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That business isn’t dead, it’s just resting
By Shawn Kinkade | May 4, 2008
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Monty Python - The Parrot Sketch:
Mr. Praline: I’ll tell you what’s wrong with it, my lad. ‘E’s dead, that’s what’s wrong with it!
Owner: No, no, ‘e’s uh,…he’s resting.
Mr. Praline: Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I’m looking at one right now.
Owner: No no he’s not dead, he’s, he’s restin’! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, idn’it, ay? Beautiful plumage!
Mr. Praline: The plumage don’t enter into it. It’s stone dead.
Owner: Nononono, no, no! ‘E’s resting!
With all of the bad news floating around, I thought it might be worthwhile to do a quick review of what small business failure rates look like.
Small Business Failure rates continue to be a really hot topic - especially on the Internet and (unfortunately) in marketing for certain products and services. But what’s the reality - and if you’re a small business owner, is this useful information?
What’s actually going on with Business Failure Rates:
Here’s a link to a recent blog post that I think is pretty credible: Smallbiztrends.com: Startup failure rates. You will hear people say that 50% of businesses fail within 2 years - sometimes it’s even more dire.
As you can see from the chart in that linked story, 50% of businesses are still around after 4 years - that’s still a rough go of it, but not nearly as bad as some make it out to be.
Additionally, the definition of failure is a little questionable - some studies have shown that 30% of closures were not viewed as failures (retirement, merger, etc.).
Finally - if your interested in more in-depth detail, here’s a link to an SBA study that matches up to that posted data fairly well: SBA Study
What do you think? Is this kind of information helpful? As a small business owner do you think about it much or are you pining for the fjords?
Shawn Kinkade www.aspirekc.com
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Topics: Small Business Strategy |
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