Seven Reasons Online Businesses Fail
As a fellow virtual assistant recently congratulated me on my 6 year anniversary, she commented that I was fortunate to make it past the 5 year milestone. I am happy to have made it this far but I think it was more the good business sense that was passed on by others that got me to this point.
As virtual assistants, I am sure that many of us have seen firsthand the things that keep business owners from succeeding online. I am not sure what the statistics are because there seem to be so many variations, so I won’t share. I do know from experience (I tried at least a couple online ventures that did not take off) and from talking to prospects, that the following seven reasons are some of the factors that contribute to the failure of online businesses.
- No Action. Have you ever decided to take up a new hobby, (eg. golf) go out and purchase all the equipment needed and then never go to the golf course? Well, this is an obvious reason but nonetheless major reason that some businesses fail. Purchasing the material, doing the research, even setting up a website will lead to nought if you don’t take action!
- Unrealistic Expectations. Its funny how some people believe that all it takes to make money online is to setup a website and tell a few friends about your business and like magic the money starts rolling in. Most often, these are the people that give up before giving the business a chance to succeed.
- Lack Of Commitment or Divided Commitments. A lot of people start their business on a part time basis while they work full time outside the home. This can sometimes contribute to the failure of their online business as some quickly loose the commitment that is necessary to market and grow the business.
- Responsibilities at home. Lets face it, most people start an online business so that they can work at home on their own schedule. This can be the downfall of many. Inability to manage time and divide priorities can contribute to business failure.
- Cutting Expenditure in the wrong places. I will be the first to advise that is not necessary to have a huge budget to start an online business. However, it does take some money to get things going. When you decide to go take your business online, a domain name and website is necessary and your best bet is to NOT use the free options that are available. Your online presence is a representation of you and you should put your best into making that representation as attractive and effective as possible.
- Failure to plan. What happens if your idea does not take off? What happens if it does and your business becomes an overnight success? What do you expect of the business in the first year? The first five years? By not having a plan you are planning to fail.
- Failure to delegate. You knew I would say it! A vast majority a businesses fail because their owners try to become everything in the business. Many try to justify their actions by reasoning that they are saving money by doing everything themselves. They do this at the detriment to their sanity and to their businesses. Show me a business that is succeeding online and I will show you a business where the owner is delegating the tasks that are better left to someone else.
There you have it, my list of seven reasons that many online businesses fail. As the old saying goes forewarned is forearmed so think about the things that you are doing or not doing and give your business a fighting chance.
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