It is with much hope that every entrepreneur sets off starting a Small Business. Making money was his main objective. Failure was never in his mind but things don’t seem to happen the way he had planned for. Even the hope for Survival seems to have disappeared and Failure haunts him at every turn. Why does this happen and happen so often to numerous small business entrepreneurs?
The four major mistakes often made by new small business entrepreneurs are:1. Improper or No Research:The most fundamental thing to do before starting a small business is to do a market research to find out whether there is sufficient demand for the product or products you have to offer.
Perhaps the reason for the failure to generate the funds is that there is no market for your product or the market is saturated. The need for your product in your area of business activity should be your prime consideration before starting a small business. Only if there is sufficient demand for your products, you will be able to generate the funds necessary to help you run your small business, survive and succeed.2. Improper or Under Funding:Quite often the urge to start a small business is so great that the very vital aspect of funding is not given due importance. Businesses are started on a shoe string budget and shops open with very little stock and offices with insufficient equipment. To ensure the purchase of stock and equipment it is absolutely essential to have proper funding in place before commencing your business. Furthermore your business might take several months to start making a profit and hence funds are necessary to help your small business survive and keep your morale up during these early months.If you don’t have sufficient funds of your own, it will be wise and proper to obtain a loan before starting your business. This could be obtained from your bank or you can seek the assistance of the Small Business Administration which offers numerous loan programs to assist Small Businesses.
It is important to note that the SBA acts primarily as a guarantor of loans made by private and other institutions.Taking huge loans out of proportion to your needs can also be detrimental to your small business since provision has to be made for higher interest payments.3. Insufficient Advertisement and Promotion:No Business can be successful unless the public is made aware of the existence of your small business and its products. The best of equipment and stocks cannot generate sales unless the public is made aware of it. Hence advertising your small business and the products before the commencement of your business and thereafter should be a major consideration. Failure to do so has been the cause of failure of several small businesses.4. Unnecessary expenditure:One of the major causes for the failure of a small business is the improper handling of the funds. Extravagant expenditure at the initial stages such as the purchase of expensive cars, equipment and expensive business lunches completely out of proportion to your needs can eat into the capital and leave your small business with very limited working capital. Hence proper and wise handling of funds especially at the early stages can make all the difference between success and failure.Conclusion:Failure to avoid the above mentioned mistakes for one reason or the other can be detrimental to the progress and success of your small business.
Securing the services of a consultant to help you plan out your small business before starting will be a wise move to ensure success.

An Offline or online business needs to consider the weight of having the right online presence as a key to success. The presence you create helps to leverage your level of professionalism and legitimacy. If you are working on building or heightening your online presence, then finding the top ways to rank on Google is one that ensures a strong image and unique business presence.1. Speak with Google. Don’t speak with Google literally, as a search engine can’t really hear you. However, your website can speak for your online business. (From one piece of technology to another). This comes through a code, known as meta tags, in the back of your website that Google “reads” and which categorizes your website. You want to let them know where to place you in relation to your competition.2. Check your content. Google reads your website and online business for keywords. These are the two to three word phrases used multiple times throughout your site. If you use them enough, then Google will place you according to the information you have given.3. Balance your information. There are two types of keywords you want to place on your site. The first is competitive, meaning the majority of websites have the keywords for their online business. The second is your niche. Anything that sets you apart, from your location to your specialized products, helps you to get ahead.4. Submit to search engines. Google wants to do more than read about your online business. It also wants to get to know you. This means that you have to let the search engines know you are a live site and ready to be categorized. Make sure you submit your search engine to Google, Yahoo and MSN, as well as other specialized search engines. This is a simple way of letting everyone know you are online.5. Build links. Google works on categorizing you not only through basic submissions but also by noticing the activity of your online business. You want to build links back to your site to show you are legitimate, active and working your way to the top. Any link building efforts you use works effectively in getting Google to notice you.6. Find ways to build traffic. Google not only wants to know who you are, but wants to make sure your online business is popular. This is based on the amount of traffic that goes to your website every day. The aim you should always have when online is to build traffic to your site through a variety of techniques so Google can read your activity and respond to your popularity.7. Write. Writing still rules the Internet. Article writing is one of the simplistic ways to build your ranking online. You will want to take 500 word articles, submit them to directories and link them back to your site for an effective way to get ranked higher with your online business8. Write some more. Today, content not only comes in the form of articles but also in dynamic content. You want to make sure you have dynamic content moving through your website or through a blog or microblog. Anything with moving or scrolling content is going to get your online business noticed by search engines and traffic.9. Use social media. Most likely, you already know the world of social media. Facebook, Twitter and other online areas can help you to build a strong presence. Keep in mind there are more social media areas you can use that are specific to your online business and profile.10. Analyze, monitor and grow. Stagnant content and keywords doesn’t work effectively with Google, as they want a continuous and growing relationship with you. Keep communicating with search engines about your online business by continuing to work on your momentum online. Build consistent results with link building, creating traffic and monitoring your keywords so they are placed even higher in search engines.These are some of many steps you can take to help your website to get to #1 on Google. With consistent efforts, you will begin to see results with your online business while building effective solutions for an online presence that comes out on top.