Why are people reluctant to start their businesses instead of spending their careers working in a company? People prefer working as an employee rather than owning a business because they fear business failures. History has millions of stories of giant corporations that were once exceptionally profitable but later went bankrupt. If multinational corporations can fail, what are the chances that a small business will not? However, it is crucial to understand that businesses fail when business owners make impulsive decisions. This article discusses some of the common mistakes that startup businesses make, which leads to their failure.
Not addressing issues on time
Often entrepreneurs ignore the problems faced by the business and delay decision-making. This adds to the problem and can make it worse. On the contrary, if issues are addressed in a timely manner, issues can be resolved effectively. For example, if sales are declining, the entrepreneur needs to identify the causes of the decline as soon as the decline is observed. Addressing the issue on time gives one the opportunity to rectify the mistakes and develop strategies to resolve the emerging problem effectively. However, if the problem is ignored, more efforts and strategies are needed than when the problem initially started. By this point, it is often too late to handle the situation effectively.
Ignoring the competitors
Entrepreneurs and small businesses often assume that they do not have any direct competitors; therefore, they do not develop competitive strategies to beat the competition. Competition is often ignored when a new and unique product is introduced in the market. It is assumed that since the product type is presented in the market for the time, there is no competition as of yet. However, the market already has an alternative solution to the problem being addressed by the new product. The existing solution is a direct competitor. The target market is already comfortable with the solution. Without addressing the competition, a company cannot make its way to the market and is likely to fail.
Starting the business at the wrong time
Most businesses fail because the product is introduced too early or too late. Think of Nokia; once an unbeatable market leader, it is nowhere in the competition because it failed to adopt the Android technology and did not pay attention to changing consumer needs. It is crucial to analyze the market and industry trends before introducing a product or starting a business. The target market may not be ready for your product, or maybe it is too late for the product. Also, businesses are responsible for creating the demand for the product, especially if a new product is being introduced.
Being afraid of taking risks
Entrepreneurship demands risk-taking. Often businesses must make tough decisions because higher risks generally bring higher profits. However, entrepreneurs prefer to be on the safe side but avoiding risks means that they are compromising on the potential profits. Companies that have introduced new and creative products took the risk of testing the market; therefore, they could mark their place in the industry. This, however, does not mean that small businesses should take risks aggressively. The key is to take calculated risks such that the project’s failure will not negatively affect the survival of the entrepreneur or the company.
Entrepreneurs have unlimited liability, and the failure of a business directly impacts their wealth. Therefore, people are inclined towards working in companies owned by others than in running their own businesses and taking on those risks. Since entrepreneurs are often new to the business world, the chances of them making mistakes are higher. They may blindly follow their gut and ignore the industry statistics due to a lack of experience. Therefore, the stories of business failures demotivate potential entrepreneurs. However, making smart and timely decisions and avoiding the mistakes mentioned above will decrease the chances of business failures. Also, one business failure does not mean that you cannot be a successful entrepreneur!
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