8 Reasons Why Businesses Will Fail in 2015

Posted on Feb 26 2015 - 3:00pm by Editorial Staff

It’s thought that within the first few years of starting up, 50% of all businesses will fail. Of course, they can’t all succeed, and the market decides which will blossom and which will flounder. But surely this is a statistic that we can change. Businesses need to flourish if the country and the world is going to progress and return to pre-crisis prosperity.

It’s always been difficult for those businesses opening their doors for the first time. There’s no sense in pretending that there are easy answers and solutions because there aren’t. What it takes is time, effort and a resilience that comes from taking knocks and getting back up. To improve your chances of success this year, read through this list and make sure you don’t make these mistakes.

No Imagination

It’s important to start your business for the right reasons. Don’t just do something that will make you a lot of money, do something you love and are passionate about. You should both understand and enjoy what you do in your business because you’re going to be doing it every day!

This will help you think about your business more imaginatively. If you’re interested in what you’re doing, you can push boundaries more willingly and stray from the beaten track. And this is important. You need to market creatively and find innovative ways to get your brand name out there if you’re going to succeed.

Image - 1

Image Source

A Flawed Business Plan 

Your business plan should be the cornerstone of your business. It has to be rigid and durable. And, perhaps most importantly, it needs to be realistic. A business plan is no use if sets unrealistic goals that you have no real chance of achieving. You should be able to refer back to it for guidance whenever a problem arises.

So, set goals and aims and make sure you include detailed plans of how you’re going to reach them. It should propose solutions to likely problems and plan out how much money you are going to spend, weighed up against how much will be coming in. Include your strategies for marketing and PR too.

Running Out of Cash 

A lot of first-time business owners underestimate just how much money it takes to start up a business and make it successful. If you do this and also overestimate how much money you’ll bring into the company in revenue, you’re sailing towards a perfect storm.

Work out carefully how much money it will cost to start up your business and how much it will cost to keep it running for the first year. It will take your business time to properly get going and start bringing in substantial amounts of money, so keep that in mind.

Arrogance and a Lack of Understanding 

You need to know your given sector and market if you’re going to be a success in it. Far too many young entrepreneurs rush into the market expecting to make waves and change the business world forever. Unfortunately, this is usually just arrogance, backed up with very little indeed.

It’s okay to have a bit self-confidence and bravado but don’t get ahead of yourself. You’ll make enemies in your industry pretty quickly if you’re too brash. It’ll be no help to your business either. Instead, conduct your business confidently but quietly. Focus on your customers and your own business rather than the competition. Don’t play the new kid on the block.

Poor Online Presence 

You’re missing out on sales and marketing exposure if your business is not using the internet as effectively as possible. If you don’t have any kind of online presence, you might as well pack up and go home now because, without a website, you fail. It’s as simple as that. If a customer has to choose between two companies, one with a website and one without, they will choose the one with the website every time.

You become invisible if you’re not online. So step into the 21st century and get a professionally designed website, promote it and your company via social networks and spread the word! While you’re at it, you can create your own app that will attract a younger consumer to your business. If you’re a tech whizz do it yourself, if not use a company that provides mobile app development in London.

Image - 2

Image Source

Not Adapting to the Market 

Markets change all the time. That means your business will have to too. As much as you might want them to, markets are not going to adapt to your business needs. So to keep up with the twists and turns of the market you’ll have to study it and track its trends.

It might feel much easier and more comfortable to stick with the status quo as much as you can, but it could be devastating, in the long run. It makes sense if you want to grow too. If you’re looking closely at the market and seeing new opportunities as they arise, you’ll know when and where to expand.

Communication Breakdowns 

Believe it or not, one of the main reasons companies fail is down to communication breakdown. This can mean many different things. Communication is key between high ranking business owners and workers. But it’s also key for the company and its customers to communicate too.

Make sure no lines of communications are blocked. It’s also important to sort out disputes as soon as they occur, don’t just sweep them under the carpet and hope they disappear. It won’t work like that; resentments will fester.

No USP 

Your business’s USP (unique selling point) is the very reason why a consumer buys your products or uses your service. If you have no USP, you have no business. Make sure you’re offering the world something new before you start up your business. If you’re not, go back to the drawing board and think again.

Image - 3

Image Source

If you bring something genuinely new and inventive to the table, it lifts a great deal of pressure from your shoulders. Because when the product is good, the rest is within your control.

About the Author

Editorial Staff at I2Mag is a team of subject experts.