Most new businesses fail "
So is. Most new businesses fail. One statistic shows that only 10% of new projects survive more than 10 years.
The question is, should we therefore stop undertaking?
Absolutely.
From this statistical data you can make 2 different decisions: discourage yourself or take precautions. If you choose to be discouraged, keep in mind that while 90% fail, there are 10% who succeed. And maybe this should be my thinking.
It is that, in one way or another we must accept it: in any project there are risks and uncertainty. This we cannot avoid. There will always be variables that we have no control over, that we didn't stop to think about.
But then what should we do? Should we give up? No (or not yet). Since there are uncontrollable variables, let's focus on the "controllable" (the "manageable"). The best we can do is try to operate as efficiently as possible on the variables that we do manage.
Now, given this short introduction, we will say, in short, what we wanted to achieve: that if you are going to “undertake”, you should start with a Business Plan (in writing). This is the best way to start handling controllable variables.
Here is a rough outline that you could follow as a "roadmap" when starting a business:
1) Define the mission (the "reason for being") and the vision of the business (that is, how the company is imagined in the future)
2) Make a general analysis of the context and the company, including:
- The general market conditions where the company will operate (if it is rising or falling, the Opportunities and Threats it presents, the existing competitors and those that may appear, etc.) An analysis of the company's Strengths and Weaknesses, including its advantages competitive.
3) Determine how the different commercial variables (or marketing mix) will be handled: how the product or service will be communicated (whether it will be advertised or not and where), where it will be marketed, with what pricing policy (expensive, cheap), what quality will be offered, how will you try to position it (that is, what we expect the potential consumer to think about our product or service and about the company), etc. We must also define specifically to whom we will offer our products or services (our "target")
4) Set goals. Having come this far, we must now define what objectives we intend to achieve, trying to be as specific as possible (how much we will sell and in how long)
5) Determine the necessary structure. We must foresee what resources we need to achieve these objectives: offices, equipment, personnel, etc.
6) Analyze the results. We must compare the expected income and expenses to define whether the project is profitable (and financially feasible)
To summarize, let's keep the following ideas:
1) If we are going to undertake, it always suits us to have a written plan.
2) And in this plan, we must answer the following questions:
- "What" we are going to sell (what product or service), "how much" we will sell (objectives), "how" (with or without advertising, using which distribution channels, with what prices, etc.), "with what" (with what structure: physical - offices, computers, etc. - and human) and, finally, can it work? (SWOT analysis, market and competition analysis, economic and financial feasibility analysis)
Lic. Patricio Gómez Pawelek
Comments are appreciated at [email protected]
In a study conducted on graduates of a major US university, it was found that, of those who had managed to be rich, 10% had become millionaires. The difference between them, according to the study, is that the latter kept their goals in writing.
