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80% of businesses don't survive their first year, though the number goes up if you have employees. However, the percentages have been pretty consistent, year o

by KGIII 9y ago

80% of businesses don't survive their first year, though the number goes up if you have employees. However, the percentages have been pretty consistent, year over year, for quite a while. This isn't a new trend, it wasn't better in the past. It was like this even before the current situation where there is 2-4 trillion needing to be repatriated. Here are some numbers and a bit about how these numbers have been largely unchanged for a long time: https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-percentage-of-small-businesses-fail https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-percentage-of-small-busine... Blaming it on boomers and wealth preservation seems all too simplified, considering it has been like this for quite some time. It's not that a lack of capital isn't a problem, it is - and that's the primary reason for failure. It's that trying to pin this on boomers is a simplistic way of looking at this problem and doesn't solve anything. The problem existed long before the off-shoring of capital. The numbers have been pretty similar, for quite a long time.

WalterBright 9y ago
The failure rate of new businesses is mostly due to the entrepreneurs having no idea what they're doing. It's a learning process; many start many companies one after the other until they figure it out.
- KGIII 9y ago
  They cite lack of capital. I take that to mean they ran out of money. They'd do that if they didn't know what they are doing, so I suspect you're right. Many, many people are very good at what they do. Being good at what you do doesn't actually equate to having good business sense or management skills. Being an expert craftsman doesn't mean they know how to find customers, read contracts, deal with logistics, hire employees, manage money, or any number of things. When people ask how I managed to start my business and keep it successful, I usually tell them that it was mostly dumb luck. I was just getting good at it, some fifteen years later, when I sold it. There was lots of work involved, but a whole lot of luck.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- petra 9y ago
  We should have seen big improvement here: many more helpful resources, quite a few new ways to cheaply test ideas.

by KGIII 9y ago

WalterBright 9y ago

The failure rate of new businesses is mostly due to the entrepreneurs having no idea what they're doing. It's a learning process; many start many companies one after the other until they figure it out.

KGIII 9y ago
They cite lack of capital. I take that to mean they ran out of money. They'd do that if they didn't know what they are doing, so I suspect you're right. Many, many people are very good at what they do. Being good at what you do doesn't actually equate to having good business sense or management skills. Being an expert craftsman doesn't mean they know how to find customers, read contracts, deal with logistics, hire employees, manage money, or any number of things. When people ask how I managed to start my business and keep it successful, I usually tell them that it was mostly dumb luck. I was just getting good at it, some fifteen years later, when I sold it. There was lots of work involved, but a whole lot of luck.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
petra 9y ago
We should have seen big improvement here: many more helpful resources, quite a few new ways to cheaply test ideas.