How to Overcome Small Business/Entrepreneurship Failure

You start a business with a great amount of zeal and determination to achieve your dreams. The greatest fear is failure. How do you minimize the chances of failing.  Much of it is following basic business practices and most important never lose heart.

1. The first thing is learn everything you can about your line of business.   It pays to be informed about trends, technology and of course the competition. Also remember the present day customer is very savvy.
2. Set up a good accounting system.  Keep a tab on in-comings and outgoings.
3. Practice an efficient purchase, stock and sales systems.  Simple but effective so that your employees can manage in your absence.
4. Adhere to your supplier payment schedule.  You build up goodwill that can be useful in emergencies.
5. Try to keep the Cash flow from customers as high as possible.  Enroll with PayPal and accept credit cards.  Keep credit within limits and avoid bad debts. It is better to say NO to a customer who is of no help to your business.
6. Have a good, well informed and trained workforce.  Maintain good HR relations, your staff will stand by you.
7. Marketing and Sales – Plan campaigns and strategies keeping your product and customers in mind.  Messages should state what you are selling, why the customer needs it and why it is advantageous he buys it from you.
8. Attracting customers – a very popular way is to offer discounts and freebies. Utilize it and draw more customers to your website or establishment.  But make sure the discount or freebie offered has value for the customer and it should not cost you too much.
9. Good customer relations.  Listen to your customers, their feedback is important for you to plan your marketing strategies, improve your product and increase sales.  Introduce a ‘Loyalty Programme’ for repeat customers.
10. Be Innovative.  Do not forget it was your innovative thinking that made you an entrepreneur.  Apply this principle of innovation and out of box thinking and stay ahead.

Believe in yourself-Despite your best intentions if your initial start-up is not a success, remember failure is a stepping stone to success.  Draw inspiration from entrepreneurs like Walt Disney, who was let go as a newspaper editor, having been accused of lacking good ideas and an imagination….  Iconic Bill Gates and Paul Allen of Microsoft, late Steve Jobs and many other entrepreneurs had their share of failures.  But they took it in their stride and moved forward and by God how they moved. Paul Allen puts it perfectly:“Every failure contains the seeds of your next success.”

Republished with Permission from Everything Small Business Journal – http://esbjournal.com.