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Ten stumbling blocks that limit business growth.
Philip Humbert suggests how to avoid the pitfalls & frustrations on the road to success.
Never in history have more entrepreneurs launched more new businesses! In America, thousands of business open their doors every single day! Unfortunately, most of them also close their doors within two years.
Businesses are started with high hopes and glorious dreams. It is easy to start a business. It is much more difficult to build it, to make it succeed, to avoid the traps and pitfalls and frustrations, and enjoy the fruits of success over the years.
In working with hundreds (probably two to three thousand) entrepreneurs over 25 years, here are the mistakes I see most often. Avoid them!
1 Fear and confusion. There is either a sense of being over-whelmed by the size of the tasks, or a refusal to master the work of being an entrepreneur and business owner. There are specific skills to owning and running a successful business. Learn them! You can master this! You can focus and succeed! (This is often the time to hire a coach!)
2 Lack of capital. Capital comes in three forms: Time, money, and energy. Some people have one or two, but not all three, and they fail because they simply can not sustain the growth phase of their business. Every business is a commitment of everything you have. You may start 'small', but that does not mean casual or part-time!
3 Lack of courage or commitment. Building a business is always risky. Some people perceive the risk as frightening, others see it as an exciting challenge, but there is always risk. Manage it. Limit your potential losses. Understand the risks and enjoy the process. You will make mistakes. Learn from them and go on.
4 Refusal to select and target an audience. No one can sell their services to 'everyone'—a message that goes to everyone is unlikely to create a sense of urgency in anyone in particular. Attorneys focus on one type of law. Physicians specialize. So should you.
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Questions? Fyi… the 'who, what, why, how?' etcetera.
Notes. Propaganda, feedback, queries, etcetera.
Twitter, and us. How we use it.
Communication and self-management to reduce stress. Joshua Uebergang.
What do great leaders do differently? Wally Bock.
Looking to the past to grow the future of your business. Taylor Ellwood.
Who needs headlines? Shaun Crowley.
The caveat. David Straker.
The three legs of persuasion. Chris Widener.
Why needing to be liked causes people to not like you. Peter Murphy.
Effective communication. Jo Ellen Grzyb and Robin Chandler.
Seven key steps to unshakable confidence. Steve Brunkhorst.
The top seven taboos for working from home. Jeff Zbar.