New, Aspiring, Failed Or Successful Businesses - Share Your Business Story -

Share Your Story

Whether you still have a day job and dream of striking out on your own. Or you have a business but are struggling. Or maybe you're doing okay or would describe yourself as successful.

Be anonymous. Be yourself. Create an alias. Most importantly share your story in the comments section. Or email me using the address (top right).

I'll answer my own questions to give you an idea. So you can either answer these questions or choose your own. Or if you just couldn't be bothered, just write a small comment instead.

I will publish each of your submissions as separate posts. And where the author supplies a link to their site, I'll include that too. Here we go, my story...

Why did you start in business?

Like many people, I thought I could do it far better than my boss. I was 29, and my first daughter had just passed away after a 21 day struggle to make it after her birth. Life felt too short to keep wondering, so I gave it a whirl.

What is the biggest barrier for a new business to hurdle?

Adjusting. Just because I was okay at marketing, it didn't mean I was any good at managing cash, administration, and eventually managing people.

The hours are longer than you first anticipate. And the learning curve steep. You have to learn to multi-task or outsource.

If I could turn the clock back, I would probably have considered systems far more. Considering the customer journey through the business is essential. Each step from initial enquiry, quotation, meeting, invoicing etc should be quick, efficient and take less time if you plan it well.

Why do you think you failed?

Overall, it was principally caused by unbridled growth. Both myself and the people involved were too busy reacting to the huge pats on the back as word-of-mouth spread and clients flocked to our door.

Then, when the cracks started to appear as the service deteriorated, the growth slowed. But the overheads were now fixed.

A deeper understanding of the underlying trends in your business is essential. Make sure cash management and a keen eye on your fixed costs underpins your decisions. If necessary, politely turn down work rather than push the boat out and take it on.

How happy are you personally as a small business owner?

Quite frankly? I am now, but I wasn't for the last 2-3 years before our failure and re-launch. A business can become all-consuming. It is really hard to keep a personal and family life when all you can think about is work.

When things aren't going well, you re-double your efforts. Eventually, there is nothing left in the tank and you can't squeeze anything more out of yourself.

I would still recommend going into business. Thankfully, going bust was the best thing to happen to the old business. The opportunity to re-start and apply all the experience we gained was a joy once we mentally emerged from the fog.

During the dark days, I'd often find myself thinking "if only we'd not done that" or "if only we had done it a different way at the start".

Don't get me wrong, the failed business was not all doom and gloom. There were some incredible highs. And I have to keep reminding myself about those too!

What single piece of advice would you give to someone struggling?

This isn't a throw-away line, but focus on the positives. It is amazingly easy to focus far too much of your energy on what's going wrong.

More focus on the good things - and there will be far more than you think - can potentially save you.

Especially in bad times, there are opportunities. Those who hold their nerve may soon have an influx of customers as competitors fail. Take a look at Small Business Credit Crunch Survival Kit for a fresher, more rosier perspective.

And finally, you may think going bust is the end. I'm living proof that it isn't. It is possible to bounce back. Some of the most successful people on the planet have a failure or two behind them.

If you're killing yourself by keeping going, sometimes it's better to throw in the towel and start again. A fresh start can re-energise you and give you the chance to benefit from the experience you undoubtedly now have.

And, if it is sales you need, you will be doing yourself a dis-service NOT visiting the site of Drayton Bird. With a failure or two behind him, he rose to become one of our planet's leading authorities on direct marketing.

I don't make a penny for clicks or anything. I read his books, had the honour of meeting him, and can vouch for how his expertise can help you create sales. I've said it once before, but it's his fault we grew so spectacularly.

His books though don't directly teach good business sense! So he's blameless for our original demise!

How do you define success in business?

Personally, doing a good job. I don't want to go to work for an "okay" company. A company that constantly lets people down and fails to fulfil its promises.

I want to deliver the best. I want to hear how pleased our customers are. That may sound cheesey, but I don't care. It's how I feel.

You see being happy with what you do starts to feed into your personal life too. I've had too many years of stress. And right now, the stress is insignificant.

At last we're doing a good job for our clients. The word-of-mouth has started again. Just last week we got 3 excellent referrals. The source? Happy clients.

Happy clients do more for marketing your business than any marketing will ever do. Especially in a relatively small but vocal community like ours.

So, What's Your Story?

Are you a struggling business? Failing? A former failure who has bounced back? Just happy because your business is doing okay? Or are you a resounding success?

Perhaps you are still working in a day-job but haven't quite plucked the courage to strike out on your own.

Regardless, email me your story, give me a quick or long version in the comments below. I'd love to hear it.

Just remember - tell me if you're okay with me cutting and pasting it into a post and whether you want me to link to your site/blog if you have one.

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