Why can it (sometimes) be so hard to succeed in small business?

[Dien Rice]

Sometimes people try and try... and just don't seem to be able to make it...

An old friend of mine, her father was like that. He was always starting new businesses. Unfortunately, they always failed. It led to a beginning life of poverty for my friend and her brothers and sisters.

How can you make sure that you don't get into this terrible cycle?

Let me tell you about a different friend of mine. He runs a web-creation and marketing business, with two of his friends. The three of them all have marketing backgrounds. However, they divide the work between the three of them.

One of them does the technical side of website creation. Another (my friend) does all the graphics work. And the third guy does all the financial side of things - making sure the accounts are paid, making sure taxes are paid, and so on.

Sometimes, their business needs other skills - so they outsource some functions too, such as copywriting or SEO (search engine optimization), if their clients need it or want it.

Their business is very successful.

One thing this shows, is that in most businesses, the business has to have multiple skills. In most businesses, these skills can be divided among many people.

However, if you are in business for yourself, you have to have all of these skills yourself!

That means... You have to be able to market and sell yourself and your products or services. You have to be able to calculate the financial side of things. And you have to be able to do the "technical" part of things as well (which will differ from business to business).

It's often hard for one person to have all the required skills!

Sometimes, in these cases, it's often better to get one or more partners - whose skills complement each other. That ensures that the business itself has access to a wide range of skills. Then you can divide the work up among the partners, so each of you do what you do best. Like my friend did with his very successful business.

Something to think about...

Best wishes,

Dien