According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2020 report, approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first ten years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more. Startups have an overall failure rate of 90%, with 10% failing within the first year. So, the question is, how is it that a significant percentage of businesses fail? Worse still, why do more businesses fail over time instead of growing and expanding? Many experts have suggested reasons they believe contribute to business failures.
Some of the top reasons include:
starting a business for the wrong reason
insufficient Capital
lack of Planning
inadequate market need
lack of a marketing strategy
poor-quality product offering.
We live in a “NOW” age where people want solutions “NOW.” Thanks to technology and social media outlets, people are constantly bombarded with business opportunities that promise quick set-up, literally no efforts required, with templates and blueprints that guarantee immediate success. On the surface, it looks like a great offer, and many people fail to do their due diligence before diving head-first into starting these businesses.
Everyone has failed in one thing or another. I have certainly had my share of failures in many different ways, but they have always created opportunities for growth and getting wiser. There are often legitimate (sometimes not) reasons that we fall short of our expectations. Some of such excuses are:
someone assured me it would work
I saw it work for someone else
I am probably not talented enough
I guess it is just not for me
Maybe I didn’t try hard enough
I did a quick search for steps to start a business, and here are some of what I found as the number one step:
Choose the right business idea, along with a list of hundreds of suggested business ideas
Define your business proposition
Write a business plan
Seeking clarity should be the number one thing to do before embarking on significant, life-altering, or life-changing decisions, such as choosing a career, starting a relationship, starting a business, or choosing who to work for.
Something is missing in this picture. Earlier, I mentioned that one of the top reasons experts believe businesses fail is “Starting a business for the wrong reason.” Simply put, the top reason businesses fail is a lack of a sense of purpose and direction – CLARITY. This number one reason is why people initially get excited about their business idea and cannot wait to get started, only to lose interest a few months or even weeks later.
Another look at the common excuses people give for why their business failed also points to a lack of clarity and overdependence on other people’s opinions. With many eager to gain financial independence, it appears there is more interest in jumping into coaching programs rather than taking time to seek clarity before choosing what business to go into or decide if they should even be in business at all. A good business coach should begin with talking to their client about getting clarity, even if it means losing that client if it turns out they are not a good fit.
Having clarity removes the guesswork and the roller-coaster feeling of not having a sense of direction. Clarity gives you the confidence to stay focused when things don’t go as planned or when everyone around you advices you to give up and look for something else to do.
No matter the number of excuses or reasons you may come up with, they only hold if there is no clarity of purpose from the get-go. Seeking clarity should be the number one thing to do before embarking on significant, life-altering, or life-changing decisions, such as choosing a career, starting a relationship, starting a business, or choosing who to work for. Clarity is not talked about as much as it should. No wonder 85% of Americans hate their job, and only 15% say they love or enjor their jobs.
Having clarity removes the guesswork and the roller-coaster feeling of not having a sense of direction. Clarity gives you the confidence to stay focused when things don’t go as planned or when everyone around you advices you to give up and look for something else to do. Having clarity does not mean everything will work perfectly. There will be speed bumps, detours and possibly delays. Clarity helps you establish your goal so that you know what to focus on. It leaves no question what you want to achieve. The speed bumps, detours and delays are part of the process to get to your goal. Plans and strategies (How you reach your goal) will change as you go along but the goal remains the same. When you have clarity, no one, no excuses, no reasons can stop you!
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I’m rooting for you!
You + Clarity = Unstoppable!!