Failing to prepare, preparing to fail

The famous quote in the headline from Benjamin Franklin couldn’t be more true.

Statistics show that 25% of businesses fail in their first year with only 20% succeeding to their sixth birthday. According to the London Assembly, businesses in London are more likely to fail than anywhere else in England.

Here are six reasons that businesses tend to fail.

Fail to see bigger picture.

Those that run businesses should always remember to see the bigger picture. Once you forget the direction that you want your company to go in, you lose focus.

Poor sales.

Sales are important to a business because without them, there is no return on investment, thus cash flow management becomes unmanageable with more money going out than coming in.

Not taking risks.

If a company doesn’t take a few simple risks and stays still, it becomes lost amongst the competition. A business should always be above their competition with refreshing routes to market in order to stay at the forefront of customers’ minds.

Don’t listen.

To become a successful business, you have to be able to listen, especially to your customers because without them, the business has lost its purpose.

Growing too quickly.

Do not become lost in the whirlwind of competition and daily deadlines one has to meet. Companies can grow too quickly and not have the capacity to manage their day to day operations, therefore lose sales, investments and clients.

 

The common theme that can be carried across all points is not lack of funding, but lack of a genuine, quality idea and communicating the idea to customers and potential customers. We say, it is always the idea that matters, by creative thinking, belief and delivery to create a positive perception within the marketplace.