The lack of knowledge in business - coaching business

Today, there is a lot of information on the Internet on how to start a business. There are webinars, experts sharing their experiences, white papers, free and paid tools for running a business, and many other resources. You can also see what the competition is doing in real time and access advanced tools for market research and online marketing campaigns. Even so, statistically, new businesses have a high failure rate in the first 3 years.

Most entrepreneurs are not only looking for independence and to improve their economy, they are also passionate about their project. They are usually good professionals in their field, but they are often unaware of the general aspects of running a business. They underestimate the responsibility, the roles they will have to assume and the time it will take. No one wants to fail and many are afraid of making mistakes.

Most common causes of business failure

The most common causes of venture failure include:

• Failure to land the business idea: fundamental concepts such as mission, ideal customer, product or service, competition, and long-term vision are not always considered or executed correctly.

• What specific need will be covered? What will be offered that is of value to the market? Who is the target audience? Where is your ideal customer and what is he/she looking for? How much is he/she willing to pay? What are the benefits of your product or service? Who is your direct competition? What does your competition do well and badly? Where do you want to be in 5 or 10 years? What do you have to take into account to get there?

• Poor choice of sector: it is vital to research the sector in which the business will develop, analyze the experience you have and determine if there is room for positioning yourself.

• Not doing a SWOT analysis: not properly assessing the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats of the business, or not using the analysis to plan effectively. It is also crucial for the entrepreneur to assess his or her own skills and competencies.

Planning problems:

• Failure to plan in detail for costs and expenses, overestimating revenues.
• Not having alternative plans for various situations.
• Not planning in detail the strategies to follow.
• Failure to control the budget.

Lack of financing: not obtaining adequate financing on time.

Lack of administrative knowledge: not being prepared to manage the business in key areas such as finance and accounting.

Bad company: if you are not starting alone, make sure that the team or partners are competent and know how to work as a team. Be careful if you bring in partners or investors.

Underestimating the need for marketing: even if your product or service has quality, it will not sell itself. You need to invest time, money and resources in marketing.

Exhaustion: you will have to devote a lot of time and energy to the business for an indefinite period of time.

Lack of customer service: ignoring complaints, not adapting products or services to the customer, and not working on customer loyalty can be costly in a competitive environment.

Stagnation: keeping up to date and adapting to new trends is key to business evolution.

Seek help if needed

Starting a business from scratch is not easy. People tend to face problems only when they are upon them, rather than being proactive.

Having the opinion of someone with more experience, having support, resolving doubts or outsourcing a specific service can save time and avoid costly mistakes. Many entrepreneurs see this as a worthwhile investment.

If you need someone to guide you and share their experience, you could opt for mentoring. If you prefer an expert to manage a specific area, a consultancy may be the solution. And if you are still not clear on what you want or how to achieve it, good coaching will help you find your way.

The important thing is to be consistent and persistent. Don't get discouraged or overwhelmed. If you fail this time, you will learn from the experience and there will be another opportunity to try again.