Fifty percent of marriages fail. We all know that. We’ve heard that statistic for many years. When a marriage fails, people often go and try again. Some - multiple times. I’ve had a do-over myself.
Fifty percent of small businesses fail. If someone has risked their life savings, their child’s college education money, and mortgaged their house - and then their business fails, they don’t often get a second chance.
Why should you care if businesses fail?
Did you know that 93% of small businesses have revenues of less than $250,000? That means that there are only less than 7% that are making over $250,000. So it’s good to know that when people talk about small businesses, that’s what they’re talking about.
Micro businesses, which make up 57% of all small businesses, make less than $25,000 a year. For some people, this business may be their second job.
According to the US Small Business Administration, the first reason that businesses fail is lack of experience. The owner or founder just doesn’t know what they don’t know.
Just because you are a very good cook, doesn’t mean you can run a restaurant. Does anyone watch Restaurant Impossible? It’s a reality show that demonstrates some of these types of problems in the restaurant business.
The next big reason is insufficient capital. It’s almost impossible to grow a real business without capital to back you up. Even in a service business—you need money for computers, marketing and some type of contracted help. You can’t do it all alone.
I hope that you will go out today or tomorrow and hug an entrepreneur. Make sure you support them and keep in mind these lessons for yourself.
