Small business success is an issue of winners and losers. You definitely want to be a winner in the high stakes game, so how can you make sure you succeed. You can never be guaranteed success with a small business since there are too many variables outside of your control that can impact it one way or another. However, there are things you can do to maximize your chances of success.
Every year, millions of people decide to take the plunge and open their own small business. Unfortunately, this decision costs many of them money, time, confidence, and heartbreak. The Small Business Administration (SBA) estimates there are 580,900 new small businesses opening each year and that number does not include the small one-person entrepreneurships that pop up every day.
The SBA also estimates that two-thirds of new businesses survive at least two years and 44 percent survive at least four years. Two key factors in the businesses’ survival and ability to thrive are the owner's education level and the owner's reason for starting the business.
You must ask yourself six key questions to determine whether your small business will survive and thrive.
• Are You Ready? - Have you mentally prepared yourself for the switch from employee (or student or whatever label fits you currently) to boss. You are going to be the one making decisions now about everything from office products to product line. Total control is one of the driving forces behind many people who take the plunge into starting their own business, but it is also one of the elements that drive new entrepreneurs crazy. The endless list of decisions that need to be made every day can be draining and discouraging.
• Can You be Flexible Enough? – You must keep in mind that you will wear many hats in a small business. Even if you manage to start out with employees on staff, you will be handling more than one responsibility in your new business. You will need to jump from being the CEO to answering telephones, meeting with marketing contacts, maintaining your financial records, and serving as file clerk. Can you handle switching from task to task and role to role like that? Are you willing to make those switches?
• Can You Maintain the Right Attitude? – Are you prepared for the significant changes you will face in your life? Your life will change and that change can have a positive or negative impact on your family life and social interactions. It will make things much easier if your friends and family are supportive going into the process.
• Where Is Your Niche? - One of the reasons many businesses fail is that owners do not focus on a target audience or niche. I you are a major discount chain, then you can sell everything from plants to clothes, but this type of business requires vast resources that just aren't available to a small business. But small businesses dominate the marketplace (creating more than 50 percent of the private gross domestic product last year) by finding a different approach -- a niche.
Knowing your niche means you are better able to find, target, and maintain your customers as well as provide the best possible goods and services to that customer base. That focus is one of your best chances to not only survive, but to thrive in a very competitive marketplace.
• What Is Your Plan Of Action? – Any successful small business has a business plan that is detailed enough to include all of the relevant steps, but also broad enough to include long-term planning and the opportunity for revision. You need to decide if your business will be based on the Internet or focus more on traditional models. Are you going to work full-time or part-time at your new business? Are you going to hire help or go solo? Dreaming, thinking and planning can save you considerable trouble and waste later when things are hectic and problems occur. Planning can also help keep you focused and provide balance to your priorities.
• Who Are You Going To Call? – Even experienced business people require help sometimes. You will need support, advice, tools, or information -- or all of the above. One of the beautiful, and most frightening, aspects of growth is that it can lead you to places you never imagined. No matter how much planning and experience you bring to your new position as CEO, the unexpected will arise. How will you cope with this? It is important to recognize that no business is an island. It is not failure to seek help. Failure is when your business shuts down because you didn't get the help you needed.
The best way to get timely help is to work on your support system while you work on building your business. That way you will already have a list of resources available that you can quickly tap into when emergencies strike. In today's world, there are many marvelous resources available to you no matter what your business model may be. These include: publications (newsletters, magazines, books); people (professional advisors, mentors, teachers, consultants); networks (organizations and forums in your niche as well as general business and marketing); and education and training (tutorials, courses, and seminars).
Ask yourself these 6 key questions which will help to frame your approach to starting a new business. There are no certainties in this world but, if you follow this model, you will greatly enhance your chances of success.
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