Who doesn’t love Shark Tank? This is a great show that not only entertains us, but one we can learn valuable lessons from. Week after week we have seen people miss out on many opportunities on Shark Tank because of the following reasons:
- You don’t have “time”
- It is pretty obvious that the Sharks hate when people say they didn’t have time or are busy doing something else. If you’re not 100% behind your business or idea, it will never succeed. That’s the difference between an entrepreneur and anyone else. So if you don’t have time for your business, it probably isn’t for you and you will never get taken seriously in the business world. Not to mention investors hate this excuse.
- You have no competitive advantage or strategy
- The Sharks make it clear that if you have no competitive advantage or strategy you’re pretty much doomed in the business world and investors won’t be interested in working with you. Your business should always have a competitive advantage and a clear strategy, or else you will be crushed by the competition.
- You don’t have anything proprietary
- We always hear the Sharks talking about businesses that don’t have anything that’s proprietary behind their business model. Although you don’t always need something proprietary, businesses that create and innovate tend to be the most successful. So if your business isn’t doing anything to innovate or contribute to the business cycle, it probably falls in this category.
- You don’t know when to hire someone
- A good business owner knows when it’s important to hire someone and can identify the opportunity cost behind everything. Your business won’t grow or succeed if you are focusing on the day to day operations without spending time growing your business. It is best practice to hire someone when it becomes a waste of your time and money to continue doing it yourself and someone else can do it in a more efficient way. You should be spending time growing the business and providing a strategic direction.
- You don’t have enough capital or resources to grow
- There will come a point where you may not have the resources or required capital to grow your business and not compromise elsewhere. This is a crucial point where your decision making as an entrepreneur comes into play. The Sharks don’t like when business owners don’t try to reach out to get investment or find people who have the right resources to back them. Every business requires some capital or resources to grow at some point. So get on the phone, call everyone you know, and don’t be cheap when it comes to investing in your business.
