When you have ever been in the business startup ‘battlefield’ you learned quickly that insights and support from experts and entrepreneurs who have been there before can make the difference between failure and success. But many new entrepreneurs assume that they are ‘bulletproof’, don’t ask for any advice or support.
The result of this is that more than 50% of the startups fail in the first two to three years of their existence. Analyzing startups who didn’t made it learns us that that there are common threads that appear all too often.
Many books, articles and studies are written about failure in startup businesses but I think that it is more effective to be prepared up-front using a positive approach to ‘counter’ failure.
In her book, ‘It’s Your Biz’, Susan Wilson Solovic, who has many years of experience in small business development, really focuses on what it takes to succeed and share and excellent summary of words of wisdom that every entrepreneur or business owner should review:
• Don’t chase your tail. As you are building your business, take an introspective look at yourself every week. Think about how many days you have had that lots of things going on, but at the end of the day, you’ve accomplished nothing to move your business forward. Measure results to make sure that you are not chasing your tail like the puppy dog you have at home.
• Keep moving forward. Never let a day go by in which you don’t have done at least one activity that directly relates to one of your key business goals. Establish deadlines and milestones for yourself and monitor your forward progress. Keep an idea on the ball and don’t be distracted by –attractive- options that lead you away from your main objective and goal.
• Listen to your instincts. It’s important to ask advice and guidance and to listen to others, but measure these inputs against your own instincts as well. Following someone blindly, copying the strategy of someone else without thinking can’t serve as an excuse for failure and doesn’t help you at all.
• Manage your growth. Overextending yourself and your resources by taking too much too fast will surely kill your business. Growing a business is like running a marathon, you have to dose your energy and resources…. In one of his books, Seth Godin wrote that the “average overnight success takes six years”.
• Look for collaborative opportunities. In business, it’s tough to survive all alone on an island. Strategic partnerships and alliances allow you to take on bigger challenges, offer more services and cover larger territories. In addition, two heads think better than one, so collaborative brainpower is a significant asset. So, don’t overlook the composition of your teams!
• Expect the unexpected. You can’t predict earthquakes, typhoons , other natural disasters and economic fluctuations. Too few entrepreneurs and business owners think about risk management and have a current list of ‘essentials’ for their business, emergency contacts or solid backup procedures. You need a plan B ( and there are more letters in the alphabet) for survival when the unexpected arrives.
• Learn to manage stress. Your stress! The stress of a startup and of growing a business has a price unless you take care of yourself. Be realistic about what you can handle and don’t over-commit. Learn to say ‘no’ and mean it. Plan some time for yourself and your family. And don’t forget the golden rule: ‘under promise, over deliver’!
In business, you need to keep purpose, promise and principles as cornerstones of your our venture. It’s amazing how many entrepreneurs and business owners (and their teams) run their businesses on a day-to-day basis without ever understanding the purpose behind what they are doing.
Businesses without a purpose don’t have a heart. Or if the principles and values aren’t yours (think of this when you go into franchising), it’s not your heart. If it’s not your heart, then the promises you will make to customers are not really true. Remember that if you don’t deliver for your customers, they won’t deliver you. They can make your normal ‘business trenches’ a very deep hole!
Fail to prepare is preparing to fail!
No comments:
Post a Comment