In this age when the propagation of the self reliance gospel has become really popular, it is not surprising to see new business names spring up annually. In fact, one would expect that with such annual business explosion, the problem of unemployment among youths across economies of the world becomes history today. However, laughable is the fact that very few of these names survive for about two to three years before crumbling, almost an insignificant few survive an entire five years.
So the big question is, why do young entrepreneurs fail? Well, to answer that question, I would provide us with some of the mistakes young entrepreneurs make that could account for why they often fail. Please have a wonderful reading experience with me:
- LACK OF DEFINED OBJECTIVES: A philosopher once said, " the beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms. "
Young entrepreneurs just jump into business without really knowing or defining their objective. Perhaps, this is a result of their basking in the euphoria of starting something new, especially if they have not done it before. As a young entrepreneur, it very important that you sit down and ask yourself what you would really like to do, what height you want to attain, what services you want to create(a business model) etc. Until there are genuine clearheaded answers to the questions raised above, you are not fit to start. Remember, having a business capital alone is not enough to indicate that you are ready for a business. - OVERWHELMING DRIVE FOR PROFIT: Of course, it is no doubt true that the goal of every entrepreneur is to maximize profit. But when you let this overwhelm you, especially as a start-up, you might just be heading down the end of the road. For your startup to grow and become strong, your service orientation drive must far outweigh your profit maximization drive. Your clients or customers must build some level of trust or confidence in your firm or whatever service you provide before you really start making profit off them. If you are just about profit at the initial stage, you will fail woefully.
- INABILITY TO DELAY GRATIFICATION: A lot of entrepreneurs make this cancerous mistakes a lot. C'mon! You can't expect to give stability to your startup when all you do is spend money on the latest luxury. As a matter of fact, it is important you cut down your expenditures, if your firm must grow into a household brand.
If this is not avoided early enough, your case will be likened to that of the foolish man who thought he could pour water into a basket successfully and still have it. - GOING IN ALL ALONE: I did not realize the importance of teamwork until weeks after we started our agro -firm(Green Revolve Group). I had to embark on a trip at some point and therefore, could not be available to carry out some of my assignments. However, it might interest you to know that the firm did not stop running its operations because I was absent. Interestingly again, when I got back to work, the team had far exceeded my expectations. Can you try to imagine what would have happened if it was a one-man operation?
The importance of building a team can't be overemphasized. You do not only brainstorm and exchange great ideas, but also share the risk as a team. And, most importantly, you might move not faster together, but you are sure to move farther. Moreover, professional investors these days don't invest in any firm without co-founders. - LACK OF A RESILIENT ATTITUDE: Every young entrepreneur must understand that nothing good comes easy. It takes a resilient attitude to grow a stable business. You must develop a cold-blood for failure or challenges if you must succeed in that business. There is no way you can escape encountering challenges and, giving up must never be an option. If there is any thing great entrepreneurs share in common, it is this diehard attitude for failure. Little wonder that in spite of their numerous failure stories, their businesses are still standing and doing great today.
6.BORROWING MONEY TO START A BUSINESS YOU HAVE NOT DONE BEFORE: The intro explains itself. Young entrepreneurs often borrow money to start a business they have not done before. Not too long after they have started their businesses, they are faced with a new pressure of having to repay the money they borrowed to start, sometimes at a ridiculously high interest rate. This alone is enough to make them(young entrepreneurs) lose focus and hence, they often fail. It is always good to start with what you have, transact with it and make all the mistakes you can make with it. This will open your mind to new opportunities and possibilities. If you must borrow, borrow only if you have done the business before or at the point of expanding the already existing business. - UNWILLINGNESS TO ASK FOR HELP: A lot of young entrepreneurs are guilty of this. Perhaps they do this because of the fear of losing their idea to someone else. Well, the good news is, you can ask for help without losing your IDEA. It largely depends on how you present your idea(s) when asking for whatever help. I remember being taught in a business class that when asking for help, you only disclose your "what, when, and where", but not your "how".
You must always be humble and willing to ask those who have gone ahead of you for help, it saves time a lot and helps you avoid the mistakes they made
Thanks for reading and bye for now.
IKEDICHI EGWU(Explicit).