WHY DO ENTREPRENEURS FAIL?
“Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and can turn both to their advantage.”
— Niccolò Machiavelli.
Entrepreneurship, in its true sense, is nothing more than a means to an end: making one’s dreams come true. For business success, you need to be self-disciplined and always pay attention to the task at hand. The same holds true for entrepreneurial endeavours. One must have a well-thought-out strategy in place to be successful as an entrepreneur. A successful entrepreneur may need to be able to change quickly more than anything else. An entrepreneur’s ability to take risks is also essential to becoming successful. Without a desire to seek out the unidentified, it is impossible to discover something extraordinary. Moreover, this uniqueness may make all the difference. Taking risks necessitates a multitude of considerations. Additionally, unconventional strategies are risky, but you are also taking a chance. According to the IBM Institute for Business Value and Oxford Economics, 90 percent of new businesses fail in the first five years if they don't come up with new ideas.
There are many things that can get in the way of an entrepreneur's success, such as a lack of cash flow, bad sales or marketing strategies, and so on. A business without profits can endure for years, but without cash flow, it will fail in a matter of months. Therefore, a company’s cash flow is more important than its profits. An entrepreneur has to make sure that there is enough cash to pay the bills and that there are no funds that aren't being used. A business can only stay in business if it can sell, market, and advertise its goods and services. Entrepreneurs can build huge factories and hire highly skilled workers, but if they don't have the right customers and good sales, all of their work will be for nothing and the business will fail. Thus, entrepreneurs must have precise planning and a clear picture of their target sector and how to get there. One of the primary reasons for failure is the “I have to do it all” syndrome. When starting a business, entrepreneurs take on a lot of responsibilities. They often forget that in order to progress, they must delegate some (if not all) of their responsibilities to others. This mentality of “I can do it all, faster and better” leads to the failure of many entrepreneurs.
When setting business goals and making decisions, many business owners don't take into account how fast-paced, competitive, and unpredictable the business world is. Entrepreneurs frequently have access to information that is ambiguous, incomplete, and dynamic. In these situations, entrepreneurs who are flexible and can deal with a lot of unclear information have a better chance of being successful. Flexibility and a willingness to work hard are the hallmarks of successful entrepreneurs who aren’t afraid to capitalize on new opportunities, learn from their mistakes, and change course when the going gets tough.
As an entrepreneur, one of the most important skills you’ll need is the ability to deal with people’s problems and make prudent decisions on their behalf. This is because you can’t run a business on your own; you have to depend on many other people who are unique in some way.
If one is unable to make people work for it, then how can one make a customer purchase it?
In today’s fast-paced business environment, having a strong sense of leadership is essential, but so is the ability to work well with others as part of a team. Entrepreneurs not only motivate their employees, but also have the confidence to overcome any obstacles they come across. People management skills include being able to communicate well, hiring a diverse team whose goals match the entrepreneur's, building mutual trust one step at a time, avoiding long meetings if possible, and leading a group activity.
Successful entrepreneurs are confident in their skills and abilities. They are strong, dynamic, and aggressive. They’re always focused and don’t dawdle. A successful entrepreneur is continually looking for fresh inventions and ideas. They constantly reinvent themselves and improve their products and services. Successful entrepreneurs are open to change. They are not dogmatic about alternatives. Change is the only constant in business; outdated approaches can’t earn money. Success comes from evolving ideas, goods, and technology. Therefore, an entrepreneur must be willing to learn. To be on top, you must constantly change and evolve.
After tiny triumphs, entrepreneurs sometimes believe they know everything and fall into the EGO trap. Our preconceptions prevent us from listening. Listening is vital to success. Listening to data, users, and others around you helps you learn.
We all know how significant it is to do business, and many entrepreneurs are very serious about their ventures, but most of them forget about the inner strength that drives the whole venture. Entrepreneurs must develop a healthy lifestyle to keep up with the daily stress at work and maintain a work-life balance. Skipping breakfast, sleeping less, and neglecting your body will not take you far. A healthy lifestyle boosts willpower and fosters a competitive mindset. Any venture doesn’t succeed overnight; it takes plenty of time, and meanwhile, entrepreneurs should not lose hope and develop patience by living a quality life.
The ability to succeed as an entrepreneur requires more than just the ability to create and run a few businesses. Entrepreneurs can come in all shapes and sizes, and there is no one-size-fits-all profile. Entrepreneurs of all sexes, races, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds have been successful. People with many good traits are persistent, sure of themselves, and focused on the task at hand. Being born with these characteristics is only the beginning; what we want from an entrepreneur is for them to put them into practice and make the most of them. "Vision without execution is a hallucination," said Thomas Edison. An entrepreneur must be able to carry out their vision to be successful.
Let’s look at Michael Dell as an example. He saw the promise of computers long before anyone else and started a company in his dorm room. As soon as you see yourself succeeding, it would be best to lay out a plan for how you’ll get there. If you don't plan out your ideas and plans ahead of time, you might run into problems you didn't expect. If you want to be an extraordinary entrepreneur, you must have an aura of grace that other people can’t help but notice. Many new businesses flop because of a lack of confidence in their abilities. Because no one will know or praise you until you succeed, you must believe in yourself. It doesn’t matter that it’s your own business, and you may do it whenever you want; the essential thing is to maintain discipline and to be honest with both yourself and your business.
In short, the inability to learn from failure, the lack of cash, and the failure to focus on client demands are the reasons why many firms fail. Before starting a business, people who want to be entrepreneurs should learn everything they can about running a business. Print media, television, and the Internet are all sources of information. In the end, businesses that do well provide good customer service, plan well, and choose locations that are convenient for their clients.
Written By: Mishika Singh Gaur, Anuja Mishra, Aditya Agarwal and Dr. Bindu singh