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Guest post by: Stephen Blakesley Become an Author

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Entrepreneurs are a "Seedy" group. I don't mean seedy in a negative sense, but rather a very positive one. Entrepreneurs are the seed stock of the American economy. Without entrepreneurs America would be France or Austria. From entrepreneurial efforts, American industry has grown and captured the imagination of the World for over 200 years.

In keeping with the revered position, in which I place Entrepreneurs, I think it only fitting that I chronicle some of the many competencies and skills that bring success to Entrepreneurs for the benefit of us all but especially for those who aspire to Entrepreneurship.

WHY BUSINESSES FAIL!

We have been engaged in some recent research in an effort to determine why businesses fail and why they succeed. I want to share some of that information with you. We surveyed business owners around the world to get their opinion on "Why Business Fail" and "Why Businesses Succeed".

Before I give you the results of the survey, I ask you to consider what you believe the reasons for business failure might be, from among these 5 choices:

1. Poor or no planning

2. Under capitalization

3. Little or no market strategy

4. No succession plan

5. Poor leadership

I know the choices are hard but, go ahead and pick what you believe to be the most frequent reason for business failure. I will give you our findings.

Our findings are: the #1 reason for failure is "Poor Leadership" and a close second is "Under Capitalization."

Which activity did you choose? Are you feeling that you do a good job in all or only some? My experience is, seldom does any business do a superior job in all. But, it is our belief that there are some "foundation essential," and Leadership and Capitalization are two of the most important.

A few years back, a wise friend offered me this advice: "If you want invest money somewhere, invest in yourself!" At the time I received the advice I did not realize just how profound it was. Think about it for a moment. Where can you invest your money and have maximum control? Well, certainly not in the stock market, or in real estate, but in yourself where you control the engine that moves the investment forward.

That great piece of advice has made me a lot of bucks. So I want to share with you a similar philosophy that is equally true. "If you want to improve your business, begin by improving yourself." The instruction is certainly not "rocket science" and it is ever so fundamental, but sometimes we just lose site of what is right and productive.

Next Week - Learn Four Attributes of Great Entrepreneurs

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