Article by Werner van Rooyen (TradeWorld Leads and Tenders and How2Tender.com)
Many people dream of starting their own businesses. There are many people who actually go out and start their own businesses and then fail dismally. There are horrific statistics of how many start-up businesses fail within the first two years. Some say as many as 80% of all start-ups fail within the first two years, and of the remaining 20%, another 80% fail in the following three years. The four businesses that survive the first five years will most probably be successful and exist for some time.
The question is, why do so many businesses fail? There is no straightforward answer. What we need to focus on, is what to do to make your business sustainable. You want to ensure your business survives the first two years in order for you to build up a reputation as reliable and sustainable, enabling you to respond to that large tender that will provide you with financial independence.
There are many factors that one needs to consider when starting your own business and here are five rules that you need to adhere to when doing so:
1. Location, location, location
If you are going to sell goods, then you need to be at the best location. You can have the best product or service on offer but if people do not know of your existence, you are going to fail. Find the best place to put up shop so that as many customers as possible see the goods that you have on offer.
2. Ensure you have sufficient funding
There are not many businesses that you can start without money. Even the smallest of businesses will need some kind of cash injection to get the ball rolling. There are many ways to get funds to start a business but the trick is to have access to funds to sustain the business when times are tough. Always save money for tough times.
3. Be committed
The main reason you start your own business is because you want to be independent. The problem is that once you have the freedom, you lack the commitment. When you work for yourself you need to be 110% committed, otherwise you are going to fail. The rule is to apply the same work ethic and commitment that you would have applied should you have been working for a boss.
4. Advertise
There is an old tale about the business owner who did not believe in advertising. Eventually his business failed and the first advertisement he had to place was advertising the liquidation of the business. The lesson is: advertise as much as possible.
5. Be willing to grow
There are not many businesses that started out as multi-million dollar operations. Ninety-nine percent of the time, small businesses grow into large businesses. The rule is to start out small and affordable, and then grow your business over time.
Learn today earn tomorrow.
TradeWorld Leads and Tenders is a proud Partner of the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC).
