regard, and let me tellyou, it helps.
You know, there's nothing,there's nothing like a
face-to-face interaction.
All right, so let's go intonumber four poor pricing
strategy.
Okay, underpricing your productor services may attract

(03:42):
customers okay, it might, but itwon't keep you profitable.
Evaluate your costs, your valueand market to set price that
reflects your worth.
Okay.
So again, I'm going to go backto like doing a pop-up shop In

(04:04):
the beginning, when I was doingmy candles in the beginning, I
would try to get that sale right.
So sometimes I would bring downthe price of the candle just so
I can get that sale.
And I knew it wasn't rightbecause I went in starting the

(04:26):
event me and my partner startingthe event with inventory.
So you know, by the end of theevent, the inventory did not
match the dollar amount.
So it's a lesson learned.
Let's get into mistake numberfive Ignoring your audience

(04:47):
feedback.
Okay, listen to your customers.
Okay, their feedback is gold.
Ignoring them means missingopportunities to improve and
grow With this one um.
Listening to your customers iskey.

(05:08):
They'll let you know what'sgood, what's hot, you know
what's not.
They will guide you throughyour business and always check
back with them.
And you have to be open toConstructive criticism.
Okay, you have to.

(05:28):
When you're an entrepreneur youentrepreneur, you can't live
without feedback from youraudience.
All right.
So mistake number six movingright along, trying to do
everything yourself.
Okay, being a one-person showis a recipe for burnout.

(05:50):
You can delegate tasks, you canautomate processes and you can
focus on what truly moves theneedle about solopreneurship, a

(06:17):
couple of weeks ago, and about,yeah, a couple of weeks ago.
And emphasize virtualassistance using the automated
systems.
Or you can hire.
Hire people, right, but tryingto do everything for yourself by
yourself, it will burn you out.
So you know, use the tools thatare available to you, okay,

(06:44):
mistake number seven poor timemanagement.
Oh, big one, this is a big one.
Entrepreneurs who don't plantheir day often find themselves
busy but not productive.
Implement systems, okay,schedule your days and stick to
it.
I'm big on this one.

(07:04):
This is one this is probably onthe top of my list right now.
It's time management.
Um, the day can really get awayfrom you if you're not um
managing your time correctly.
Okay, this is to me, this isprobably one of the most

(07:25):
important mistakes people makeUm important mistakes people
make um time management.
Um, let's go to number eightsticking to sticking to outdated
strategies.
Okay, what worked last year maynot work Um now.
Stay current with trends, toolsand technologies that are

(07:49):
changing the game.
Okay, I believe that.
I believe that is a big mistakeBecause, just for instance, the
candle business, what, sinceproducts really stood out one

(08:10):
year, uh, stand out at all thefollowing year?
I always keep it innovative, Ialways keep it fresh.
Um, that's.
That was the goal all the time,um, for us, we, we have over
200 cents and and that's not youknow, 200 cents were 200 cents

(08:34):
and that's not you know.
200 cents with a small candlebusiness is a lot, and that was
our goal to keep it fresh, keepit innovative and keep it moving
.
Let's go to mistake number ninefailing to adapt to change in
customer behavior.
Oh, that's a good one too.
Keep your finger on the pulseof what your customers need and
how they prefer to interact withyou.
Asking people you know what,what's their scent, what's their

(09:13):
go-to, what's their go-tofragrance, what's their go-to
product with a with a candlebusiness, um, and how can we
cater to that customer?
Um, that that's, that was oneof our goals and it still is, is
always catered to our customers, all right.

(09:34):
So, number 10, mistake number 10, the final mistake is not
understanding your numbers.
Oh, this is not big.
This gotta be this, this has tobe.
Uh, yeah, this is.
This is huge too.
So revenue is great, right, butprofit is what truly matters.
Track your expenses, yourrevenue and profit margins

(09:59):
closely and, again, there'stools to help you.
Uh, do these things.
If you are, are not, um, uh,equipped to do it yourself,
especially when you're startingout.
Right, there's a ton ofsoftware out here or you can you

(10:20):
know if someone you know isgood at the books, so to speak,
employ them.
But understanding what's comingin and going out really will
let you know if your business isworthy or not, right?

(10:40):
Um, yeah, so that's definitelyOne you don't really pay
attention to when you'restarting out, but if you are
lucky enough to be in businessthree to five years, it's
definitely time to tighten upthe books and see where your

(11:04):
money is going.
Very important, ok, so thosewere the top 10 mistakes
entrepreneurs make, and they canbe corrected.
Right, all mistakes can becorrected if you're paying
attention to your business.
Okay, so I have a bonus tip, abonus tip right now, and that is

(11:27):
to build multiple streams ofincome.
Okay, and however you do it,you know, whatever you're
comfortable with um, make thatyour go-to um, because that will
help your bottom line andthat's and that's the purpose of
being in in business or umrunning a business.

(11:50):
So let's see what elseDifferent things you can do is
digital products.
Of course, you can go throughpartnerships.
Just diversify your revenue.
It can provide stability andgrowth absolutely.

(12:11):
Well, there you have it the 10biggest entrepreneurial mistakes
that people hold back frommaking money.
That will hold you back frommaking money.
Avoiding these pitfalls.
It up right now.
If you enjoyed this episode,please subscribe to the podcast,

(12:39):
leave a review or share it withfellow entrepreneurs, because I
think this is a big one,because sometimes we might lose
ourselves.
I think I will provide achecklist, a downloadable PDF
checklist, under the subscribetab, for entrepreneurs to go

(13:03):
back as a reference.
It's a free download, but justa nice reference to have If you
ever get lost in your journey.
Alright, so thank you, I'mgoing to wrap it up right now

(13:27):
and thank you for listening tomy podcast and I will talk to
you guys later.
Keep hustling and stay inspired.
Thank you, bye.