by Deanna Mascle
http://route104.us
© 2006
One problem that many small business owners run
into is simply
thinking too small. I often have readers writing to me asking
for helping getting their business ideas off the ground. I also
often hear from folks who have run their small businesses into
the ground. There are five key areas where you can think too
small -- and doom your business to failure.
Niche Too Small
Is your niche too small? Finding a small market
to target with
your business is key to success, but sometimes people narrow
their niche too much. While doggy dental products could be a
wonderful niche (as almost any dog owner can attest) you could
even narrow your focus down to a certain type of dog (such as
lap dogs) but going for one specific breed would be taking it
too far.
Target Market Too Small
Is your target market too small? If you are looking
only at one
community or small geographic region then you may well doom your
product to failure. It is far too easy to saturate a small
market and it is far too easy for any marketing mistakes to end
your campaign before it gets off the ground. In today's economy
with the availability of global marketing you need to think big
when you are planning your target market.
Budget Too Small
Is your budget too small? You don't need a million
dollar
advertising budget but you should have some seed money to get
your business and its marketing campaign off the ground. It is
possible to build a business from nothing but it is also a lot
more difficult and you might find yourself making some mistakes
that cost you a lot more down the road than putting a little
money up front.
Schedule Too Small
Is your schedule too small? Do you have enough
time to devote
to your business? Starting, running, and growing a business
takes time. Some people get swept up in the planning and
dreaming stages and never really start their business. Other
people start before they have completely planned everything out
and quickly get mired down by unexpected difficulties. While
others do everything right in the planning and startup but once
the business is running they get overwhelmed by day-to-day
business and never think aobut ways to improve and grow their
business.
Mind Too Small
Is your mind too small? You need to open up your
mind's eye to
continually seek new opportunities to find new customers, to
find new potential partners, to find new ideas for products,
and to find new opportunities for marketing. Flexibility and
adaptability are key to surival in today's business climate and
you always need to have new ideas cooking to grow and expand
your market and your business. This means raising your head up
out of the trenches once in a while. Yes, you might need to
dodge the occasional missile lobbed your way but this is the
only way to see those opportunities heading your way.
If you do your best to avoid these five not-so-small mistakes
then you will be on your way to small business success.
NBA
Benefit Provider - CitiMortgage
NBA
Resource Article - The
Chief Cause of Business Failure and Success
NBA
Resource Article - Who
Do You Believe You Are?
Reprint
of this article does not constitute an endorsement by the National
Business Association; the article is for informational purposes
for our members and viewers of our Web site.
