However, if you’re ever in an accident or need to make a claim, it suddenly becomes the most important thing to take care of. But what mistakes can lead to the rejection of your claim? Read on to know about eight reasons your car claim may be denied and what to do. 

You Forgot To Pay Your Premium

Your car insurance policy is a contract between you and the insurer. You agree to pay the premium in exchange for coverage. If you don’t make your payments on time, the insurer has every right to cancel your policy or deny claims made under it. This is true even if the reason for the claim has nothing to do with your failure to pay.

The best way to avoid this is to always pay your premiums on time. If you can’t afford the full amount, reach out to your insurer and see if you can make partial payments or set up a payment plan.

The Statute Of Limitations Has Expired

You can file a car insurance claim in a limited time frame. This is known as the statute of limitations and differs from state to state. Make sure you’re aware of the time frame in your state, so you don’t miss the deadline.

If you’re even slightly unsure whether you fall within the statute of limitations, speak with an attorney specialising in car insurance claims. They will be able to tell you for sure and help guide you through the process if need be. Or click here to learn how to appeal your denied insurance. 

Your Policy Doesn’t Cover The Accident

Not all accidents are the same, and neither are insurance policies. There are many different types of coverage, which can make things confusing. Do you have comprehensive coverage? Or collision coverage? What’s the difference between the two?

If you’re unsure what accidents are covered under your policy, give your insurer a call and ask. It’s also a good idea to review your policy periodically so you know exactly what is and isn’t included. This way, there will be no surprises down the road.

Your Damages Weren’t Caused By The Accident

Just because you were in an accident doesn’t mean your insurer will cover all damages. If it can be proven that the damages weren’t caused by accident, they may not be covered. For example, suppose you have an outdated system. In that case, any damage sustained in an accident may be attributed to wear and tear rather than the collision itself.

Take pictures of the damage as soon as possible after the accident. This will help show that the damage was, in fact, caused by accident and not pre-existing.

You Waited Too Long To File Your Claim

It’s important to file your car insurance claim as soon as possible after the accident. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to prove that the damages were caused by the accident and not something else.

You Didn’t See A Doctor Right Away

If you’re injured in an accident, you must see a doctor as soon as possible. Not only is it important for your health, but it will also help support your claim. The insurer may deny your claim if you don’t have medical records to back it up.

Even if you don’t feel like you need to see a doctor, it’s still a good idea to go. Many times, injuries sustained in an accident aren’t immediately apparent. By getting a full check-up, you’ll have the documentation you need should you start feeling pain or other symptoms down the road.

You Didn’t Cooperate With The Insurance Company

After an accident, the insurance company will likely request certain information and documents from you. You must cooperate and provide them with everything they ask for. If you don’t, they may deny your claim. When the insurance company asks for something, give it to them as soon as possible. The sooner you provide them with what they need, the sooner they can process your claim.

Your Claim Wasn’t Supported By Evidence

When you file a car insurance claim, you must prove that the damages were caused by the accident and not something else. This is typically done by providing evidence in the form of photos, medical records, police reports, and eyewitness testimony.

Final Word

If your car insurance claim is denied, don’t despair. There are many reasons why claims are denied, but that doesn’t mean you can’t appeal the decision. If you have questions about your particular situation, speak with an attorney specialising in car insurance claims. They will certainly help you out.

1. Not Doing Your Research

One common mistake that beginner stock traders make is not doing their research. It is essential to do your homework before investing in any stock. When trading online, you will have access to a wealth of information. You need to look at the financial statements of the company, as well as the overall performance of the sector. You also need to read the analyst reports and find out what the experts say about the stock. Not doing your research is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when trading stocks. How can you expect to make a profit if you don’t know what you’re buying?

2. Investing in Small Caps

Investing in small caps is one of the most common beginner mistakes. There are different types of stocks and these stocks are traded on the junior exchanges, and they are often more volatile than the stocks on the major exchanges. The reason why so many people make this mistake is that they are looking for a quick buck. They think that by investing in small caps, they will be able to make a lot of money quickly. However, this is not usually the case. The vast majority of small-cap stocks do not perform well. Over 80% of them lose money. Investing in stocks that are traded on major exchanges is much better. These stocks are much more likely to appreciate over time.

3. Not Diversifying

Diversification is one of the most important aspects of investing. Yet, many beginner stock traders fail to diversify their portfolios. The reason why diversification is so important is that it reduces risk. Investing in various stocks makes you less likely to lose all your money if one of them goes bankrupt. A well-diversified portfolio should contain a mix of large-cap, small-cap, and international stocks. It would help if you also had a mix of growth and value stocks.

4. Getting Emotional

Many beginner stock traders make the mistake of getting emotional about their investments. They become too attached to their stocks, and they hold on to them even when it is clear they will lose money. It is important to remember that stocks are just pieces of paper. They are not worth your emotional investment. If you find that you are getting emotional about a stock, it is best to sell it and move on. There is no point in holding on to a losing investment.

These are just some of the most common beginner stock trading mistakes. If you can avoid these mistakes, you will be well on your way to success in the stock market. Remember to do your homework before investing in any stock and stay calm and rational when making decisions.

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What’s your story?

My journey to Squiggle and estate planning started initially in the banking industry. Back then, I was an adviser to a wide range of small businesses. When I listened to the stories and challenges of these businessmen and women, a pattern started to emerge. I couldn’t help but notice that many of their challenges and struggles were often at odds with the banking industry’s relentless focus on profit margins, metrics, and data.

So, when I was headhunted for a senior client-facing role in the legal industry, I didn’t hesitate to make a move, as I believed I could make more of an impact as I believed at the time that this was a more ‘caring’ industry.

However, several months into my new role, it started to slowly dawn on me just how archaic and traditional this sector was as well. I saw so many things that badly needed to be shaken up. Charging the client by the hour led to a transactional culture. There was a poor understanding of how technology could really help the customer and increase customer service levels. The ‘paperless’ office seemed to be a far-fetched idea in many cases, all leading to a culture of silo-thinking, poor security protocols, little or no transparency and poor knowledge sharing. This all translated into an extremely unwieldy and expensive service for the customer with bottlenecks everywhere.

All these challenges represented an opportunity for me and that was when I decided to found Squiggle – to leverage the best of technology, people, and good old-fashioned customer services to provide the customer with an entirely new experience.

What are currently the hottest topics being discussed in relation to Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning?  

There are a number of topics that are quite ‘hot’ at the moment. A key concern of mine has always been the ability of a client to access their information at any time of the day, seven days a week. Of course, this has a lot to do with the introduction of the latest technology. But not everybody likes technology for a number of reasons. First, the introduction of any technology can be seen as a threat by many solicitors. Less interaction time with the client means less billable hours. Secondly, solicitors have often felt threatened by the technology themselves. Many solicitors simply outsource their technology to an IT firm without understanding the strategic role that technology can play. Lack of this vital layer usually results in unwieldy ‘legacy’ technology that is costly and complicated.

On the client-side, many of our older clients have generally been technophobes (although that is now changing gradually), and when they’re faced with having to use legacy technology that I spoke of just now, it’s not surprising that many clients prefer the more expensive solicitor interaction (to the solicitor’s glee).

It's my firm belief that technology doesn’t have to be complicated. Mobile devices and better connectivity have enhanced the customer experience massively, driven down costs, improved security protocols, and made it so much easier for family members to collaborate with each other. All these things are vital, especially when it comes down to something as sensitive as estate planning and inheritance matters where you want to keep confusion and miscommunication to an absolute minimum. Technology is absolutely vital.

Something else I hinted at earlier was the issue of bottlenecks. Estate planning can be complex with many moving parts, so it is vital that bottlenecks are kept to a minimum and we can take care of our clients’ documentation as seamlessly as possible.

But it’s not always easy. Let’s take a government department such as the Office of the Public Guardian or the Land Registry which are dealing with thousands of documents on a daily basis. It’s therefore not surprising that these departments can cause huge delays in our comprehensive estate planning process. In some ways, that goes back to the technology point I made earlier. You can’t have excellent customer service without the ability to communicate quickly and clearly. And when there’s a delay from a government department, it is absolutely vital that we communicate that promptly with our customers without them feeling that they’re being charged by their solicitor for writing a letter.

Regulation is also something that has been spoken about a lot. One of my frustrations in the past was witnessing how many ‘middlemen’ and ‘fly-by-nights’ there are in this industry with no self-regulation. And this gives our industry a very bad name. I decided not only to build a team and the technology to eradicate this but also to ‘self-police’ by keeping ourselves to the highest standards possible.

That’s why Squiggle are members of the Society of Trusts & Estate Practitioners, the Institute of Paralegals, and the Society of Will Writers.  We’re also a member of the relatively new ‘BEST Foundation’, a governing body for Estate Planners, they have recently sent an open letter to the Office of the Public Guardian with the industries concerns around the Office of the Public Guardian – I fully support this.

In this regard, Squiggle aims to be at the forefront of education in estate planning and we have published our own Code of Conduct and Quality Guarantee on our website.

What are the main mistakes people make when it comes to wills and trusts?

Having dealt with thousands of clients now, the one thing that comes to mind is just how much people underestimate the intricacies of estate planning. It’s all very well saying ‘we’ll implement simple technology’ and outstanding customer service, but everybody’s story is different. Every family has its own unique background and circumstances and it’s important we get to the bottom of each person’s circumstances as quickly as possible without charging an arm and a leg.

So when somebody says to us: “our situation is really quite simple. Just leave everything to my spouse and then down to our children”, I’m tempted to respond with: “hold on, not so fast!” Life is full of unexpected twists and turns. A beneficiary might unexpectedly get divorced and/or remarried? Or they may go bankrupt. What happens then? We ALWAYS present different scenarios to each client, based on what they tell us as it’s important for them to know the potential consequences of each scenario. At the end of the day, that’s the difference between having a will written for you and getting proper advice from a qualified Squiggle Estate Planning consultant.

Squiggle is the company that’s decided to do things differently. We don’t charge by the hour, like most legal practitioners. We’re completely open and transparent. And we seek to educate. We’ve set the bar high for ourselves.

What are your thoughts on DIY wills & online wills?

Cheap DIY wills should not exist in my opinion. You’re talking about potentially leaving your estate to your loved ones and you want to rely on a cheap online will?  Really? Why? I just don’t get it.

Of course, online will services do have their rightful place. We even offer it ourselves at www.squiggle.me. But it’s important to maintain that crucial balance, ensuring that there’s somebody who can handhold you through the process cost-effectively with other services such as a    Lasting Power of Attorney and additional support and advice when needed.

Remember, you don’t know what you don’t know. I often compare our industry to owning a car. You know a car needs four wheels and an engine, but do you know why you need the pistons and what causes them to go up and down and so forth? Most people don’t need to, but at least they should understand the inner workings of estate planning. That is why you need a mechanic, or, in our case an Estate Planner.

Why should more people consider working with you?

Because we’ve turned the cart completely upside down. Squiggle is the company that’s decided to do things differently. We don’t charge by the hour, like most legal practitioners. We’re completely open and transparent. And we seek to educate. We’ve set the bar high for ourselves.

We ruthlessly audit all documents to make sure they are legally binding. We’ve come across so many wills from competitors where the company hasn’t even bothered pursuing the signing of a will. In our case, it’s so important for us that have a dedicated meeting to ensure this happens. And it’s written into our process.

Another point is security. So many legal practitioners tell their clients they must keep their documents securely, but then they seek to charge their clients for secure storage. That’s unfair and unethical in my view. We guarantee free lifetime secure storage - period.

We also help our clients register all their documents as part of the service. What’s the point of investing in these costly documents if they’re never registered? Again, it’s all part of our service and part of the relationships we are building. We just don’t believe in flooding the market with poorly drafted wills that are never finalised.

What do you do to help the local community as a business owner?

Our communities are what help us keep doing what we love. And to be honest, Squiggle wouldn’t be here without the support of our communities.

That is why there are two parts to our Strategic Partner Programme. Firstly, we have our charities. We know that it is so difficult for small local charities to raise the critical money they need to support their important causes. That is why we provide ‘free wills’ to our partner charities’ donors to help them give to charity in their will. “Legacy Giving” can be such a big income earner for charities and it allows them to make such a huge difference.

Secondly, we partner with local businesses. Employee retention and satisfaction are so important to most businesses, so providing a ‘free wills’ service to our partner companies is a unique way for them to differentiate themselves from their employees.

What have been some of your main achievements since starting Squiggle?  

When I founded Squiggle five years ago, it was just me. I am now incredibly honoured to say I have a team that helps me look after a base of over 4,000 clients. It feels great to have had such an impact on thousands of lives and securing tens of millions in inheritance for generations to come. Also, being invited to be a Fellow of the Institute of Paralegals was a very humbling moment.

In addition, many solicitors, financial advisers and other industry professionals have decided not to open their own private client departments. Instead, have partnered with Squiggle, safe in the knowledge that we have the right technology, processes, standards and protocols in place. And I’m proud to say that we have a really great team.

What has the COVID-19 pandemic taught you?

The difficult days of COVID have shone a light on both our humanity and our mortality. We not only cheered loudly for the heroes who have helped keep us safe in the dark days of this global pandemic but we have all been forced to assess what is really important: our lives, our loved ones and our peace of mind.

That’s why we have developed systems, processes and a team around these very values – to help people take care of this very important aspect of their lives – before it’s too late.

After working with us, our clients tell us they feel like a weight has been lifted and that they can sleep peacefully at night thanks to Squiggle – and we love knowing we have helped take care of such an important part of their life.

For more information, go to https://www.squiggle.me/

1. Purchasing Out-Of-The-Money (OTM) Call Options

 OTM call options might have a very affordable cost. It might seem to you that you can easily make a profit on them: just purchase them when they're cheap and sell them when their price goes up. This pattern might work occasionally — but it won't help you to make money consistently. It would be reasonable to consider selling an OTM call option on a stock that you already own. By doing so, you'll resort to a covered call strategy that might help you earn funds sustainably in the long run.

 2. Misunderstanding Leverage

 Traders who're just getting started might incorrectly assess the risks that leverage involves. They tend to purchase many short-term calls. It would be wiser to master leverage using just 1% of your share lots for a test. If you succeed — then, feel free to carry on. If you can't make a profit on the test lots, you might want to discontinue using leverage.

3. Lacking An Exit Plan

Before you start trading, you should decide at which point you will stop. You should determine:

• Upside exit point

• Downside exit point

• Timeframes for both types of exit

From the onset, you should learn how to balance trading with everyday life. You shouldn't stay glued to your computer 24/7. Reach your goals, have a rest and start the next trading session tomorrow. 

4. Hesitating To Test New Strategies

Once you detect a profitable strategy, you don't need to remain with it forever. To be able to make a handsome and steady income on trading options, you need to be flexible. Use some part of your assets to test new strategies and don't get upset if some of them fail to work with you.

5. Trading Illiquid Options

The term "illiquid" means the following: when you want to sell your options, you either can't find buyers for them — or you'll cause a significant price movement by selling your options. Ideally, the open interest should be equal to 40 times the number of contracts you'd like to trade or exceed this number. This means that if you're planning to sell a lot that consists of 15 items, there should be an open interest of 600 contracts or more.

6. Waiting Too Long To Buy Back Short Options

This might happen because you might strive to maximise your profit or avoid paying the commission. Instead, you should remember: if you can keep 80% or more of your initial gain from the sale of the option, it would be reasonable to buy it back.

7. Legging Into Spreads

Many novice traders tend to buy the option first and sell the second option later, which is known as "legging into a spread". By doing so, they hope to minimise risks — but in fact, they risk too much in exchange for a too-small reward. The right approach is to perceive a spread as a single trade. You shouldn't expect the market to move in your favour.

8. Lacking A Plan For The Situation When You Get An Early Assignment

When selling options, you should realise that you might be assigned before the expiration date. That's particularly important if you stick to a multi-leg strategy. You need to think in advance of what you would do after getting an early assignment. You might opt for a call or a put. Plus, you should determine whether you want to get your cash as soon as possible or later.

9. Trading On On Unreliable Platform

 Here are a few examples of how unreliable platform might turn you down:

• Turn out to be a scam and steal your money

• Leak your private data

• Fail to provide you with the tools that you need for productive trading

• Go down because of a sudden spike in traffic

To find a credible platform that caters to Australian traders, you might want to check aubinaryoptions.com. There, you'll discover an impartial list of top platforms and the criteria for choosing the best one.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, you found this article informative and now you have a better understanding of which mistakes to avoid when making your first steps in options trading. Traders with little experience tend to buy out-of-money call options, misunderstand leverage, lack an exit plan and avoid testing new strategies. They might trade illiquid options, wait too long to buy back short options, leg into spreads and not know how to cope with an early assignment. You should strive to avoid these mistakes. Most importantly, you should trade only on a reputable and reliable platform.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of new businesses fail within the first two years, and almost half of them do not make it past their fifth year. Being aware of some of the common mistakes entrepreneurs make in their first years of running a new business can not only increase your chances of success but also save you time and money. Below are some top tips for new business owners that will help you avoid the pitfalls of starting a new business.

Ignoring Technology

In today’s digital age, any successful business owner needs to take advantage of technology with regards to matters such as marketing, customer communications, supply chain management and social media. There are many logistics to running a new business that can be improved and streamlined with the help of technology. Making use of intelligent software tools can enhance your business’ efficiency, productivity and ultimately its profitability while a lack of investment in such tools can cause your business to lag behind its competitors. Whether it is virtual accounting and bookkeeping software or online tools that allow you to automate your payment transactions, utilising technology can help your business processes run smoothly and quickly. Knowing how to choose the right software for your business will require a little research but some of the common software tools include:

•         Customer relationship management (CRM)
•         Billing software
•         Payment processing software
•         Time-tracking software
•         Email marketing software

No Business Plan

Putting together a business plan that clearly defines your business objectives can help you stay consistent in your efforts, improve your decision-making, and serve as a benchmark against which to measure your progress. Without a strategy in place, it can be difficult to identify how well your business is performing and to determine which areas you need to focus on or improve.

Investors or lenders often require a business plan before they will fund a business, so it is advisable to have such a document readily available that communicates your business vision as well as details the fundamentals of your financial forecasting and profitability.

Some of the main components of a business plan include a budget, financial plan, marketing strategy and analysis, sales forecast and key performance indicators (KPIs) which show whether your business is on track to meet its goals.

Inadequate Market Research

Before launching your service or product it is essential to take time to understand your market by conducting research. Knowing who your prospective customers are will allow you to direct your marketing efforts to the correct target audience and will make more efficient use of your marketing budget as well as increase the chances of your product or service being purchased.

To stay current, it is important to continually get feedback from your current and prospective customers base and not just when you are launching. With these three steps under your belt, you are sure to give your business the greatest chance of success.

A good credit score provides you with so many benefits, such as reasonable interest rates, faster loan approvals, and suitable insurance policies. Nearly 70 million Americans are suffering from bad credit because repairing your credit requires a lot of time and self-control. So, what is the best way to improve your credit score in no time? The answer is simple – buy a tradeline.

But, in order to understand how to improve your credit score by using a tradeline, you need to understand the term “tradeline” first.

What are tradelines?

A tradeline is basically any account appearing on your credit report. A tradeline keeps a record of creditor’s information to calculate his credit report. You can mutually benefit from someone with positive credit history and improve your credit score if he adds you as an authorized user (AU).

Most people ask their family and friends to add them as their AU, but if you want a quick improvement to your credit score, you can add users with exceptional credit history as an authorized user. These AU provide positive data regarding:

• Payment History
• Amount owed
• Length of history

Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) places a credit score in 5 different grades.

• 720-850 Excellent
• 660-719 Good
• 620-659 Average
• 580-619 Below Average
• 350-579 Poor

Buying 2-3 seasoned tradeline can help you jump to a 720-850 credit score in a month.

What will a tradeline help you achieve?

A tradeline helps you improve your credit score so it will reap all the benefits a good credit score enables you to achieve. Without a good credit score, you will have limited access and services of your credit card, loan plan, and a higher rate of mortgages. In short, you will have to end up paying more money than usual.

But good tradelines on your account will help you achieve a credit score of 750 or higher in no time. When you buy an authorized tradeline from someone like Personal Tradelines, you are added as an AU to one of their credit card accounts, and it takes only 25-30 days to get your credit up to a good score.

Common mistakes people make when buying Tradelines

·         Having no idea of how tradelines work

The most common mistake people do is buy a tradeline without having the slightest idea of how it works. I recommend that you read all about tradelines and their types before actually committing to buying one. You can also get help and information from tradelines vendors.

·         Buying tradelines in hopes that it will unfreeze their accounts

Tradelines work by adding positive information to your account. If you have fraud alerts or credit freezes on your account, buying a tradeline will not work as new information can’t be posted on your credit report.

·         Understanding the age factor of tradelines

The effectiveness of a tradeline is always going to be relative to how old your own account is and what is in your credit file. For example, if you have a 10-year-old account, an 8-year-old tradeline would not have much impact on it. However, if the account is only 1-2 years old, an 8-year-old tradeline would do wonders in increasing your credit score.

·         Not having an idea of how credit score works

Before buying tradelines, it is vital to know how a credit score impacts your general lifestyle. Because even if you are successful at getting a good credit score after buying tradelines; you will have to follow a particular set of rules to maintain it.

·         Going cheap

Some people go for 4-5 cheap tradelines instead of buying 2-3 seasoned tradelines. It ends up costing you more money, and you are better off buying seasoned or authorized tradelines rather than a lot of cheap tradelines.

Also, a cheap tradeline will not have that much positive effect on your credit report as they don’t have good age. This works against the goal of improving your credit score exponentially.

·         Buying tradelines for shady companies

Unfortunately, there are a lot of companies that are selling tradelines, and it is tough to trust someone random. It is essential to do a background check on a company which includes customer reviews, their ratings, and some money-back guarantee to make that you are getting the best service possible.

If you want to enjoy a healthy annual profit margin and long-term success in your industry, you must take control of your cashflow. Here are four financial management mistakes your business must avoid.

1. No Emergency Fund

An emergency fund could help to keep your business afloat during a difficult time in your industry or when you received an unexpected bill. To ensure your company is never faced with financial hardship, aim to save a minimum of three months’ worth of corporate expenses, which could ensure your company’s survival should an issue arise.

2. Unnecessary Business Expenses

Many business owners believe they need to make large expenses to separate their brand from their rivals. As a result, they might pay a significant sum for the latest technologies, office equipment, or staff salaries.

It is, however, a smarter approach to adopt a more frugal mindset. For example, invest in second-hand products, haggle with suppliers, and find an affordable lease for your office or building space.

Never spend a penny more than you need to, even when your company is generating a superb return on its investment. By running a lean business, you’ll have more money available to overcome a financial obstacle.

3. Avoiding Insurance

The right insurance policy could help your business to make a swift recovery following onsite damage or compensation claims. Yet, many companies make the mistake of not choosing the right coverage to suit their specific needs.

There a wide range of options to suit different companies’ needs, such as business insurance, cyber and data risk insurance, and employers’ liability insurance. It is, therefore, important to consider the potential risks your organisation might face and to find an insurance policy to match.

If you fail to invest in the right insurance policy, your business could be liable for a considerable amount of money, should a client make a claim against you. For example, if you regularly provide professional advice and services to clients, you should learn more about professional indemnity insurance as well as public liability insurance. Reputable providers such as Hiscox can instantly provide coverage of up to £10 million with both professional indemnity insurance and public liability insurance so that your company aren’t caught out, with flexible policies tailored to your needs.

4. Failing to Budget

Many businesses are guilty of failing to budget each month, but it could be critical to your company’s success and survival. It ultimately helps a business owner to maintain a tight control of their finances, as they will know exactly how much money they will need to spend each month and where it is going.

Without a budget in place, you could fail to account for your tax obligations, insurance premiums, office expenses and more. If you spend too much, you may then need to apply for a business loan or run up debt on your credit card if you urgently need cash to pay for a debt repayment or corporate expense.

Don’t be confused with these terms as they only have one common idea, and that is to earn a profit! However, some investors almost always end up committing mistakes in the beginning. Since investments belong to a larger scale, you may focus first in trading so that you could easily understand it.

When we say traders, they are the ones who are into buying and selling goods, currencies or even stocks. They may be transacting using their own capital or using others’, whether a single proprietorship, partnership or a company. You can check the link and reviews about nextmarkets, stock exchange experts, money market and the likes for more information about trading to get more idea about this.

Traders can be vulnerable, most especially those who are just on their initial stage. Therefore, it is a must that a beginner trader should consider all the necessary factors in order to avoid committing the same common mistakes. And what are those general trading mistakes or flaws? You may try considering and understanding the following:

1. Failure to study the business project itself and just believing on hearsays, suggestions or proposals

As a beginner trader, you owe yourself everything. Whether you succeed or fail, there is no other person to be blamed for or to be proud of but you. It is your decision that can make or break your business because you’ve certainly relied on what you have studied, researched, and gathered about the business trading that you are handling.

As a start-up trader, you need to do a post-trading analysis to be able to determine your next move. Otherwise, you’d be left hanging, losing and crying over your lost capital. Do not dare to follow the advice from random people around you as some may be giving you the right advice because they are really concerned about your business, while some may be there to mess it up with how you manage your business. So if you will not primarily consider this aspect, you know what will happen to all your trading transactions.

2. Failure to focus on the positive side and failure to prepare for the negative ones

This component is sometimes being ignored by most beginners in the trading venture. You may be willing to take the risks, but you may also not be prepared to do so. Why? The business know-how may be present, but the guts do not exist. You must be mentally and emotionally prepared as a trader. You should be firm and certain of all your decisions. Emotional trading must be avoided at all times and be aware of its consequences in the business.

3. Failure to use a trading journal and completely learning at least one or two trading methods

When you are initiating a new business journey, you should be taking note of all the details, whether you are earning and so on. In that way, you would know what to change, remove, replace or retain on the methods that you are using or applying for future reference. Don’t rely on just remembering things when needed, but a good reminder is the one that you have absolute knowledge and experience. When there is something to decide now, you can go back and check what you’ve done in the past in any similar situation. It may look like a diary, but it is really helpful.

On the other hand, you can only refine gold by putting it on fire. You may fail several times, but take the chance of redefining and remolding your trading strategy instead of always looking and applying a new one. You may come up with the right trading strategy which is applicable to what you need by doing the trial and error experiment. Practice makes things perfect after all.

4. Failure to adapt the changing markets and business strategies

In business, you may also hear of the terms such as old school, traditional, obsolete, outdated, outworn, and stodgy. These words may be referred to the business techniques, strategies, and methods that are being used and applied. Unfortunately, the business deals of today’s world are far beyond what these traders have done before. For this reason, beginner traders must be open to new and advanced business marketing procedures and all. This will save the entire business from losing its target clients, affiliates and even investors. Thus, you will rest assured that your business is secured and stable.

5. Failure to expect the unexpected

A beginner trader should bear in mind that in the trading world, all things might occur or happen. Of course, you are expecting for continuous profits, more clients and even business expansions. However, as a trader, you should be realistic and expect worse case scenarios so that you can prepare and plan for the right move to take in case these business mishaps happen. Your venture in the business world will not always be rainbows and butterflies, so you must have an alternative action for every scenario that may happen. Also, in business, it is advisable to have more sources, investments or other methods for unexpected events or losses. This will help you in making the business to recover or rise again after every fall.

6. Failure to understand that difference between the long-term and short-term perspective

Beginner traders should be aware of the differences between the long-term and short-term perspective so that you would know how to deal with things in every situation. There are some factors that are beyond your control such as fortuitous events that can affect your business. Therefore, you need to make stable and suitable back-up plans for that just in case anything happens.

7. Failure to analyze the trading performance at the right time

In business, it is not advantageous to analyze the performance of your business on a daily basis since each day is different from other days. As a beginner trader, you should focus on doing your best method each day and gather all the necessary data in a long-term range before you compare its performance to become more competitive, stable, feasible and profitable.

8. Failure to know your competitors

A trader must be aware not only of how he runs the trading business, how it goes, or how it gets more clients or affiliates but also of how his trading competitors manage their own businesses. Your competitors play a vital role in your business, and knowing how to deal with your competitors will give you an advantage. That is why we have this saying that goes like this, “If you cannot beat them, join them.” Instead of getting more enemies, it would be wiser to turn them into your allies. Get involved with a fair play in a healthy kind of competition.

There are still lots of quotations, sayings, and words of wisdom that you can best relate with as far as successes and failures are concerned. Still, you should not rely on words to make your business succeed. Do the legwork and use the right strategies to manage your business.

Are you planning to leave the bank and start FinTech company? Watch this video first

Looking to start your own business? Maybe you’re a few steps in already? You feel like you’re treading on egg shells? Gary Turner, UK Managing Director of Xero, here gives a brief analysis of all that can go wrong, and how to avoid them!

Entrepreneurs deserve a huge amount of respect for taking the leap to start their own business venture as it’s no small feat. You just have to look at the troubling statistics which show 21% of SMBs don’t make it past their first year to realise the challenge that’s set before them. I’ve been vocal that 2017 will be an unpredictable year for the UK economy, and following last week’s budget it’s vital now more than ever that a new business starts with as few issues as possible.
Here are my 6 Don’ts to ensure success in your first year.

1. Don’t rush your dream team

You may have a small network, you may have never hired an employee, and you may have many family and friends happy to help out. This can lead to new business owners bringing in familiar faces to help get them off the ground – but while this is useful for some aspects of work like admin and delivery, external expertise are vital. It’s not advisable to bring in family just because they’re accessible, take the time to recruit people who belong in a small business. The key traits to look out for are ambition and initiative, and an innate ability to work in teams. Alongside a specific skillset for different aspects of the business such as marketing, IT, sales and the like, it will help frame your company as a professional one.

2. Don’t market your company before developing your brand 

The excitement of launching your own business is unparalleled, and naturally you’ll want to shout about it from the high heavens. However, before you go spending money on services claiming to boost the potential of your social media channels, you first need to create your own business identity. This includes creating your own brand values, distinguishing your unique selling point, identifying your tone, and keeping consistent messaging across all PR and marketing. No matter how someone hears about your business, it needs to be in line with where they may hear about you elsewhere.

3. Don’t lose sight of your personal life

Just because you’ve become a business owner doesn’t mean it should become who you are. You need to remember to keep you personal life separate from business. We need to respect ‘burnout’ as a real phenomenon, it’s not something only the weak experience, it’s human to feel run down and demotivated from a lack of enjoyment in life, so take the time to focus on you. A lot of this boils down to balancing work with play, and today’s technology makes accessibility to work a lot more possible. By using the cloud anywhere, you can cut commuting time and spend that time on extracurricular activities.

4. Don’t assume the role of an accountant

There are intelligent software tools that allow you to take your finances into your own hands. Online platforms can allow you to analyse your numbers, expenses, wages, POs/invoices and more. And while we believe this makes small business finance accessible and more easily digestible, nothing compares to the experience of an accountant. They’ll be able to monitor books for errors, use their knowledge to discover your eligible tax breaks, offer guidance and insight as a result of your numbers and more. Yes, accounting tools are important, but using someone’s expertise will help those numbers go that much further.

5. Don’t set yourself unrealistic goals

Ambition is important, but your first year should be the time to get your ducks in a row. Setting specific and high targets can be demoralising if you don’t hit your highest hopes, which is why you should set bronze, silver and gold targets. This will allow for a feeling of success, but it will also encourage you to push yourself to strive for gold – be it sales, exposure, clientele - targets will always be beneficial in building motivation and momentum.

6. Don’t go at it alone

Recent findings from Xero’s Make or Break report shows that, despite Brexit being a huge concern, 58% won’t be seeking help from a mentor. It’s unclear why, perhaps it’s from a lack of access to industry peers, perhaps it’s a strong sense of self-belief, but either way mentors can bring huge benefits . There is no shame in asking for advice, and most people will be happy to share their wisdom and experience. Don’t make a mistake that could have been easily advisable, hit the forums, attend networking events or even ask people in different industries – any knowledge you can soak up is vital to your future success.