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.
