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5 Small Business Ideas You Might Want to Skip

Adam Groff

August 30, 2013

When it comes time to open that small business, it’s important to take the proper steps to ensure success.

But, more often than not, small business startups quickly discover that a lack in preparation along with poor ideas lead to failure. Luckily, there are ways to avoid making the wrong business decisions and start your business off on the right foot.

With business blunders in mind, here are five startup ideas your small business might want to skip:

1. No Business Plan

Regardless of whether the business is large or small, a solid business plan is like one of the Ten Commandments of the business world. Any successful business knows that a business plan acts as a contract between the business owner and the business itself.

Without a business plan, your startup is directionless. So, avoid the “diving right in” approach to starting and running your small business and start with the strong foundation that is a business plan – it’ll solidify your business idea as a worthy one before opening day is even a thought.

2. Improper Money Management

Money makes the small business world go around, so make sure you know how to handle every aspect of your finances. The business plan will help in this department, but a separate financial plan is absolutely necessary as well.

When devising a plan for your finances, keep in mind a few small business downfalls that many startups suffer from: undercapitalization, debt, and overhead. Not having enough money to properly start your business, taking on too much debt to do so, and having excessive overhead will all lead to business failure.

3. Not Doing What You Love

Passion goes a long way for entrepreneurs opening a small business and keeping it going. This is especially true for the first year or two when small businesses struggle the most to stay afloat.

In other words, if you’re not in love with the business idea from day one, skip it and wait for another one to come along. When times are tough and profit is slow, a strong passion and love for your business and its brand will help get you through.

4. Tuning Out the Competition

Although focusing on your business is a great thing, ignoring the competition is not. So, make sure you have an eye on the competition and how it relates to your business. And, always know which way the market is trending as a whole.

Not only does closely watching the competition help your business with everything from setting prices to figuring out the best marketing techniques, it also helps your small business learn from the marketing mistakes of others.

5. Ignoring Technology

Technology in the form of computer software, business websites, online advertising, and social media puts small businesses ahead of the rest, especially when those small businesses are just getting their start.

In other words, relying solely on word-of-mouth success will get your startup nowhere. So, use software that’ll make your business world run smoother, start a company website, and join at least one social media site to promote your new brand.

By keeping the above information in mind, you’ll know what business ideas to skip and which ideas will lead to startup success. 

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