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.
Are You Thinking Too Small and Dooming Your Small Business To Failure?
Avoiding A "Failure to Communicate"
It's in every classified ad and most job descriptions: must have excellent communication skills. Worse yet, once hired, it reappears annually at review time: Improve communication skills. What's a worker to do? Communication skills don't require a graduate degree, just some common sense, a bit of homework and a better understanding of the role communication plays — in everything:
Listen. Don't assume that better communication skills mean you have to speak like John F. Kennedy or orate like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Listening skills are the most ignored aspect of good communication skills. More misunderstandings occur due to poor listening than to misstatements.
To be a good listener, suspend that urge to speak while others are speaking. Don't begin to prepare what you'll say next. Listen intently, with ears, eyes, mind and body. Are you following what's being said? If so, nod in agreement. If not, a furrowed brow indicates you're confused. Your speaker needs these cues. If you truly heard and understood, repeat it back in your own words. This lets both parties know they're on the same wavelength.
Mind Your ABCs. Some people turn complex topics into simple explanations. Sadly, others' talents lie in the opposite direction: making simple topics complex. I strive to mind my ABCs: Accuracy, Brevity and Clarity.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur once remarked that even more important than giving orders that could be understood was issuing orders that couldn't be misunderstood. Whether or not lives are at stake, your reputation as a communicator may be. People appreciate short sentences; they are often confused by long, convoluted ones. Keep it succinct.
Don't get labeled missing in action. Some excellent communicators are deemed less so for not contributing in meetings. A coaching client of mine from overseas was culturally uncomfortable speaking up, so others monopolized the meetings, often rudely interrupting to make a point. Her timidity, coupled with self-consciousness surrounding her command of English, resulted in her
wallflower demeanor.
Now the night before meetings she reviews the agenda, composes her thoughts and rehearses making powerful yet concise statements about items of the day. To others her remarks appear off-handed. She's thus perceived as a more powerful and effective communicator. She's also developed a nice yet firm statement when she's interrupted, which reminds people she hasn't yielded the floor yet. After a few invocations of this phrase, others respect her opinions better. Her boss has noticed and applauded her new assertiveness.
It takes two. I knew a worker who was fired for her boss's inadequacies as a communicator. Don't pay the price for another's communication shortcomings. It may require some work on your part, but it's worth the effort.
I once had a boss who listened, but never asked questions. After a while I anticipated the questions that needed to be asked and posed them myself, or simply provided responses as if he'd asked them. I would go prepared to each meeting with a list of project-related questions, which showed my foresight and attention to detail. It benefited us both.
Write speech. It sounds like a Buddhist precept, yet remember, writing is a big part of communication. Let e-mails, weekly reports and other writings reinforce your clear thinking, organizational skills, attention to detail and ability to express important ideas.
Make your writing easy to read. Spelling matters, even in e-mail. Use white space, numbered lists and bulleted items to communicate more effectively. Titles, subtitles and lists similarly add cogency. Write your piece, set it aside for a spell, then review it and strike out 25 percent to say it more
succinctly.
Speak up. Consider taking a public speaking class, joining a local Toastmasters club (www.toastmasters.org) to improve your oral communication skills. The new skills, offline practice and confidence gleaned will help you in meetings, in giving reports and in making presentations.
Excellent communication skills help in many ways. With practice you can confidently give a speech, make a cold call, train others; conduct a meeting, make a sales presentation, interview someone or be interviewed.
Improved communication skills can open many doors, both within and beyond the workplace. It's time you sharpen your CQ — Your Communication Quotient!
Analysis of the success and failure of doing business in China
Why some foreign-funded enterprise became successful when entering the China market while others fail, and why some grow relatively faster than the rest? Reasons to explain all these are complex and varied. The following factors can determine how well or bad foreign-funded enterprise fare in China:
1. Establishment and implementation of enterprise's development strategy. In China, successful MNCs and foreign-funded enterprise will definitely implement long-term development strategy, adopting a long-term outlook for their business, unlike other unsuccessful companies which do not look far and only concentrate on short-term gains. Besides adopting a development strategy that is of long time horizon, the strategy will need to be a flexible one as market conditions are constantly changing due to the presence of globalization. The enterprise need to be flexible as to react immediately to any changes without affecting its business operations.
2. Leadership of the top management plays a decisive role in deciding the success of the company. In face of greater competition brought about by globalization, management today will need to possess stronger judgment, decision ability, adaptability and greater foresight. Ability to look far is crucial as one need to be able to foresee unforeseen circumstances in order to be ready at all times to react to any changes.
3. Form key competitiveness for the enterprise, and grow together with the economy. Treat your staff with an open heart, cultivate the enterprise’s values and vision constantly into them to foster togetherness within the organization and strengthen the organization’s strengths. .
4. Build and strengthen the institutional framework and economic system of the enterprise. MNCs usually will establish main or Asian headquarters in key cities in China. Beside that, research and development centre, training centre and logistic base will also be built. Therefore it is vital for the organization to have a strong organization structure dealing with its cash flow, flow of information and manpower movement in order to ensure its success in China
5. It is essential for the foreign-funded enterprises to understand the China’s culture, especially regarding the culture of Guangxi (relationship), so as to be able to gain the popularity and trust of China population. With a good relationship, business can become smoother and probability of failure will be greatly reduced. Stronger bonds can also be built with the customers, suppliers and partners.