8 Reasons Your Business is Failing-How to fix it
Lack of commitment
So, you've launched your business, but what are you doing to make sure is grows and succeeds. One of the biggest reasons your business may be failing is due to lack of commitment. As a new business owner you have to be very intentional about the amount of time and energy you dedicate to your business. Just remember this; if you put a little into it you'll only get a little out of it.
Poor Planning
If you know me, you know that I believe you should always have a vision, set goals and make plans. If you miss any of these steps then I don't believe your business can succeed. No matter what part of your business it is, you should always formulate a plan. As a business owner you need to plan for the worst and plan for the best. Always look for areas of opportunity. There is always room for improvement as well.
Lack of Action
This is not to be confused with lack of commitment. Your business may receive an adequate amount of customers and still be failing due to your lack of action. You may be gaining followers, but are you engaging with them? Are you doing anything to spark their interest or catch their attention? Do you communicate with them? You may not be acting enough or acting fast enough. You may be moving at a turtle's pace when it comes to responding to emails, processing orders, responding to comments, etc. The future of your business could change in the blink of an eye, so you need to stay on your toes at all times!
Relying too Heavily on Social Media
There are a number of people who think that social media is the best, and even the only, tool that will help your business grow. Even worse are people who think that social media ads are the only way to grow your social media following and place your brand in front of a larger audience. It could be that your business is failing because you're spending too much time and money on social media and not enough time and/or money on other marketing efforts.
Here are just a few other ways you can market your business for free!
- contact local news stations to formally introduce your brand to the city
- host an event
- participate in expos/vendor shows
- go live on social media and talk about/show your new collection
We'll go more into detail about this in another post.
Lack of Knowledge
Lack of knowledge could be a huge reason why your business is failing. You may be lacking in not only industry experience, but also not taking in any knowledge about the industry. Are you out here winging it? I surely hope not! There are so many tools that you can use to help your business grow and succeed; books, podcasts, Google, Youtube! There are so many tools. Take your pick, but don't think you can get by without knowledge. Remember the saying, "Knowledge is power!"
Here are a few of my tools you can use:
Visibility
You business may be failing simply because no one can see it. Sure, you may have built an amazing online store and you've registered for a business Instagram account, but now what? Do you expect people to just find you? You have to put in work in order to get people there. You must constantly mention and post about your boutique, constantly share photos about your merchandise. And you have to give people a reason to want to follow you, visit your website and ultimately give you their hard-earned money. As a business owner you have to get creative about how you're going to get your brand out there!
Too Much Comparison
Some people spend so much time studying other businesses that they struggle to separate their business plans and goals from someone else. At times, business owners become so wrapped up in what other people are doing that they lose focus on their own business. Their plans are completely derailed because they begin to compare their work to the work of others.
Do not become so consumed in in other businesses. You should always remain knowledgeable about industry trends but, do not confuse market research with outright comparison. What you do and what they do have nothing to do with each other. What works for one may not work for another so don't allow comparison to hurt your business.
You Don't Know Your Audience
A final reason that your business may be failing is due to not having a target audience. Establishing a target audience is one of the most important steps of building a business. There is a famous marketing quote that states, "when you target everyone you'll reach no one." And it's true.
For example, imagine trying to have a conversation in a room full of people that you have nothing in common with and know nothing about. It would be almost impossible for you to build a relationship with them all. Alternatively, imagine doing research one particular group of people and walking into a room full of people within that group. Imagine how much easier it would be for you to communicate with a group of people that you actually know and can resonate with. So, do yourself (and your business) a favor. Decide on a target audience, research characteristics about them, search for them online and in real life and market your product or service to them!
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