Failure. This is a word that many of us hate to even contemplate. From the relatively short life I have lived, I have learned that often the root of any failure is fear. Our fear to fail halts our deepest desire, because often it stops us from the ability to dream. CEO of Workspace and Grove City College graduate Wendy Sabados Mascio spoke to our class about her experience in starting her own successful company at the work ethic behind her success. My biggest take away from listening to Sabados was her mentality regarding failure. Her mentality in all of her work ventures was that “failure was not an option.”
Sabado’s mentality of failure not being an option propelled me into thinking about failure as a whole. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary failure can be defined as “a lack of success,” such a simple definition for a complicated concept so many of us have experienced. I began to think about failure in the context of business and why certain businesses fail while other experience great success. Upon further research I found the top four reasons why businesses fail.
- Poor Market Research Many businesses drive into new markets, introduce new product lines, or acquire new businesses without carrying out the necessary market research or due diligence. The failure to conduct proper market analysis is a common oversight that can result in the failure of a business.
- Failure to Listen to a Customer The choice to ignore the wants and needs of customer is done with extreme risk. In many instances businesses seem to forget that it essentially is all about the customer, and as a result the business will not take off.
- Lack of Innovation New technologies are constantly emerging, and companies who take advantage of the latest innovations are the ones who manage to stay ahead of the curve and achieve growth. Companies who neglect to fight off the threat from breakthrough technologies and new innovation often get left in the dust.
- Lack of Sales/Profit In today’s market companies need to look beyond traditional sales channels and generate new customers. If sales are consistently running low you cannot possible sustain your business in the future. While there is never a guarantee for success in any situation, it my hope that this post has enlightened those reading about ways to avoid failure in business.
BoweryJE22
Great Posts! This reminds me of what Zach Slayback talked about, that confidence and work ethic really matter not necessarily pure intelligence when he is recruiting great candidates for his program.