We want to believe that our business will go from strength to strength, but this isn’t always the case — indeed, you only need to look at the percentage of companies that don’t make it to their fifth birthday to see that. Sometimes, failure comes slowly, there’s a slow downward trend, and eventually, something happens that kills the business off for good. But sometimes, the end of a company happens more quickly.
Even if everything seems to be going well, one slip up can set in motion a chain of events that can be hard to undo. Below, we take a look at some examples of dangerous matters that can derail your business success, if you’re not careful.
Poor Cash-Flow
Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how much business you’re doing. What matters is how much money you have coming in versus how much you need in order to run your business smoothly. Cash-flow is one of those matters that can catch out a lot of businesses, especially new ones.
It’s imperative that you’re managing how much cash you have to hand versus what you need. Having a lot of money coming in eventually won’t count for much if you’re in a financial mess by the time it arrives. Stop on top of your cash-flow!
Major Problems
Your company can probably absorb a handful of smaller issues without much incident. Things might not be perfect, but they’re not going to cause too much of a problem. But then there’s a matter of the big problems, the ones that really can derail your business.
Take your mission critical systems, for example. These are the systems that are essential if your business is going to stay operational. If they’re down, you can’t work, your customers become annoyed, and your business ultimately takes a hit. Depending on the severity of the outage, it could have a tremendous impact on your company.
An Ill-Advised Campaign
Every business is eager to get their message in front of as many people as possible. They want people to pay attention, and to remember their company’s name. That’s an obvious goal. However, sometimes, businesses go about this mission in the wrong way. To get noticed, they push the boundaries, but take it too far.
One ill-advised marketing campaign can have long-term ramifications on a business. Indeed, some companies mess up so badly that they just don’t make it back. If you’re going to market your company in ways that push the boundaries, do so with caution.
Wrong Management
If your company isn’t just a small team, then it’s possible that you have managers in place to oversee things. When these managers are well-suited for the job, then everything is fine. But when things change, and not for the better, then problems quickly present themselves. A bad manager can result in staff leaving, unhappy customers, and a bad atmosphere. You should make sure you’re hiring the right person for all positions, but especially the management positions, because they’re so influential.