Starting up a business can be an exciting yet laborious and overwhelming experience. In the formative stages, it’s common to find yourself wearing all the professional hats at once - finance, operations, marketing…the list goes on. But one hat that often gets forgotten is HR. And the ramifications of leaving this function unattended can be very costly, with the potential to run you out of business.

So, to help steer you in the right direction and build your business for success, here’s five of the most common HR mistakes we see start-ups make, and most importantly, how to avoid them.