Need a Logo or a Website? Compare 8 Free Bids Today. Over 50,000 Designers Worldwide. DesignQuote.net

DQ News: 6 Signs Your Small Business is Set Up for Failure

In a day and age when the economy is not being very kind to many companies, how can your small business get its footing, especially when just starting out?

As many small business owners know, starting a new company even in the best of financial times can be challenging.

According to numbers from the Small Business Administration (SBA), seven out of 10 new employer establishments survive at least two years and 51 percent survive at least five years.

While those numbers help to dispel the long-standing belief that many small businesses fail in their first year, the facts are many do just that. Oftentimes, it comes down to simple decision making items like finances, to grow or not grow the staff, being an online fixture and so on.

Challenges Facing the Small Business Owner

In order to get a small business successfully up and running, companies need to build a positive revenue stream, advertise their business, and in many cases hire employees and more. When all is said and done, it can be quite an expensive venture.

While small business owners need to be positive in their venture, they also need to look out for the traps that await them, potentially leaving them in financial peril for years to come.

Among the 6 challenges to steer clear of are:

=
1. Beginning a business for the wrong reasons – The reasons can include wanting to have a business to make a bundle of money or getting away from micromanaging managers. While those may be popular reasons, they can also lead one to disaster;

=
2. Not having enough financial backing – Too many small businesses start out with good intentions, but they don’t have the financial capital that is truly necessary to make a go of it. While putting one’s business plan together, make sure that the necessary financial capital is in place, including being able to weather some tough times and/or until sales outpace expenditures;

=

3. Being a poor manager – Whether the new small business is a one-person show or will involve a number of employees, it is important that solid managerial skills are in place. As many small businesses that have gone under after a short period of time can note, the way things were run could have been better. It is important for small business owners to know how they want to run things from the start, be able to adjust to issues, and know how to manage people if part of the scenario;

=

4. Locating the business in the wrong area–If one’s small business is easily accessible and in a high traffic area, the odds are obviously greater for more business. Being located off the main thoroughfare, meantime, can be the death sentence for even a well-planned out business. When shopping for a locale for one’s small business, it is important to determine foot and motor traffic, where competitors may be located, any crime issues in the neighborhood and more to put the business in the best location to succeed;

=

5. Growing too quickly – While success early on is great, too many small businesses try and grow too fast, leading to financial issues. As part of one’s business plan, map out the goals of the company and when growth may or may not be a possibility. Sometimes it is best to hold off on expanding the company in order to build up reserve funds, and then expand when the financial timing is better. If thinking about expanding, determine if the current workforce can handle the added work before bringing on new employees and having to factor in salaries and healthcare;

=

6. No or limited online presence–In today’s electronic age, too many small businesses still do not put enough emphasis on having a strong Web site presence with which to market both their products and services. By not doing that, they lose out on the ability to interact with both current and potential customers. As more customers turn to online shopping for their needs, small businesses that are hesitant to do so stand the chance of missing out on potential revenue.

Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy; the key for small business owners is to be sure that they put themselves in the best position to succeed, something which is no small task in this day and age.

About the Author: Dave Thomas, who covers among other subjects vehicle insurancewrites extensively forwww.business.com an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.

Photo Credit: Paul Keller

Want to be our next guest author? Click here for details…

Need a Logo for your new company? Compare 8 Free Bids Today. Over 50,000 Designers Worldwide. DesignQuote.net

You Really Can Select The Right Shipping Method For Your Business And Here’s How…

If you’re a retailer, you’ll need to select a shipping method that works best for you, depending on your needs. There are several options to get your products into your buyer’s hands. A few of the popular methods are: 1) Drop Shipping, 2) Order Fulfillmen

4 Tips to Help Differentiate Your Small Business from the Competition

Let’s face it. Notwithstanding the fast pace of change in 21st century technology, products and services aren’t a whole lot different from each other. While competition does drive innovation, when you enter into a saturated market, the only thing that wil

Three Things Small Businesses Should Learn From Lady Gaga

Wait, let me guess. You’ve already read this somewhere else, right? It’s a common theme, really. The Internet is rife with articles telling businesses what they can learn from Charlie Sheen, from Jersey Shore, from Obama, from porn, and yes, f

7 Must-Know Tips for Outsourcing Your Business

As an entrepreneur, you are probably more than familiar with having to juggle everything at the same time. Overseeing payroll, human resources, special projects, advertising, etc. – it can easily become costly and overwhelming. In an effort to save