Top 5 Reasons Why Your Business Ideas Fail…

I like to be honest with people, particularly people I mentor or those who consult with me. The most asked question in my consultancy is… ‘How do I get my business to succeed”? The truth is; that is entirely up to you. There is no direct answer to this question in my experience. For many years up to very recently, almost everything I have tried outside out of my 9–5 failed to launched or sustain. I have done everything in my power to make them succeed, but everything I have tried failed. After spending thousands of dollars and missing out on a few family vacations and personal indulgences, I decided to give up trying and take a long hard look at why I was failing. I had to assess myself very deeply.

I was sitting in my home office sometime in May last year rifling through my files when it dawned on me that I had spend many thousands of dollars creating a hair extension brand in Guangzhou, China and a 40ft container with my full range of products were paid for and sitting in a rented facility with no way of shipping them to the United States or the Caribbean, the markets I had earmarked as target selling destinations. I had a few months earlier traveled to China to source a manufacturer of hybrid synthetic hair extensions that I would sell to the African American College Demographic. I found a company that produced fibers similar to that of human hair and I knew immediately this was a winner. The hair extensions industry is a growing multi-billion dollar industry but most of the sales comes from overpriced so-called human hair extensions and wigs. I figured that I could create a go-between brand for college students who might not have the funds to consistently purchase expensive weaves. A big part of my GTM (Go To Market Strategy) was that I would use the students themselves to sell the products with a similar model such as Avon or Mary-Kay and I would ensure the incentives were attractive and robust. We did a soft launch in a few southern schools and it caught on like wildfire. Then it became a dud. I simply was not able to supply the sudden demand. I did not have a good plan to move from launch to market. This was not the first business that died the same way. My skincare product line also met a sudden death because of what I call my short success strategies. Whilst I was great at starting out successfully, I did not have a good plan to maintain that success.

After careful assessment of my own failures and years of experience in business start-ups, I think I am well equipped to give some advice on why your business is not progressing the way you hoped it would be.

Top Fives Reasons Why Your Business Ideas Fail

1. You team is too lean. Although I had good support from friends and family turned staff, I was the chief of everything and my hands were constantly tied with multiple roles. I was not able to focus on business development as I was busy with the daily operations and outing fires from the every strains and hiccups that comes with multiple roles. Depending on your business, you might not want to launch without a proper staffing structure.
2. Multi-focusing will cost you. I know now that I am somewhat incapable of doing just one thing at a time and this has cost be financially in the past. Multi-tasking is different from what we term multi-focusing. This is when you are trying to focus on more than one idea or business at the same time. Unless you are a huge conglomerate with a big staff and big budget and all the rights resources, you can’t possibly focus on your mom and pop shop while you are are running an online business at the same time by yourself. Decide on what thing and be lazer focused on that until it’s safe to move to something else.
3. Don’t be afraid to be annoying. If you are a small business particularly e-commerce based, you will come to realize that networking is everything. Who you meet and who you know can change your business and your life forever. Don’t be afraid to write to and knock on the doors of the people who inspire you in business or the companies where you would like to sell your products to. Don’t just take No for an answer. Come up with creative ways to try again if this is important to you. Use the power of social media to connect with the people you most want to reach, even if at this time, all you can do is follow them. You can learn a great deal about their business habits by seeing what they tweet about for example or what they share on other platforms. Social media is also one of the greatest free selling tools for any business.
4. Right Business, wrong Time. So many people have had the most brilliant business ideas fail because their timing was off. Before you launch any business idea, a big part of your due diligence research should entail information about your direct competitors, your demographic and your comp set. Is this the right time to put that idea out there. Is this the right time to launch what you have spent time and money to bring to life. Make sure that when you are starting out, it doesn’t only feel right, but that it is the right time, given all your groundwork and preparation to get to this point.
5. You got comfortable too quickly. Hooray! Your business has taken off like a rocket and life is good. If this is all that you’ve ever desired then congratulations. Most businesses, if not all that I know requires sustainable resources and practices to keep it going. Even when your launch has been successful, you will still need to ensure that your growth continues. Some business owners make the mistake of getting comfortable only after a short time with no plan or contingency for sudden or unexpected losses and circumstances. This can be devastating and discouraging. It is important to create contingencies and strategies to combat any negative turnaround with your business.