Are New Businesses Really Doomed to Fail?

This is a guest post by Amanda Green.

Starting your own business can be an extremely rewarding profitable adventure, but only if you do it efficiently.  Unfortunately, many businesses are doomed to fail within the first six months because those running the companies fell into some of the common ruts that many entrepreneurs run into and didn’t know how to get out of them.  Coming into building your own business prepared and knowing what dangers to avoid will definitely help you get over these humps and get you on your way to having a successful company in the long run.

Sometimes outlining something is more work than the actual project and quite unnecessary.  When it comes to starting your own business, this is simply not the case; the outline is crucial to success.  You have to go into your own business with a very clear road map ahead of you – something that encompasses the plan start to finish even if it starts with something as simple as registering a website.  Failing to do this step, however long it might take, will only set your business up to veer off track in the first six months if not earlier.  Unless you have a clear vision of where you’re taking your company and how you plan to get there, you’re bound to lose sight and ultimately it will fall apart.

Pick a specialty and stick with it.  Many businesses fail early on because they chose a scope of field that is much too general.  Don’t market yourself as an artist – make sure people realize that you’re a graphic designer versed in business logos.  While this might seem counterproductive to gaining customers as it narrows your playing field, the fact of the matter is that choosing such a general term will only serve to get you hidden under the sea of other “artists.”  And the chances are they’ve been in the business much longer than you, meaning you’ll never get noticed.

Learn what will make your job easier in the long run.  When you’re finished outlining your business and choosing a niche, it’s time to start looking at how to run your business effectively.  For most businesses, there is nothing more valuable than a software that will help you with your contract management.  Once your customer base starts picking up, you’re going to get swarmed with various documents and considering you’re only human, you’ll probably end up getting confused and possibly making mistakes.  And when it comes to owning your own business, those mistakes could cost you a fortune.

No matter what you do, don’t give up.  A lot of business owners expect immediate results, which leads them to being discouraged when they realize it will take more than just two months to start seeing their investments pay off and suddenly they’ve done all that work for nothing.  Keep in mind that it’s a competition and you need to work your way to the top.  If you start a new marketing strategy, you need to keep with it.  By dropping it haphazardly, not only are you doing your business a huge disservice, but the people who did notice your business’s name will now think you’re a fly by night operation.  That means if you try to pick up your marketing game again, you’re much less likely to attract any customers at all.

There are quite a few common mistakes that business owners fall into when they first start their own operation, which is why it’s important to be prepared when you’re finally beginning the plans for your business.  Realizing these pitfalls early on will keep you from getting stuck in them six months down the road.