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We owned and operated a small family business for fifteen years until we were forced to close it. The last few years the company was not profitable, and it was a struggle to keep it open. We continued to think things would turn around as they had during previous downturns, but that time we just could not turn the corner. After an auction we had enough money to pay our creditors. We were lucky. Many who lose their companies are forced into bankruptcy, lose their homes, have their credit destroyed, and/or deplete their life savings.
The news continues to be full of stories of small businesses failing, and the owners point their fingers at a lot of causes. The economy is bad, taxes are too high, there is too much governmental red tape, Obamacare, inability to compete with foreign-made goods, fiscal cliff uncertainty, too much competition especially with the big box stores, dishonest employees,, and a rapidly changing environment. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of reasons why businesses fail.
Each of these are a severe hindrance on small businesses, but are they really the reasons why a business fails? The fact is that businesses fail in a good economy, and many small businesses continue to do well in our present economic downturn. I agree that taxes are too high, but they are basically the same for every business, and some seem to prosper despite high taxes. Every one of these reasons are a challenge, but some small businesses are able to meet those challenges and do well while others end up closing their doors. The real reason a small business fails isn't due to outside challenges; the real reason is internal. The owners failed to make the decisions that were needed for the company to prosper despite the challenges it faced. In a good economy our mistakes don't hurt us too badly, but in a poor economy our mistakes cause us major problems.
When our business was struggling I blamed a number of issues that were all true, but each of them were outside my control. It wasn't until later I realized that the real reason our company closed was because I failed as a leader to make sound business decisions and operate the company in a way that would ensure its profitability. I could write a book about all the mistakes I made as the president of our business. In fact, I did. It's called Mistakes: Avoiding the Wrong Decisions That Will Close Your Small Business. For thirteen chapters I describe in detail the mistakes I made that led to the closing of our business. In each of those chapters I also describe the lessons I learned that, if they had been applied at the time, would have led to better decisions on my part.
Success and failure are both inside jobs. You can't depend on Washington to bail out your small business. That is not going to happen. You can't even depend on them to not do something stupid that will add even more risk to your business. The big box stores are not going away. Taxes are not going to go down; in fact, it is likely they will continue to go up because Washington is convinced we are not yet paying enough to fund their programs. If you want to ensure your company's success you have to work smarter, and one way to do that is to learn from the mistakes of others.
That's why I wrote this book. I want to help others avoid the mistakes I made so their businesses don't fail. If you started your company it was because of a dream you had. Perhaps you are now the head of a business that has been passed down from other generations, and you want to keep their dreams alive. I believe this book will help that happen. It is currently only available on NOOK devices and can be ordered here.
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