Avoiding Early Founder Pitfalls - Need Your Experience!

Hey everyone, Luis Delgado here. I've been a Location Manager for over fifteen years, mostly on commercial shoots and some indie films. I'm finally taking the leap to start my own location scouting and management company, focusing on specialized, hard-to-access sites. I’ve always been good at the on-the-ground logistics, but the 'business' side of things is a new beast.

I’m trying to be smart about this, but I've heard horror stories about new founders making big mistakes right out of the gate. Things like relying on handshakes instead of contracts, hiring a big team before there’s consistent work, or getting snagged by permit issues down the line. I'm currently operating lean and making sure everything is above board, but I'm sure there are blind spots I'm not even aware of.

From your experience, what are the most devastating yet common pitfalls new founders fall into, especially in the early stages?