Why Do So Many New Ventures Fail – and What Can You Do to Avoid Becoming One of Them?
Too many new ventures fail, but why? And more importantly, what can you do to give yours the best possible chance of succeeding?
But first, why am I qualified to talk about this?
Selling and marketing are in my DNA. My career involved selling multi-million-dollar software projects to some of the world’s largest banks, before moving on to manage a sales team responsible for targets exceeding $100 million. Later, alongside my husband, I founded and ran a successful business for 14 years.
I’ve served on a company board, helped shape an initial business vision, developed and delivered sales plans, and advised numerous start-ups on their sales and marketing strategies. These days, I’m also a paid travel writer and photographer, working freelance on an ad hoc basis.
OK, that was definitely more than two lines, but you get my gist!
Now for the nitty-gritty.
1. Not Understanding Your Target Audience
One of the biggest mistakes new ventures make is overlooking the critical step of truly understanding their target audience.
You need to know exactly who will benefit from what you’re offering—whether that’s a product, service, vlog, blog or podcast. If someone doesn’t benefit from it, they’re probably not your target market.
Get your market segmentation wrong, and you risk ineffective marketing, misaligned pricing and an offering that simply misses the mark.
For example, I write two very different blogs: one about travel and one about lifestyle. They have completely different audiences, so I market them differently.
When Jamie and I started our business, we initially targeted the computer software sector—but that wasn’t specific enough. We had to dig deeper. We knew our offering was better suited to mid-sized companies with more than 50 employees but fewer than 500.
Unless you’re Amazon, you can’t sell to everyone!
Identifying your ideal audience isn’t always easy, but getting it right is vital. The more clearly you understand who you’re trying to reach, the better equipped you’ll be to create something they genuinely want.
2. Failing to Clearly Communicate Your Value
The second mistake is failing to define the value of your offering to your target audience—and this can doom even the most innovative idea.
Because here’s the thing: it’s not about you. It’s about them.
Whether you’re providing a service, selling a product or sharing information, your offering needs to do something meaningful for the person on the receiving end. Perhaps it improves their life, solves a problem, saves them time or money, or simply makes something easier.
It really can be that simple.
Without a clear explanation of how your offering meets someone’s needs or improves their life, potential customers can be left confused—or worse, indifferent.
And indifference doesn’t sell.
Vague or generic messaging leads to weak engagement, low conversion rates and missed opportunities. People naturally gravitate towards solutions that clearly demonstrate why they matter. If your competitors communicate their value better than you do, they’ll often win your potential customers’ attention and loyalty—even if your product or service is just as good.
Start With the Foundations
Before investing heavily in subscriptions, websites, branding and all the other expenses that come with starting a business, take the time to get the fundamentals right.
Who are you trying to reach?
What problem are you solving for them?
And why should they choose you?
These questions may sound simple, but answering them properly can make the difference between building something with strong foundations and spending time and money on an idea that hasn’t yet found its place in the market.
Starting a business can feel overwhelming, particularly when you’re doing it alone. If possible, find yourself a great mentor—someone who has already experienced the highs, lows and challenges of being an entrepreneur. Learning from someone else’s experience could save you a lot of time, money and heartache.
As Abraham Lincoln famously said:
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
The message is simple: preparation matters.
Get the foundations right, understand the people you’re trying to serve, and be clear about the value you bring. Then you’ll give your new venture the very best chance of becoming one of the success stories.
Thank you for reading. Hasta la vista, until next time! xxxxxxx