“It is important that we forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We need to learn from our mistakes and move on”.
- Steve Maraboli.
The act of making one’s living by earning money through the process of buying and selling different kinds of products is called business. Business is based on the foundation of profit and loss thus the success or failure of a business has a broad spectrum of variation. Many business fail because lack of planning, poor leadership, lack of differentiation, inability to learn from failure, lack of capital and ignoring customers needs.
Types of mistakes
A. Stretch mistakes
B. A-ha Moment mistakes
C. Sloppy mistakes
D. High- stake mistakes
A. Stretch mistakes: Stretch mistakes happen when we're working to expand our current abilities. We're not trying to make these mistakes in that we're not trying to do something incorrectly, but instead, we're trying to do something that is beyond what we already can do without help, so we're bound to make some errors. Stretch mistakes are positive. If we never made stretch mistakes, it would mean that we never truly challenged ourselves to learn new knowledge or skills.
B. A-ha Moment mistakes : Another positive type of mistake, but one that is harder to strive or plan for, is the aha-moment mistake. This happens when we achieve what we intend to do, but then realize that it was a mistake to do so because of some knowledge we lacked which is now becoming apparent. We can gain more aha moments from mistakes by being reflective. We can ask ourselves What was unexpected? Why did that result occur? What went well and what didn't? Is there anything I could try differently next time? We can also ask people around us for information we may not be aware of, or for ideas for improvement.
C. Sloppy mistakes : Sloppy mistakes happen when we're doing something we already know how to do, but we do it incorrectly because we lose concentration. We all make sloppy mistakes occasionally because we're human. However, when we make too many of these mistakes, especially on a task that we intend to focus on at the time, it signals an opportunity to enhance our focus, processes, environment, or habits. Sometimes sloppy mistakes can be turned into aha moments. If we make a mistake because we're not focused on the task at hand, or we're too tired, or something distracted us, upon reflection we can gain aha-moments on how to improve, such as realizing we're better at certain tasks after a good night's sleep, or that if we silence our gadgets or close our doors we can focus better.
D. High- stake mistakes : High-Stakes mistakes are when we mess up something very important. For example, test scores, interviews, sporting events. We learn we need more practice, training, and knowledge so we avoid making them in the future.
Reason for Business Failure : If I were to start a business, the main reasons why it would fail include poor planning, focus on profits rather than customers, and poor leadership. Many businesses fail because people do not create short-term and long-term plans. It is important to plan and decide the milestones that should be achieved in the next few months and the next few years. The success of the business would depend on the complete understanding of customers about their tastes, likes, dislikes, and needs. It would be important to provide products and services that meet the needs and demands of customers. Otherwise, the business would fail because of providing products that customers do not need. The dreams, values, and goals of customers are critical in the creation and running of a successful business. Effective leadership includes aspects such as employee and financial management, quality decisions, training and development, and timely problem-solving. Business failure could be avoided by creating both short and long-term goals, creating business goals based on the needs of customers, and hiring a competent individual to run the business.
Source of Advice When Staring a Business : Three sources of information when starting a business include the internet, print, and television. Technological advancement has turned the Internet into the vastest and reliable source f information. Several subscription services allow users to access databases that provide information on how to start and run a business effectively. The Internet is a great source because it contains information that includes market demographics, case studies of business success and failure, financing, tax compliance, banking, registration of companies, and government laws and regulations.
Print sources such as books, magazines, and pamphlets are also a great source of information on how to start a business. Magazines and newspapers such as Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, Forbes, and Nation’s Business provide information on a wide range of topics regarding the proper running of businesses. These sources can provide information on aspects of starting a business such as creating a good business plan, financing, laws and regulations, effective business models, and what to avoid.
Television is also a source of business information even though it is not as extensive and reliable as print media and the Internet. Several programs are devoted to businesses that could provide useful information. These programs cover stories of businesses that succeeded and those that failed. They also invite professionals to talk about how to start and run a successful business enterprise.
How Such Services Might Help Me : If I wanted to start a business, the aforementioned sources of information would help me in various ways. First, they would supply information on all the requirements of starting a business. For instance, they would provide information on how to register a company, get financing, and act within the limits of the law. Besides, they would be useful when developing a business plan. Second, they would supply information on the common mistakes that en5erpreeurs make and how to avoid them when building a business. Gaining insights from entrepreneurs who failed is would be an integral part of learning to avoid making similar mistakes in my business. Third, the services would educate me and provide insights on making effective decisions. For instance, they would teach me about choosing a business structure, choosing a business location, business financials, filing and paying taxes, and hiring and retaining employees.
Reasons for a Business’s Failure:-
I have shopped at several stores and eaten in restaurants that led me to conclude that they were not going to make it in the business world. The reasons that prompted me to make that conclusion included poor customer service, bad location, and lack of competitive advantage.
The places I visited had poor customer service. The attendants were rude, slow, and inattentive. The service was poor and the attendants were unreliable. Another reason was the bad geographical location. I once shopped at a store whose demographics caused me to conclude that it would fail. It had low foot traffic, was inaccessible, and had inadequate parking, and there were few businesses and services in the vicinity. A larger competitor that offered cheaper products and was accessible was a few just blocks away. The store lacked a competitive advantage. It was small, poorly located, and offered products at higher prices than the larger and conveniently located competitor. In many cases, the location of competing companies matters in the success of a business because of comparison shopping. This is beneficial only if the business offers products of a higher quality than its competitor and at a lower price. The store was offering products of similar quality but at a higher price. Lower prices and ample parking space gave the competitor a competitive advantage.
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