It is not a comforting thought that up to 50% of businesses fail within 5 years. It may even put you off from attempting to start your own. While nothing is ever guaranteed in the world of business, you shouldn’t be discouraged by the failures of others. Instead, objectively look at ways to avoid making the same mistakes, and use that to drive success from within your own business. Most mistakes are avoidable, and in this article, we will look at some of the more common reasons why businesses fail.

Not enough planning

Perhaps the most common reason itself is before the business has come into fruition, not enough planning has taken place. Without a significant amount of research you may have failed before you have even begun. You need to ensure you are targeting a sector that has demand. Opening up a bookstore would be a bigger challenge these days, with companies like Borders now ceasing to exist. There will always be a select niche, but that doesn’t detract from the demand declining so much.

If you invest enough time into carefully researching before you dive in, you should get a strong idea whether your area can actually support what you are wanting to introduce. As the saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail.

Focusing on profits not cash

You may be surprised to find out that many profitable businesses are forced to close. Just because they are making a profit does not mean they have a strong liquidity that can easily pay their creditors. You need to have the money in the bank to pay your bills on time. If you are selling goods on credit where you will not be paid for up to 60 days, you may have debts to pay before you receive that money.

If you aren’t receiving your money before you have to pay your creditors, you are going to have a hard time staying afloat. This underpins why it is essential to have a fully planned out cash flow forecast, and if there is an expected deficit, you can implement a plan of action.

Growing too quickly

While it certainly is great if your company is in a position where you want to expand, you have to tread the path carefully. Expanding too fast can result in many problems all occurring at once. If you are rushing, you may make poor recruitment decisions, lose focus on core operations and reduce the stability of your overall position.

It is recommended to take one step at a time, and only when you are securely ready to move forward to do so. It is tempting to try and expand as quickly as possible, but with so many different components coming into play, you may pay the consequences of running before you can walk.

Economic Downturns

Some sectors more than others are prone to being heavily affected by economic downturns or recessions. All could be going smoothly, but if a recession hits and consumers start spending less your business could be the one that suffers.

The 2007 financial crisis hit small businesses especially hard. People just did not have the same level of disposable income as they previously did. You could try to protect yourself from market forces by creating a recession-proof company, however there is a balance to be struck. Value stores and pawn shops thrive in recessions, whereas hospitality and construction companies generally suffer. You should think about how safe your business in regards to recessions and plan accordingly.

Poorly located

If your company is going to be a retail store than it is integral to get the right location. A bad location could make a fantastically managed and in demand business turn into a disaster, whereas the perfect location could make a bad business strive.

There are several factors needed to be considered. Ask yourself; where are my customers located? How is the infrastructure and accessibility? Is there a lot of competitors close by?

You need to strike an ideal balance between everything. Being located close to your competitors might be a good idea because you know there is demand for your service. Alternatively the competition could be too fierce in that location, after all there are already established companies there.

Make sure you take into account every possibility, look at the situation objectively to give yourself the best chance of choosing the perfect location.

Some business owners spend a lot of time debating whether to hire a bookkeeper or not.  They get along doing it themselves, perhaps with bookkeeping software like QuickBooks, but there comes a time when you need to bring someone else on board.

Here are some common circumstances where it makes sense to hire a bookkeeper:

• You don’t mind doing your own bookkeeping but you need help getting to grips with some processes/software.
• You are behind on your bookkeeping and the end of the financial year is approaching.
• You are making mistakes, perhaps you don’t have the time to properly dedicate to your books, or you simply get your numbers mixed up.
• Your business is growing and you’re at the point where you simply can’t do it all yourself. Your health and/or personal relationships are starting to suffer.
• You want to focus on the income-producing activities of your business, such as producing your products or services and generating new leads
• You feel like you’re spending too much money but don’t know where to scale back.  Bookkeepers look at the finances of small businesses every day, they can help you to keep healthy finances.
• Your business is growing and you no longer have the time to fully commit to your books without sacrificing the growth of your business.
• Your bookkeeping is adversely affecting your home life, leaving you no time to spend with family/friends.

If any of these sounds like you, it may be worth looking into hiring a bookkeeper for your business.
Many local bookkeepers are inexpensive and while you could theoretically do it yourself, there are many benefits to having a professional on-board:

• They can point out trends or opportunities you might have missed
• Help you to minimise your tax bill
• Minimise mistakes
• Inform you on tax breaks related to your industry
• They can work offsite

Article written by Joe Lavoie of Balanced Books by Joe, an experienced bookkeeper operating in the Meriden, CT area.

If you are a manager at a large company then you have a lot to consider when it comes to training your employees. You must make sure that all new (and existing) employees understand the best practices that apply to working in their environment and that they share the same company ethos. Corporate training strategies require far more than just training hard skills – they exist to ensure that employees work effectively and efficiently as a part of a bigger team. There are several things that training providers should remember when working with corporations.

Frequency

The first thing to think about is the frequency with which training is delivered. All new starters should, of course, receive training. However it is not just new starters that need trained. You should also think about existing employees – do they need a refresher course? If so, how often should their training be re-visited?

Delivery

Some corporations bring in trainers to offer on-site education. This is a low friction way of training employees and it can work well in some environments, but it is not perfect. Depending on the number of employees needing training, off-site courses may make more sense from the point of view of saving time, offering high quality training, and delivering the content to as many people as possible.

Content

It is important that the content of the training course is tailored to the company and the skill level of the individuals receiving the training. The course should also be up-to-date. If it is not, then the employees will lose interest, or will become confused quite quickly. Fresh, current and accurate training materials are a must have for any corporate training course. Ideally, a team leader should review all training materials before they are delivered for the first time.

If you are looking for work that doesn’t require you to commute or keep boring on working hours, you might want to give home-based business a try. If you have a good eye for fashion, you should try opening your own online clothing store. All you need is a supplier, preferably that sells products in bulk. If you need cheap products that are well-made, you should find a wholesale clothing supplier. Once you have one, these are what you need to start making money online.

Understand taxation In Your Country

Please note that most countries require even online stores to pay taxes for their business. It would help if you Googled the tax laws in your area. If anything is unclear, you could ask an accountant to help you sort things out. Make sure you complete all of the required documents beforehand.

Get A Bank Account And A Credit Card

You will need a bank account and a credit card to set up online payment options for your future customers. Most of these sites will require you to verify your account with a credit card. You will need a bank account as well, this is where you can send your money.

Set Up An Online Payment Account

If you plan to do business, you will need an online payment account. This will allow you to use it to pay your supplier of the goods and your potential customers can pay you with this method. This could be in your name or that of your company. Sites like Escrow, Paypal or Payoneer are commonly used by potential buyers.

Social Media Platform/s

We live in an age where you can buy everything you need online. Therefore, marketing your profile to provide it with more visibility is a must. To start, you will need to have social media accounts from reputable platforms in your area. Feel free to advertise on mediums like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and other social media platforms, especially ones that people in your area frequent.

Take Pictures of Your Products

No one wants to see clothes heaped on the floor, as this is not a flea market. If you have a friend who can help you obtain the services of a model or one who can model your wares, you will find it easier to take pictures of your products. Make sure you use minimal editing, as customers prefer to see pictures of the clothes they want to buy on an actual human being, not a hanger.

Improve Your Visibility

You should hire the services of a blogger or two to create hype. This will make their followers want your wares. Please make sure that you get bloggers who share your unique fashion aesthetic. Most bloggers will be happy to do so if you give them freebies. However, some may want cash.

You can also invite more people and hold a contest wherein you provide a significant discount or a product for at least three winners. There is nothing that motivates people better than the promise of free things.

Setting up your online shop is not rocket science. If you are an entrepreneur who understands what the market wants, this should be a walk in the park, or a catwalk in this case.

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