The Two Year Itch

Did you know that most new Businesses fail the first two years? Sadly to say, this is quite true! This can occur in a number of ways as it has been said that may come from greed, lack of well trained staff, management, plummeting market and I can go on further.

I have come across some rather great franchises that failed due to one of these issues or quite possibly all of them as I am not quite sure. It is not my business to know their business nor their faults. I believe they had the right idea but poorly planned and way out of budget. As I hope these individuals will try once again or perhaps one will implement their idea and do wonders with it.

I will mention a few reasons that stands out the most to me because I have seen this first hand. I was able to research a great article written by Jay Goltz, for The New York Times “Top 10 Reasons Small Businesses Fail” January 5, 2011. http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/top-10-reasons-small-businesses-fail/?_r=0

“Owners who cannot get out of their own way. They may be stubborn, risk averse, conflict averse — meaning they need to be liked by everyone (even employees and vendors who can’t do their jobs). They may be perfectionist, greedy, self-righteous, paranoid, indignant or insecure. You get the idea. Sometimes, you can even tell these owners the problem, and they will recognize that you are right — but continue to make the same mistakes over and over.”

“Dysfunctional management. Lack of focus, vision, planning, standards and everything else that goes into good management. Throw fighting partners or unhappy relatives into the mix and you have a disaster.”

Take my graphic from above for reference. Now of course, this was more of a mock up for a start up business project for one of my classes but never went any further. This had a great display of watch assortments and marketing could have skyrocketed. Personally, I don’t foresee the Straptop going anywhere as Apple products are much more in demand and have made a well known name for themselves. Perhaps one may take my idea and branch further out as this may be a success.

In summary, starting your own business has it’s own risks and be wise with your decisions. As these decisions and the roles that are given are always at risk. Be smart and do a little bit of research on the Market, the Industry, the inventory needed, and hire a great staff as they are your true bread and butter. Without a great staff and management, your business is already at a fail.