Why Small Businesses Fail

I came across a great article several months ago while I was teaching a Business Plan Development class and wanted to share it here on the blog. What do you think are the reasons why small businesses fail?

According to Deborah Barrie, MBA, of Action International, some of the top reasons why small business fail include:

• Poor cash flow management
  Poor debt management
• Overborrowing
• Excessive reliance on a few key customers
• Poor market research
• Failure to innovate
• Absence of a reliable hiring system and a lack of understanding of how to hire, retain and motivate the right people for the right job
• Absence of a performance monitoring system
• Failure to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses
• Trying to do everything by themselves without external assistance

For Deborah's full article, please visit the link above. It's also interesting to note, that many of these factors which affect small business, also have significant impact on larger businesses. How many companies do you know that experience challenges because they don't have the right people in the right job, or lack a performance monitoring system? I work with several larger clients on a proactive basis to avoid these two pitfalls specifically, and have seen from experience how even a larger organization can be brought to their knees with problems in these two areas.

Looking at these danger zones Deborah has outlined, which ones capture your attention? Which factors have you steered clear of? Which ones do you need to flag as potential weak areas and perhaps get support on from others?

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts, so please use the comment link below, or email me at jennifer@potentialsrealized.com.

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, CPCC
Potentials Realized

http://www.potentialsrealized.com