THINKING OF STARTING A SMALL BUSINESS? Part 2

3. The Abilities You Need To Start Your Own Business
What abilities do you need to have to succeed in starting a small business? According to
studies conducted by the Bank of Montreal Institute for Small Business, “The Six
Success Factors “ For starting a small business are self- motivation, business and
industry knowledge, organizational and management capabilities, marketing skill,
customer/vendor relations, and vision.
Business and industry knowledge should be near the top of anyone’s list of
requirements for small business success. After all, how many skis or snowboards are
you going going to sell if you don’t know anything about the products or the sport? You
can acquire this knowledge through trial and error when you start your own business,
but you will probably have to declare bankruptcy before you learn all you need to know.
My theory is that lack of knowledge is one of the prime reasons so many new business
fail.
While entrepreneurs themselves didn’t rate being well organised highly, (Williams E.
Jennings, “A Profile of the Entrepreneur “ in Entrepreneurship: A Primer for Canadians ),
it’s logical that organizational and management abilities are also absolute necessities
for business success. You’re not going to be able to satisfy many (if any) clients or
customers without these skills.
People keen to start their own businesses sometimes forget about the managerial and
administrative skills necessary to run a business; if you’re going to start a successful
small business, you need to have or develop expertise in money management,
managing people, directing business operations, and directing sales and marketing
operations.
What are the other abilities you’ll absolutely need if you’re going to start your own
business? When twenty-one inductees into the Babson Academy of Distinguished
Entrepreneurs were questioned about the principal reasons for their success, only
three abilities were mentioned by all twenty-one ; responding positively to all
challenges and learning from mistakes, taking personal initiative, and having great
perseverance (“Assessing Your Potential for an Entrepreneurial Career “ , Manitoba
Industry , Trade and Tourism, 1999.) As the authors point out , all three of these
behaviours can be learned!
Investing the time to learn the skills you need before you start your own business is
especially wise because once you’ve decided to put so much energy into starting a
small business,you’re going to want it to develop into a viable, thriving enterprise.
Sadly, there’s large percentage of small businesses started each year that survive
less than two years . Read on for tips on how you can avoid business failure.
4. Avoiding Business Failure.
Most small businesses fail because of mismanagement. According to Statistics
Canada , (“Failing Concerns : Business Bankruptcy in Canada” November, 1997), most
businesses fail because of weak general management, or weak marketing
capabilities.
23 percent of Canadian small businesses fail in their first year and 22 percent fail in
their second year, which means that 45 percent of the small businesses started in this
country don’t survive more than two years.
How do you avoid business failure when you’re starting a small business ? Preparation
and planning are key.
This article is all about the first step in preparing to start your own business, exploring
your attitudes and abilities to determine whether or not you want to start your own
business.
From here, if you’ve decided that starting a small business is right for you, the next step
of preparation is to decide what kind of business you want to start , and begin working
on your business plan.
When you’re wondering if you’re suited to start your own business, quizzes are fun , but
it’s important to remember that getting a low score on any of these “tests“ doesn’t mean
that you’re not cut out to be an entrepreneur and that you should forget all about ever
starting a small business . Research leads to many generalisations that are not true in
the individual case- and you may be the exception.
What do you really want to do and why do you want to do it ? “Do what you love” is still
sound advice ; having a passion for what you do will fuel your commitment and give
you the energy you need for the long haul. Thinking of starting a small business? What
is your “burning desire” and how can you shape it into a reality that will provide you with
both satisfaction and a profit ? That’s really the only question you have to answer to
start your own business.
By Susan Ward.
Culled from about.com
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