To be successful in any business, you need to be passionate about your product or service! Passion is what will lead you to your success, it will push you to make your business grow into something great. 82% of entrepreneurs did not doubt they had the right qualifications or correct experience to run a successful company. However, passion can only take you so far; to make your business successful, you need to have knowledge of your industry and to have the ability to adapt and be successful in every factor of business; recruiting, accounting, advertising etc. Being able to be an all rounder will provide you with the perfect opportunity and start to create your new business empire.
Having a USP and fitting into a gap in the market is important to make your organisation stand out. Make sure that your product is something that people will buy. Statistics show that the most popular reason small businesses fail is associated with there being no market needed for the product. 42% of small businesses have failed due to this. Don’t just assume people will buy from you, do your research and talk to potential prospects and find out if they’d be interested in buying- and find out how much they’d be willing to pay! Having a balance between being different but still relevant is important. Making sure your product or service can fit the mold and having an immediate impression on your target market can be difficult but is important to have. Finding your spot in the market and being unique to the competition is important to any organisation in order to gain recognition from customers and competitors.
Being a new business in this world can be hard when trying to get your name heard. Therefore, keeping up to date with customers on social media and keeping yourself relevant is crucial in keeping your business going. Having a robust online presence is a free, easy way to maintain customer attraction and maintain a steady customer awareness. This comes under marketing, 14% of small businesses have failed due to poor marketing tactics. Having a strong, solid marketing plan and strategy along with a great website and social media presence, you will build up a good customer base which you will be able to continue growing from. It’s also important to have an easy access website that people find simple to navigate. Your website is your customer’s first point of call, therefore, you must make sure it represents and sells your business well.
This links to the importance of a business plan. 17% of businesses fail due to having a product without a business model. Having a strong business plan built with the mind to succeed is your guide to get to where you want to be. Your plan needs to be specific to your goals, they need to be both short-term and long-term. Depending on how you progress and the more you learn about your competitors, customers and product/service, your plan will change.The idea is to avoid the traps that most small businesses fall into. Overall, a business plan is there to direct you in the right direction and keep you on track.
Start on a small scale. Research reports that a common trend in most failed entrepreneurs is that they go for what they think will make them the big bucks before they know what works and what doesn’t. Many researchers say that it takes 7-10 years before a business truly begins to make a great fortune. For example, it took Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, 7 years before he built his second store. It is now the biggest retailer in the world, owning 8,500 stores! To gain success, play the long game. In doing this, the business may be a slow burner, but investing time into the organisation will give you a greater outcome in the long run. By using a trial and error technique, you are able to identify what works and what doesn’t. You can then build on top of what works, and discard the less successful factors. The difference between successful people and normal people, is that successful people learn from their mistakes and move on. They do not choose to blame someone or something, instead they identify what is blocking their path to victory, and they find an alternative solution in order to grow around it. By doing this and attending different industry conferences and networking, getting onto different training courses, you are eliminating a lot of the trial and error process because you are able to receive advice from others who have been there and done it!
Many new start-up businesses fail due to financial difficulties. 29% of businesses fail due to running out of cash, and 18% of organisations fail because of pricing/cost issues. Many entrepreneurs fear their business will fail due to a financial decline, especially when the main reason for starting up an organisation is to make an income. If a business is unsuccessful in this, they have to look for other sources of finance. Although 77% of small businesses are able to use personal funds, 34% of businesses will take out a bank loan. External sources of finance can be beneficial to businesses who are just starting out because it gives them the opportunity to invest into the organisation. A good plan for small businesses would be to create a financial plan based on how they will cover their costs. A cashflow forecast is something most successful organisations have, as it allows them to prevent and be prepared for any potential cash deficits they could face.
From research taken to write up this blog, we have found that the most successful small businesses are a part of the Business Services and Food/Restaurant industry. Health, Beauty and Fitness are next in line for most success, with General Retail coming in at 7% and Home Services at 6%. Good luck with your new venture!
