Facts That Every Small Business Owner Should Know

By Author: Gary Nealon
Total Articles: 335
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In 2007 over 570,000 small businesses went out of business or shut down. With the current state of the economy, it is projected that closer to 800,000 small businesses will disappear in 2009! Right now the Small Business Administration estimates that there are roughly 27 million small businesses in the United States, and only 40% survive over 4 years. These are staggering numbers, and are only projected to get worse this year.

So why is that small businesses fail? There are a wide range of reasons that a business could fail, but more often than not it is because the business owner is lacking knowledge or expertise in one of the key areas of the business and don't know where to get help or are too stubborn to ask for it. Most small business owners open their business because they have a passion for whatever field it may be in, or they have some expertise in that field. You may have a passion for animals, so you want to open up a pet store. While you may know a lot about pets and pet products, you may not know how to properly market the business or how to manage your expenses. This is why it is important ...
... to assess what it is specifically that you are good at, focus on that, and hire people, outsource, or find people that can support you with those roles (it may even require bringing on a business partner). More often than not, a small business fails because the owner takes on more than they can handle and ends up in over their head.

So what are the key areas that a small business owner should look at? Below are the main areas that I looked at each time I opened up a new business (working on my four one right now)...

1) Finance and Accounting- If you don't have an accurate measure of how much you are spending versus how much revenue you are generating, you are doomed from the start. It is important to stay on top of expenses and profit, and this is something that most small business owners are not very good at. The easiest way to handle this is to find a good accountant to help you set up the business properly. He can help you maintain accurate records which will set you on the right path. There are also plenty of easy to use software programs, such as Quickbooks, which can help as well.

2) Product or Service Knowledge- Believe it or not, there are plenty of small business owners that jump into an industry or market with little or no direct experience in that particular field. I can't stress how important it is to know the market you are getting into, know who the competition is along with their strengths and weaknesses, and also know what the latest trends are. I have seen plenty of small business owners get into a particular industry simply because it is popular, but don't realize that they may be biting off more than they can chew. Customers will be able to see your inexperience, and it could have a negative impact on your business.

3) Sales and Customer Service- This is a big one. If you are not a people person, than hire someone that is! Without a strong sales personality, and great customer service, it is going to be hard to, not only gain new customers, but also to keep them coming back. Just because you are the owner, doesn't mean that you have to be the face of the business. A lot of small business owners that I know are better behind the scenes than they are being in front of the customers (myself included). By hiring a strong customer service/sales team, it allows me to focus on the day-to-day activities and manage them effectively.

4) Marketing- How you market your business can be the deciding factor in whether you succeed or fail. By really studying different market techniques, I was able to take my main business from an average retail store to a fully functioning importing and distribution company. Marketing no longer just means running ads in the local paper, or going to tradeshows. How you market yourself on the internet, will have a huge impact on your business. Even if you are just a local business, the internet can be a powerful tool for drawing in new customers. Most small businesses are not going to need a full time marketing manager, and I wouldn't even recommend it. There are plenty of companies out there that will do your marketing for you, but it can get expensive! Personally, I buy any and every reputable marketing e-book that I can find and try to apply them to my businesses. For less than the cost of an ad in the local paper, I have found e-books that brought in 10x as much revenue as that single ad.

So if you truly want to make sure that your business survives to see another year, it is important to take a step back and take a good hard look at the strengths of your team and where you may be lacking. If you can effectively fill those gaps with reliable people or outsource them to a dependable partner, not only will your company survive, but it will continue to grow.
Mike Geary and Gary Nealon are internet marketing experts that have co-authored a small business marketing program to help small business owners double or even triple their revenue without having to spend thousands of dollars on advertising. The program is designed using the same web marketing techniques that Mike and Gary used to build their multi-million dollar businesses.