3 Reasons Small-Medium Businesses Fail

So many small-medium businesses fail before they can reach their full potential. Sadly, this is occurring more and more often. In most occurrences, these business could actually have a really strong business model; however they often are missing 3 things:

#1 - LEADERSHIP
If you’re entering into business, you simply MUST advance yourself in leadership skills.

#2 - INADEQUATE MARKET RESEARCH AND SALES
In other words, not knowing the market properly and probably not charging enough.

#3 - POOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Speaks for itself…. the head in the sand approach. When did you last update you P&L or check your budget? Do you have a budget?

Here are 8 additional tips for surviving and even thriving during the economic downturn:

1.     Advance in your leadership skills.
If you’re in business, you must always grow and learn more about leadership. It begins (and ends) with you. Leadership skills can be taught, and you must have the courage to advance in them to stay on top and thrive in business.

2.     Define your mission and goals.
Think about why you started your business in the first place. What is it that you want to offer? Who are your customers? What do you want to achieve? Are your business goals aligned with your personal goals? Have you lost sight of these?

3.     Regain your focus.
You should always have focus. Too many businesses try to be all things to everyone by servicing too many customers or over diversifying their offerings. Define your core business, understand your core customers, and focus on what you are good at.

4.     Determine who your customers are.
Getting the right customer is far more important than having the most customers. Determine who your customers are and focus on servicing them. Too many businesses try to service as many customers as they can to generate revenue even if it means straying from their core business, overextending their resources and putting more effort than would be required if the customer was a good fit to begin with.

5.     Remember no man is an island.
You cannot do everything yourself. You need to build and nurture a strong team to build a robust and sustainable business. Surround yourself with the best people you can find to help you implement your mission, keep the cogs turning, and deliver. Your people are your business’s most important asset – treat them that way.

6.     Cash flow is king.
At the end of the day, it is the bottom line that counts. What the books say doesn’t matter if there is no money in the bank. Find out where you are making or losing money. Identify the products and services that are costing you rather than earning you money and don’t do business with customers that take their time to pay or don’t pay at all. They are not money in the bank! If financials are not your forte, hire someone to do it for you.

7.     Service, service, service.
Never let service slip. Great service differentiates one’s business from another that has the same offering. You want to create an exceptional customer experience because that is what will keep your customers returning to you instead of your competitor down the road. When your customers receive exceptional service and feel that they are getting excellent value consistently, they become loyal and will also start recommending your business to others. You cannot put a price on word of mouth marketing.

8.     Get a business coach.
When you are overwhelmed, unsure, have lost focus, and aren’t certain of your mission, find a business coach for objectivity and guidance. A business coach is there to provide you with guidance, bounce ideas off, offer impartial advice and help you to regain focus.

You'll find out more about these little surprises throughout my book.

For more information about Business Coaching and how you can increase increase your profits and grow your business, get in contact today.