Seven Reasons Your First Business Will FailWritten on the 3 April 2017 By: Jayson Demers Sorry for the downer title. But while it's obvious that plenty of first-time business owners find success, it's far more likely that your first business is going to fail.
The bright side is, if you understand why this is the case, you'll be able to better prepare yourself and potentially avoid some of the pitfalls of first-time business ownership. So, why is it that your first business is likely to fail? Here are seven reasons.
You (probably) aren't an exception
You're inexperienced It's true that other experiences in your life, such as holding a leadership position, navigating the industry in a lower-level position or even working with other entrepreneurs, can substitute as some level of experience here. But until you're in the driver's seat, you won't know what it's really like to run a business.
You won't take risks And that means they're less capable of tolerating financial instability, and have more riding on the success of the business. The conservative route can potentially lead to success, but risk-taking sets you apart from your competitors.
You don't have enough contacts Without a strong network in place, you'll miss out on these benefits and lag behind competitors who have stronger connections.
Your instincts are untested In the same way, seasoned entrepreneurs can sense which options are better than others, and have a stronger likelihood of leading their respective businesses in the right direction.
You're too excited You may also invest in expansion and growth too early, or overspend your resources in a big push to get to market faster.
People won't take you as seriously Most entrepreneurs end up starting and running multiple businesses, so if your first one fails, that just means your second one will be more likely to succeed. Successful entrepreneurs thrive in failure, so don't think of failure as a dirty word; instead, think of it as getting one big step closer on your path to realizing your entrepreneurial dreams. |