It’s April 1st, better known as April Fools’ Day, and you’ve no doubt spent the entire day looking over your shoulder. This is, after all, the one day of the year that it’s not only acceptable to pull pranks, it’s expected. You’re not about to fall for it again, so you’re going to spend all day with your head on a swivel and your skepticism on full power.In other words, goof or get goofed…

It’s a good idea to stay vigilant on April Fools’ Day, because no one wants to wind up on the wrong end of a prank. Merry japes are all well and good, as long as you’re not on the receiving end. Here’s the thing, though. A lot of business owners fail to apply that same level of caution to their business dealings, where the stakes are a lot higher than maybe sitting on a whoopie cushion.

In honor of April Fools’ Day, here’s a list of common business pitfalls to keep an eye out for. With a cautious, measured approach, you can avoid being a fool the other 364 days of the year too.

1. Believing Everything You Hear

This is the foundational mistake at the heart of most April Fools’ Pranks and a lot of business failures. A lot of business owners have been burned by taking contractors or third parties at their word without doing their due diligence. If someone calls you on April 1 and tells you that your house is on fire, you’re probably going to take it with a grain of salt because your defenses are already up. Treat all of your business relationships the same way. Don’t accept promises, demand proof. Not only that, make sure you are contractually protected if anything does go wrong.

2. Missing Opportunities

The key to a successful April Fools’ Day prank is knowing where your friends are vulnerable and capitalizing on those weaknesses. Believe it or not, succeeding in business operates the same way that succeeding as a prankster does. You have to look at your market and figure out the soft spots and then target them aggressively. By addressing concerns that aren’t being met or filling important but neglected niches, you make your business indispensable to your customers. A good prankster sees an opportunity and grabs it with both hands. A smart business owner does the same thing.

3. Going Halfway

The biggest difference between a failed prank and a successful one is commitment. Think of all the times you’ve been made an April Fool. I bet the times you really fell for it all had one thing in common. It’s the elaborate, out-of-the-box pranks that really reel us in. You don’t really embarrass your friends and family by going with the old standbys or half-heartedly coming up with something. The pranks that live on in legend are the result of thought, planning, and fully committing to the joke.

This, more than anything, is where a successful prank and a successful business come together. Sure you can open a business and do what everyone else is doing. You can fail to innovate, fail to do all the hard work required to really stand out from the crowded pack. Maybe your business will manage to scrape by. If you want real, lasting success, though, you can’t settle for half measures.

It’s difficult to pull off a really successful prank on a day when everyone is expecting it, but it still happens year after year. That’s because with smart planning and creative thinking, there’s no obstacle that you can’t overcome. It’s true in the world of pranks, and it’s true in business.

Just watch out for these pitfalls and your business is on the road to success. Spend the entire year with an April Fools’ Day mindset, and next April, you’re sure to be the one laughing.