Starting a business is an inherently risky proposition. After all, it’s impossible to predict how a new company will fare until it officially opens; it may be wildly successful, but then again, it might not be.
However, there’s a big difference between taking a calculated risk to start a new business and making unnecessary gambles that could put your organization in peril.
Today, we’ll highlight four such tactics and explain why they’re not worth your trouble. Marking them now could save your company down the line.
#1. Unsustainable Loans
Yes, it’s true that most successful business owners speculate to accumulate. Unfortunately, taking out unsustainable loans is one of the fastest ways to set a business up for failure.
Under the best of circumstances, loans can allow a company to take on new projects and cover upfront costs to enable significant returns later.
However, when businesses start taking loans with high interest rates to cover basic expenses, then trouble is almost sure to follow.
#2. Black Hat SEO
All new businesses want to increase their company’s visibility online. Professional sites that rank high on Google and other search engines hold a big advantage over their lower-ranking competitors.
Yet, as tempting as it may be to engage in black-hat SEO tactics –– efforts like shady backlinking meant to “game the system” –– this strategy will not deliver positive results.
In fact, you very well could be punished for engaging in black hat SEO and find yourself buried at the bottom of search engine results pages as a result.
#3. Employee Poaching
Attempting to convince someone to leave their current position at a competitor’s company and join your operation is a delicate operation fraught with complications. It’s very easy for these negotiations to go sour.
What’s worse is that you could miss out on a number of talented candidates if you’re focused solely on poaching established pros. Often, it’s a better idea to hire talented individuals and provide them with custom elearning resources to facilitate their development.
#4. False or Misleading Claims
Modern consumers are savvier than ever before. Not only are they adept at telling when a business is trying to mislead them with advertising claims, but they remember brands that are dishonest.
As such, it’s a terrible idea to promote your products in a way that’s disingenuous. Doing so might lead to a short-term spike in sales, but it will also create a mountain of ill will toward your company and damage your brand –– perhaps irreparably.
When in doubt, just be upfront and transparent with your customers. It’ll serve you much better in the long run than deception.