Be a SME success, not a statistic

Start up

phase

Brick wall

Reinvent or

die phase (reoccurring)

Time

Proactive change

Die

Gro

wth

Another brick

wall: they keep on

coming!

2. Be a success by tackling these 5 areas:

Less than 45% of UK businesses survive their 5th birthday (‘Success In Challenging Ties - Key Lessons for UK SMES’, University of Surrey 2012).

If we are to learn lessons from over ‘The Pond’ according to Eric Wagner, writing for Forbes.com the top 5 reasons for business failure are:

#1 The business was not really in touch with customers through deep dialogue. #2 The business did not have real differentiation in the market. #3 The business failed to communicate a value proposition in a clear concise and compelling fashion. #4 There was a breakdown in leadership. #5 There was an inability to nail a profitable business model.

1. You are not alone:

gain comfort in the

fact that the path

ahead is difficult

for all SMEs.

Research into the life journey of

SME’s shows that they typically

follow a path similar to that

shown here. There is a road

map for the successful business

(and lessons from the less

successful ones).

© Nick Parker 2014