REASONS MOST SMALL BUSINESSES FAIL – PART 2
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A good marketing plan is an integral part of your business plan, yet many people don’t plan how they will market their new business.
“Oh, I’ll put some fliers out, AND put an advertisement IN a local paper”, YOU THINK, and wait for the phone to ring, is not a marketing plan.
You must have a structured marketing plan, one where you research which marketing techniques best suit your business.
With small and home-based businesses, marketing is usually cited as one of the largest hurdles faced by the owners.
This is very important; competition not researched.
Many budding entrepreneurs take their specific talent to dive into starting a business without first assessing their competition.
Take the time to thoroughly research this aspect of your business. With the proliferation of home-based service businesses, knowing who your competition is can be time-consuming. Your Chamber of Commerce can give you a list of licensed businesses in your field. Research them, find out all you can about them.
Only so much business can be generated in one geographic area, and too many stores offering the same service means that all will struggle to make a profit.
And then there is the wrong choice of business.
You need to be an expert in your field and love what you do. Choosing a business because it seems like an easy way to make money is foolhardy.
You need to review consumer economic, and long-term trends, and assess your business community if you’re buying into a business investment opportunity, or purchasing an existing business.
You need an accountant to review the proposal and a bookkeeper to keep your financials in order. These may seem like an additional investment, and it is, but without these critical services, your business may be destined to fail because you won’t have a good idea of cash flow.
This can be bad or good. Good if handled right, but mostly bad for new business startups and many successful small businesses.
The business grows too quickly, but business growth doesn’t sound like a reason for business failure, does it?
This can often is the case if a business is started with minimal cash flow, particularly one involving a large inventory. Rapid growth can create all kinds of problems. Sudden growth may mean that your location is no longer suitable, and the space is too small. Moving a business is costly.
Additional inventory requirements, staffing, machinery or equipment upgrading, must be first paid for with profits, And there’s always a delay between profit and the need for additional income. Sudden growth also puts extra demands on your management abilities and experience.
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Larry Go to the MAIN PAGE PONNACLE BOOKKEEPING FOR YOUR FREE SMALL BUSINESS BOOKKEEPING GUIDE