Trying to be all things to all consumers generally fails, Boyd says. A small business needs to have a laser-like focus on customers, their needs and how the company can fulfill those needs. It's bad enough to misjudge a market or a product. But owners of small companies tend to compound that error by failing to admit it and then failing to make changes that could save the business. A company will come to me and when I ask them about competition, they say they have no competition.
Early successes can lead a company to forget frugality and let costs spiral out of control.
In fact, revenue may soon fail to keep up with the rapid pace of your expenses, leading your company into deep trouble. Letting early successes go to your head. A new business will start reaping in orders and its owner will decide he can slack off on marketing. You need to keep up with marketing, no matter what. Make sure you don't add your business to this collection of classics.