REASONS WHY BUSINESSES FAIL

I see people, go down business wise with them wondering what went wrong, apparently, people are ignorant about the reasons why their businesses fail, so I decided to do a little something on it………

Reason #1: Not really in touch with customers through deep dialogue.

An amazing thing happens when an entrepreneur sees a potential opportunity in the market, or dreams up a new idea for a product/service: they retreat to a cave, instead of doing a marketing/target research
, this is the worst move an entrepreneur can make because complete understanding of your customer is imperative to your success.  Entrepreneurs must walk 5,000 miles in the shoes of their customers. Not 50. Not 500. five thousand.
Your customer holds the key to your success dig deep into their pain, behavior, dreams, values and the jobs they are trying to accomplish.

Reason #2: Poor or Lacking Leadership

The leader or leaders determine the direction of the business, because the leader(s) make the decisions. With the right people, small businesses succeed. With the wrong people, small businesses don’t, and will never, it might seem rosy now but it would shatter

Reason #3: No real differentiation in the market

Entrepreneur.com just put out a story entitled “Why Everyone Will Have To Become An Entrepreneur”. If this holds true (and I think it will), instead of your competition being 5,000 other Tom, Dick and Harrys, it will soon be 50,000 of these guys.
Meaning? Plenty of noise and chaos for those without uniqueness fighting for the bottom scraps. Most times this is a slow killer of businesses. Barely hanging on, entrepreneurs with some customers and some revenue skimp along for months or even years. Every painful inch wondering to themselves if this is all there really is.
First, agree with me right now this is a core element which must be addressed. Entrepreneurs who take this lightly end up in trouble. Grab a tool like Alex Osterwalder’s ‘Value Proposition Canvas’, stick it on your wall and work it. Dig in. Figure out the true value you bring to the table which is unique and different than others in the marketplace.
Now go uncover yours.

Reason #4: Failure to communicate value propositions in clear, concise and compelling fashion.

Next up is the debilitating disease called ‘failure to communicate’. For those old enough to remember the classic 1967 Paul Newman movie ‘Cool Hand Luke’, seared on the brain is a key line spoken by the prison warden to Newman who plays the maddeningly defiant inmate named Luke. “What we have here is a failure to communicate…”, upon which Newman is shot in the neck and on his way to exsanguination (aka bleeding to death).
Many entrepreneurs work hard to discover a point of differentiation then blow it because they do not communicate their message in a clear, concise and compelling manner. I watch many entrepreneurs bleed to death through their failure to communicate.
Your Solution: It’s pretty simple. Learn how to communicate better. Again, I reference point #1 above. If an entrepreneur is truly engaged in conversation (read: dialogue, not monologue), then you’ll learn the language of your customer. If they speak Russian, then please stop trying to speak French to them. Listen to the words they use and then use them right back at them. Do so through focus on these 3 points:

·         Be clear (are your customers unclear about who you are and what value you bring to them?).

·         Be concise (are you somewhat clear but go on and on and on in your messaging?).

·         Be compelling (do the words you use persuade your customers to take the action you want them to?)

Reason #5: Leadership breakdown at the top ( founder dysfunction).

You see it all the time in the media. Right off the deep end goes another athlete with unbelievable talent. Painful to watch the self-sabotage of the likes of a Lance Armstrong, Mike Tyson or Aaron Hernandez, all of which fell short from truly remarkable success because of their poor decisions.
Now startup entrepreneurs who go down hard might not have their names splashed across the headlines of tomorrow’s New York Post, but I submit to you their reason for failure is sometimes the same. Self-sabotage through extremely poor decision making and weak leadership skills.
Your Solution: Wake up to realize it’s your boo. You’re the founder. Which makes you the leader.  Matters not if you’re a business of one, or 1,000. Lack the ability to strongly relate with people? Gain the skills necessary to do so. Struggle with anger issues? Solve it with anger management, struggle with drinking problems? Solve with therapy. Entrepreneurs who succeed spend time with personal development. we have never for once heard of an  investor who doesn’t investigate the character of a founder and his/her team  before whipping out their chequebook. It still amazes me how many business owners who actually have good ideas with the ability to execute them — crash and burn because of their own dysfunction.
PLEASE DON’T LET IT BE YOU