Why do home based businesses fail?
Our life is made up of priorities, we prioritize every day. That is one thing I love about having my home business is I am able to make my schedule with my business and my family in mind. This sounds great right? You get to work in your PJ’s, you get to set your own schedule.
But on the flip side of it… you are still in your PJ’s and that TV is calling or your kitchen needs to be cleaned. Let’s face it our house is a distraction, so although in theory it sounds great to work from home it also is not as easy as it sounds. And some businesses just don’t succeed.
But why is it some people succeed working from home and others fail?
This isn’t going to be a magic formula. Do these things and succeed. Don’t do these things and succeed. These reasons for failure below can happen in your life through no fault of your own. But they are things to be aware of. The people that succeed don’t succeed because nothing bad or hard ever happened to them.
They succeed because they keep going. They don’t stop until they make it happen. They’ve had failures. But failing to keep going isn’t going to be part of their life. Use these ideas as things to watch out for and to prepare to overcome.
Some home businesses fail because of a hobby mindset.
Is this a business or a hobby? If it’s a hobby then it’s kind of just for fun. So there is not drive or need to make things better or make them grow. Target market, audience, product, pricing…none of that really matters when you just want to make things you love. But if you are running your business this way, it will not succeed.
A business is not all fun and games. It’s not when you want to do it, or even how you want to do it. It’s creating and sticking to a plan with a goal. It’s awesome to be able to create a business around something you love, but it’s a bonus…not the center of your business. The center of your business is your products, your audience and ultimately your profits, or you won’t stay in business.
Some businesses fail because their priorities become complicated.
When working from home you have to make your business a priority over any thing that has to be done in your house (for at least part of the week). If you were working a 9-5 would that sink full of dishes, or laundry pile on the couch be getting done? Nope. It wouldn’t. Right now in that moment your business is your priority, not the laundry pile.
Sticking to schedule is a must. Finding ways to be more productive each day is a necessity. Yes, you will have things come up. You may have sick kids ore a sick you. This is why we love working from home. You can make your own schedule. Just make sure not to lose focus throughout your day. If you are running a business, then time spent on that business has to be a priority.
Some businesses fail because of a lack of support.
Sometimes in your family, with your friends or even with some customers, people don’t take you seriously. You can get frustrated and sometimes you might feel like you don’t have the support you need. You have to consider yourself a business owner, not someone out there that is just making something cute in hopes it will sell one day.
Just because you run your business from home doesn’t mean you are not a serious business owner but those doubts creep in. Don’t ever let anyone treat your business with disrespect, you work hard for it! If you don’t have the support, then you need to find it. Connect with people who get you and support what you are trying to build.
Set some boundaries in your business. And stick to them. You can find support. And you can support yourself as well. Come join our free business group were like minded creative entrepreneurs share their tips and talents.
Some home businesses fail because they lack a designated work area.
This is so important. I can remember working from my kitchen table. I have been there. I would clean it off and have dinner with the family. Then get all my supplies back out to work some more.
This became so frustrating until I moved my living room around. And no it wasn’t a pretty out of a magazine home, but I had a 6 ft plastic table and a nice chair and finally made my own little space in my living room to paint from.
Just carving out a little area in your home to be yours for your business is going to be super important. This needs to happen from the beginning. You need space to work in order to be successful.
Some home businesses fail because of bad pricing methods.
This is a major frustration for new sellers and more experienced sellers alike. “How much should I charge?” Is a common question we hear a lot. There is a fine line between under pricing and overpricing your items. When you overprice, you lock yourself out of sales.
But when you under price, you may get sales but not make enough from them to sustain the business. You have to consider your costs. Including the more hidden costs like wear and tear on your tools, home expenses used for your business, and your time.
Too many times when I have one a business owner go through our Creative Codebook Course and think about their pricing, they begin to realize that they are being paid pennies for their work. That isn’t sustainable. You will fail. Your business will fail. You have to learn to price correctly to make your business a success.
Some businesses fail because they do not understanding their target market.
It is often shocking to me to find business owners who don’t know anything about who their ideal target market is. How in the world can we market to people when we don’t know anything about them. And no, I am not talking about stalking each person who likes your Facebook page.
I am talking about knowing who would be most likely to love and buy your product. What is a description of them? What are their struggles? What do they love? Hate? Once you know this, you know how to create products, content, promotions and everything you need to attract and keep them as a customer.
Some home businesses fail because of a lack of money for tools, supplies.
There is always a new tool that would make the job easier or possible. There is always a new product that would make the process smoother. There is always another computer or software that would free up your time. Too many business owners think that they don’t have enough money to get their business set up perfect before beginning.
You can work with what you have instead of borrowing to grab equipment that may or may not pay off for your business. If your customers are thrilled with a product and you are consistently selling out of it and there is a tool that will cut your time in half, then this is a great item to consider if you can afford it.
Adding a tool just because someone else has it. Or just because it might help you create something later is not a sound business decision. Add tools as you can. Add time saving devices or software as needed. If you don’t have the right tools it can make your business hard to succeed. But stretching yourself too thin to grab every tool out there is a recipe for disaster.
Some home businesses fail because they lack real expansion plans.
If there is one thing that makes me super sad, it’s when an amazing business has an awesome product but no plan in place for expansion. It’s okay to enjoy where you are at in your business, but if you aren’t moving forward, then you will fall behind.
Make sure that you have a plan to grow. You need to revisit it regularly. Modify it as needed. And make forward motion in your business a big priority. If you are comfortable, it’s time to see what’s next.
It’s important to diversify the streams of revenue you have. If your Facebook page is doing well, is it time to learn to create a selling Facebook group? Are you ready to learn about the differences between Amazon Handmade and Etsy? Make a plan to grow. It really is a choice between growth and keeping up or giving up on your business. And you were made for more than failure.
Some home businesses fail because they grow too fast.
One of the saddest things I’ve seen happen in some businesses is that they have had rapid success that they weren’t ready for and hadn’t planned to have. Everyone wants a product to go viral, right? But when one does, are you ready for the immediate influx of orders and messages that come with it?
Can you hire quickly and keep on top of shipping dates? Often some businesses end up with customers who have left a bad review on Etsy or Amazon because a shipping date was missed, or an order slipped through the cracks. Growth that comes too quickly can cause a business to have their Facebook, Etsy or Amazon shut down.
It can be difficult to come back after a number of bad reviews or issues that can come from viral success. One way to keep this from happening is to have consistent processes in place that can handle success. And to be ready to hire help for your business the minute it is needed.
Some home businesses fail because of business burnout. They just give up.
Burnout happens in every business. It’s something you will experience whether on a small or a large scale. You need to recognize the signs of business burnout and be ready to take steps to get back on track.
You might need to take a small break, get some more training, hire some more help, change something in your business, or do something as simple as remember why you started your business in the first place.
Burnout may be a reality that we have to face. But it isn’t one that has to tank our business and cause us to fail. You are allowed to be tired. You are allowed to need a break or be frustrated or need some help. But business owners don’t quit.
So why do home businesses succeed?
As you can see there are a lot of reasons to fail. Lots of things can derail you. Lots of things can go wrong. Some of them you can control at least in part. But others may be mostly out of your control. There are lots of reasons to fail. But you only need one reason to succeed. So here it is, my friends.
You deserve to succeed.
Now say it out loud.
I deserve to succeed.
You are worth it. You are capable of it. It’s out there waiting for you. And yep, there are some not so fun spots on the journey that can be hard and scary and frustrating…but in the end a successful business is just as much about the journey you take to get there as it is about the destination when you arrive. Working through these challenges teaches you something. It teaches you about successful businesses and how they are made. But it also teaches exactly what you are capable of.
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