5 Steps To Help Fail-Proof Your Growing Service Business

Business startup and failure rates are scary...In The USA...- Every Year Over 1 MillionPeople Start A Business- By The End Of The First Year 40%Of Them Will Be Out Of Business- Within 5 Years More Than 80%(800,000) Of These BusinessesWill Have Failed(Source: The eMyth Revisited, Michal E Gerber,US Department of Commerce)In The UK...- 2003 Saw 423,100 New BusinessesIn England & Wales Startup- Over Half of All New FirmsFail In The First 3 Years- At Least 211,550 Of TheseBusinesses Will Have FailedBefore The End Of 2006(Source: Barclays SME Market Research TeamEngland & Wales Statistics Based On BusinessCurrent Account Customers)Unfortunately more and more people are being encouraged togo it alone by government agencies and banks while beinggiven out-dated advice that doesn't actually work.The advisors in these organisations typically haveexperience in larger production / manufacturing /financial businesses and share marketing advicethat really doesn't work for the majority ofsmall service-based businesses today.Their text-book marketing principles simply do nottranslate to businesses with limited money to investin advertising, direct mail and telesales.In many cases these advisors are telling people how torun a business even though they're actually working fora bank or government agency themselves. They have noreal experience spending their own money to grow a business.Survival and inevitable success means being lean, mean andfocused on getting a genuine result (in the form of profit)from the time and money you invest.So here are 5 tips you can use to takethe power back and begin "fail proofing"your growing business today.#1. Question "Experts" ThoroughlyBe wary of government funded trainersand / or advisors put forward by banks.These people, in many cases, don'thave a clue what its like to run andgrow their own business. Make it yourjob to "suss them out" before takinganything they tell you too seriously.Some questions that I like...What's your experience of startingand running a small business?Have you actually spent your own moneytrying to make a business work?What mistakes have you made? Whatlessons can I learn from your experience?Will this advice / support / ideacost me money or make me money?Who really benefits when I take thecourse of action you're recommending?#2. Model Excellent BusinessesNow by this I don't mean simplycopy random things they do.Just because the boss of a successfulfirm like yours drives a brand-new Bentleyit doesn't mean you should rush out and buyone too. That won't guarantee success.You're looking to find the thingsthat she did in order to afford theBentley in the first place.So find out as much about theirprocesses and systems as you can andthen look for evidence to support applyingsimilar things that work for them to yourbusiness.Subscribe to their mailing list. Visittheir premises. Talk to their staff.Talk to their customers. Read theirads (or notice that they don't advertise).Network with them.You can learn just as much from non-competingbusinesses too. So why not set up a support / learning group or see if a successfulentrepreneur would be able to mentor you.#3. Have A BIG GoalBig goals, by definition, should be easierto hit than small goals. So don't think small- think big.After nearly 8 years in business I still liketo set regular, big, 90 day goals. I callthese goals SHAGs - Short Hairy Audacious Goals.Too many businesses focus on surviving. Theythink in terms of what they don't want. They missthe opportunity to really succeed and then getwhat they were desperately trying to avoid- failure!Focusing on what you don't want really doesn'twork. If you don't want to fail you shouldfocus on succeeding in a big way.#4. Improve ConstantlyHave goals and set targets. Know what outcomesyou want and quantify them where possible.Then work towards your goals using thefollowing cycle...1. Implement (Do Something)2. Measure (Test & Review)3. Improve (Learn & Adjust)As my friend and firewalk trainer Sanjay Shahsays, if you simply improve by 1 percent a day,you'll have improved 300 percent(allowing for holidays) in a year!#5. Don't Follow The CrowdLook, we both know most businessesfail so don't do what most otherbusinesses do or you'll get the same results.Don't just advertise because every otherbusiness seems to advertise. Make sureadvertising will make you money.Don't just do telesales because that happensto be the service your local Chamber of Commerceis selling.Don't measure turnover when profitand cashflow is usually more important.Don't take on staff just because otherbusinesses believe more people equalsgrowth. More people often just means lessprofit!Don't do the same thing, in the same way,to the same people as every other businesslike yours.Do something different!