It’s not always easy starting a business. You take risks and with those risks comes either great reward or failure. The Small Business Association estimates 30% of small businesses fail in the first two years and 66% within ten years. Don’t make these common mistakes that could shut your business down for good.
It’s Not Always the Product
You may have a great product that’s in demand, but if you don’t have the right location to sell it or a great internet presence, no one’s going to know. Make sure that you can be found online in search and directories and have an online marketing plan. Invite your customers to talk about your product in reviews and testimonials. Before opening your physical location make sure that the type of people you’re looking to sell to frequent that area. When you do open, make it an event both online and in the community.
Flexibility
Trends change, your business needs to as well. When a customer suggests a change, listen. It may not be possible or logical but have an open mind. Businesses that change with the times last. This goes for your online marketing as well. Although not ever marketing fad needs to be jumped on, watch how others in your vertical do their marketing. If they’re more successful than you are, it’s obviously working.
Growing too Fast
The mindset of many new business owners is that the faster you grow, the better. That’s not always the case. If you don’t have the product on hand, the infrastructure in place, or the finances to grow, slow down. Finding the right pace of growth for your company takes discipline and a good business plan.
Lack of Cyber Security
Whether you’re starting off as a one man shop or have a storefront and many employees, proper cyber security is essential. This means don’t go to the local coffee shop and sign onto a pubic wi-fi. It does mean having a backup of your company data (and that doesn’t mean G-Suite). If you have a storefront or office, you should have a secure network with a guest wi-fi. If you company data is stolen, held ransom, or corrupted, your business is at risk. Don’t be one of the businesses who fail just because they didn’t take their data seriously.
If you need assistance with your online marketing, from building a website for your new business to marketing your existing one, we can help. Toucan Technology provides expert online marketing as well as cyber security, data backup plans, and a host of other services to small businesses, new and old alike. If you’d like a free consultation, contact us today for your appointment. We can be reached at 317-376-4874 or by filling out our contact form.
