60% of Business Start-ups Go Bust Within Their First Three Years
Starting and running a business is like having a second, full-time job, which requires lots of different skill sets, most that ‘others’ previously ‘did’. Accounts, bookkeeping, tax rules, sales, marketing, and web administration are just some examples of subjects that I didn’t have a clue about.
At the beginning, I became a sponge. I networked, observed, and asked questions. Family, friends, and associates – I spent lots of time with anyone who ran small businesses. I listened and learned a lot from them. None were in my sector, but maybe that helped; our common goal was to be successful.
Whether the 60% statistic is accurate or not, I don’t know, but it must be somewhere around that number. I’ve seen small business owners create unnecessary trouble for themselves simply by not learning or understanding the basics. My business coach used to (quite rightly) talk about the balance needed by spending time ‘in the business’ and ‘on the business.’ Both are business essentials and critical to longevity.
Perhaps one of the biggest lessons that I’ve learned is to focus on areas of my business where I get the most return on my time. Don’t spend time trying to do something you aren’t skilled at. The first appointment that I made in my business was my accountant. The advice she has given me over the years has been invaluable.
Time wasters – there will be plenty. Learn quickly how to read them, and how to establish if this lead is likely to go anywhere. I once spent over a week preparing a proposal for a large piece of work; I submitted it and never heard another thing from them. Never again.
Cashflow is one of the biggest issues that affect small businesses. Statistics suggest that 40% of all invoices in the UK are paid late. We have suffered significantly from this over the years. In my experience, and as shortsighted as it is, most of our clients appear to be indifferent on this subject even though it can be fatal for some businesses.
Don’t be seduced into a false sense of security by ‘big relationships.’ Significant deals may look attractive and sometimes are. If the contract dominates your time, effort, and resources, there could be a significant risk to revenue – one over which you have no power to control.
A few years ago, we had a ‘big relationship’ with a ground handler. I let it happen because it was easy; they just kept asking us to do more and more. Then, one day, it stopped. I could never have predicted the exact reason, but in retrospect, I could have probably predicted that it could happen. After all, in business, nothing lasts forever, not even the best relationships. The phone stopped ringing, and 80% of our revenue disappeared in a flash. Time to get help.
The fact is that failures happen for many reasons: lack of knowledge or experience, inability to take advice, little learning, no plan B, or cash flow, the list is long. My advice – get help, listen, and learn, most of it costs nothing. And always remember Murphy’s law: “If it can happen, it will happen.”
Love What You Do, Do What You Love
You have probably heard the saying, ‘Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life.’
I am truly privileged. For all my adult life, I have worked within an industry that I have loved. From that day in 1969, as a six-year-old boy on my dad’s shoulders watching a prototype of Concorde taking off at Farnborough, I knew where I wanted to be. Over the years, my career has given me many things and experiences that I just wouldn’t have had elsewhere.
The smell of Jet A1 wafting over the airfield, the thunder of the idling engine as an aircraft taxis onto its parking stand, is as addictive and evocative to me today as it was on day one.
