What's It Take To Run A Successful Business?
What's It Take To Run A Successful Business?
A quote from the article that talked about her speaking to herself grabbed my attention:
“How could someone with a law degree and as smart as you blow it this big?”
I know that is a question that many small business owners ask themselves every day. We all make mistakes when running our businesses. The key is to learn from them and live to survive another day.
I want to highlight a couple of other comments in the article that caught my attention:
1. “Two of every three new restaurants close within three years of opening”: as I mentioned in a prior post entitled “Why Do Most Small Businesses Fail”, this high failure rate is not only true for restaurants, but for any small business. So the fact that Charlita chose to open a restaurant vs. any other business has nothing to do with why she failed.
2. “She always longed to run a restaurant that would feature her mother’s recipe for gumbo”: while passion is key to a small business’s success, it’s not enough to justify why someone should get into business. Sometimes this passion and emotional attachment can create blind spots when making business decisions.
3. “She did everything at the cafe, from making gumbo to scrubbing the floors and singing torch songs, while still putting in a full day as a magistrate”: sound familiar to anyone? The small business owner wearing many hats (most of which are not very glamorous). And trying to do this while still working at a full time job. At some point when starting a business, you need to make the jump to full-time to give it a real go. I know I’ve tried the part-time thing for a bit as have many business owners I know. It rarely works out the way you’d like it to because as the old saying goes, “it’s impossible to serve two masters.”
4. “Missteps included relying on family encouragement more than financial planning”: those well meaning family members, while still the #1 advisor to small business owners, can often create more problems. Your family obviously has your best interest in mind, and quite often they want to be your biggest cheerleaders, but that should not take the place of some sound business advice…especially from someone who’s been there before.
5. “Borrowed $17,000 in a small business loan, fell into debt as crowds failed to materialize”: again, another common challenge. Once you bring debt into the picture, you now have someone on the outside to answer to who will not be as patient as you or other investors. This ties in with #4 and the lack of financial planning. It’s OK to borrow money as long as you can show how you’re going to pay it back!
The article pained me because it really hit the nail on the head for why so many small businesses fail. A key for Charlita would have been to get some help from two people: i) someone with some experience in running a restaurant, and ii) someone with experience in running a small business.
It also sounds like she was struggling with a question that many folks we meet who are thinking about starting or buying a business struggle with: Do you want a job or a business? In Charlita’s case, I’m not sure which one she was looking for, but based upon how quickly the restaurant closed (in about 1 year) and the fact that she’s back working in the legal field with a job, my guess is she was looking for a job…and that’s what she found!
Whats It Take To Run A Successful Business - To learn more about this author, visit Adam Sonnhalter's Website.
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I was reading an excerpt from a New York Times article that profiled a woman (Charlita) who opened a restaurant that failed after about 1 year. This is a woman who had spent 20 years in the legal field.
A quote from the article that talked about her speaking to herself grabbed my attention:
“How could someone with a law degree and as smart as you blow it this big?”
I know that is a question that many small business owners ask themselves every day. We all make mistakes when running our businesses. The key is to learn from them and live to survive another day.
I want to highlight a couple of other comments in the article that caught my attention:
1. “Two of every three new restaurants close within three years of opening”: as I mentioned in a prior post entitled “Why Do Most Small Businesses Fail”, this high failure rate is not only true for restaurants, but for any small business. So the fact that Charlita chose to open a restaurant vs. any other business has nothing to do with why she failed.
2. “She always longed to run a restaurant that would feature her mother’s recipe for gumbo”: while passion is key to a small business’s success, it’s not enough to justify why someone should get into business. Sometimes this passion and emotional attachment can create blind spots when making business decisions.
3. “She did everything at the cafe, from making gumbo to scrubbing the floors and singing torch songs, while still putting in a full day as a magistrate”: sound familiar to anyone? The small business owner wearing many hats (most of which are not very glamorous). And trying to do this while still working at a full time job. At some point when starting a business, you need to make the jump to full-time to give it a real go. I know I’ve tried the part-time thing for a bit as have many business owners I know. It rarely works out the way you’d like it to because as the old saying goes, “it’s impossible to serve two masters.”
4. “Missteps included relying on family encouragement more than financial planning”: those well meaning family members, while still the #1 advisor to small business owners, can often create more problems. Your family obviously has your best interest in mind, and quite often they want to be your biggest cheerleaders, but that should not take the place of some sound business advice…especially from someone who’s been there before.
5. “Borrowed $17,000 in a small business loan, fell into debt as crowds failed to materialize”: again, another common challenge. Once you bring debt into the picture, you now have someone on the outside to answer to who will not be as patient as you or other investors. This ties in with #4 and the lack of financial planning. It’s OK to borrow money as long as you can show how you’re going to pay it back!
The article pained me because it really hit the nail on the head for why so many small businesses fail. A key for Charlita would have been to get some help from two people: i) someone with some experience in running a restaurant, and ii) someone with experience in running a small business.
It also sounds like she was struggling with a question that many folks we meet who are thinking about starting or buying a business struggle with: Do you want a job or a business? In Charlita’s case, I’m not sure which one she was looking for, but based upon how quickly the restaurant closed (in about 1 year) and the fact that she’s back working in the legal field with a job, my guess is she was looking for a job…and that’s what she found!
Whats It Take To Run A Successful Business - To learn more about this author, visit Adam Sonnhalter's Website.
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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