Business failure among small-scale entrepreneurs

[Jemzx00]

It was sulit.com.ph and it turns out to be olx which i do know that lots had been changed and lots had left and using up the service or platform which i wasnt aware that they had gone down.
When it comes to business then there's no assurance that you would really be successful, yes its not bad to make out some changes for the good and trying out to expand but
it wouldnt ensure that it would really be that effective but well its really something the risk where these business owners need to test or try on for the better but it did really just failed and it is one of the risk.

That was initially what I also thought when I saw OLX on the list however Sulit.com was a buy and sell company here in the Philippines and it was quite a popular one where even I was able to use it to buy some goods from the platform however OLX was able to buy the company.

I did quick google research and this is what I've found in regards the connection between Sulit.com and OLX.com.

What happened to Sulit com?

Sulit.com.ph, arguably the number one online Philippine marketplace where Filipinos can easily buy and sell items, is officially not in existence anymore. According to its website, Sulit confirms that it has officially rebranded itself as OLX.ph – OLX being the company that bought over Sulit into its porfolio.

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[Dunamisx]

Inadequate Financing

Let me talk about this point as I don't accept such as one reason why a small scale business should fail, we can consider what we often referred to as business growth as a process whereby an enterprise proceed from one developmental stage to another and just as we know that many businesses started from being small to expand to something big in the later future and we've got some good examples of some businesses that has little start up capital and remain committed to it and they eventually got advanced and the business turn big while some have started with huge amount of capital but ended in bankruptcy within the shortest period, so it's a responsibility of funds utilization in business expansion and its management, start small and grow big is better than starting big and ending up closed down.

In this case it may be a target that we need to consider. Because in business, especially for small businesses, it is clear that we do not have to set high targets to fit our budget.
Actually, in this case insufficient capital can occur for several reasons and indeed for a small business, it will be more or less affected by capital, even though what you say is starting from small to big, but in this case, adequate money management is needed so that things like capital do not happen which is not adequate.

I got your point here, business line has several requirements for each stages and level a business want to operate in, this is a determination of the business idea itself, then we can come to say that some business just need an adequate start up capital bade on the nature of the venture while some can manage to start small and grow big to develop into the standard required one, the vision mandate of every business enterprise is different and so is their financial capacity required, the least a business may require can be the highest another may needed to operate with, therefore understanding the particular nature of a business can help direct it requires funding capital adequately for effective utilization.

[Fesatmas]

Nice article with lot of meaningful lessons.. The biggest losers are those who don't try anything for fear of losing.. Every loss is a lesson learnt.

I want to argue. It is better to weigh everything and understand that a person is not yet ready for entrepreneurship than to take risks, implying a loss in advance. What are their failures if they have not lost anything? Another thing is when a person is dominated by excessive self-confidence, without a clear understanding of all the risks.
It's not scary to be confident, but it's scary when people are overconfident.

Distinguish between not ready and never want to try. When someone is not ready to take the risk then he still has the opportunity in the future to try. Whereas "never want to try" means that he has indeed buried his own hopes. I catch from what the OP said that someone who doesn't try anything is a loser. I think that's true, because no one can be successful without trying. How can you know the result is just trying never?

[Oilacris]

Nice article with lot of meaningful lessons.. The biggest losers are those who don't try anything for fear of losing.. Every loss is a lesson learnt.

I want to argue. It is better to weigh everything and understand that a person is not yet ready for entrepreneurship than to take risks, implying a loss in advance. What are their failures if they have not lost anything? Another thing is when a person is dominated by excessive self-confidence, without a clear understanding of all the risks.
It's not scary to be confident, but it's scary when people are overconfident.

Distinguish between not ready and never want to try. When someone is not ready to take the risk then he still has the opportunity in the future to try. Whereas "never want to try" means that he has indeed buried his own hopes. I catch from what the OP said that someone who doesn't try anything is a loser. I think that's true, because no one can be successful without trying. How can you know the result is just trying never?

Some business owners or investors does have that kind of target or goals that in every investment there's always a failure chance but doesnt mean that it would be completely a solid reason for them to

stop.You cant really able to determine whether a certain business would really be that successful or failure.Business minded person will really be that prepared when it comes to this.

You wouldnt know unless you do try but of course it would really cost you up money because having a business and all attaching expenses is never been cheap.
Some cant really just accept nor able to recover once they had fall down.

[bitzizzix]

There are many reasons why small businesses fail, but some of the most common include inadequate planning, poor management, insufficient funding, and a market that is too competitive, and not daring to play hard.
and often small businesses do not have the resources or expertise to compete with large companies, and this can result in them not having enough customers, leading to financial problems and ultimately failure.

[Furious 7]

There are many reasons why small businesses fail, but some of the most common include inadequate planning, poor management, insufficient funding, and a market that is too competitive, and not daring to play hard.
and often small businesses do not have the resources or expertise to compete with large companies, and this can result in them not having enough customers, leading to financial problems and ultimately failure.

This is what should be a reference because there are already many examples so that before starting a business, of course, we must prepare for this so that it does not become a loss in the business we are running.
Although indeed this can also be a good experience but of course we certainly do not want failure in business because experience does not have to come from failure even though failure is a factor in experience.

[ethereumhunter]

Perhaps of the many young entrepreneurs, only a few can really successfully run their businesses. They are the ones who can learn from anywhere to gain more knowledge and also often try trial and error in business so they can find the right formula for them. Each entrepreneur must have their own formula so that their business can run well and if they get a formula from someone else on how to run their business, they have to adapt it to their circumstances. It will be better because they can find what works for them and help them achieve success.

Yes, each one of us who venture to become a entrepreneurship, might not succeed in the long run. There are a lot of factors and sacrifice that we need to do and there is no formula that really fits everyone to be successful. So it will be a trial and error in the initial and this is where it going to make or break new and young businessman. Hopefully, they will adapt, and only handful can achieved success because it is very difficult if you don't have the expertise or no one is mentoring you. Going to be a struggle, but for those who succeed, it will be worth.

Only those who are really steadfast in running entrepreneurship and keep trying can succeed in the future, while others are still looking for what business is right for them. Failure is a common thing that new and old entrepreneurs must experience, but it should be a spirit to keep getting up to find the right formula to turn from failure to success. If they could really do well, they would be able to see the results later and would smile with satisfaction.

[Kakmakr]

One of the major reasons why small-scale entrepreneurs fail is this :

They do not listen and adapt to the changing needs of their customers. Around 60 percent of new restaurants fail within the first year and nearly 80 percent start to fail before their fifth anniversary.

Why does that happen? .....well, people will eat their favorite food for a while and then they will start looking for something different. We humans are wired to look for variety ....not to stay with one thing for the rest of our lives... diets and preferences change over time and businesses should understand that and change with that over time. 

[justdimin]

Perhaps of the many young entrepreneurs, only a few can really successfully run their businesses. They are the ones who can learn from anywhere to gain more knowledge and also often try trial and error in business so they can find the right formula for them. Each entrepreneur must have their own formula so that their business can run well and if they get a formula from someone else on how to run their business, they have to adapt it to their circumstances. It will be better because they can find what works for them and help them achieve success.

Yes, each one of us who venture to become a entrepreneurship, might not succeed in the long run. There are a lot of factors and sacrifice that we need to do and there is no formula that really fits everyone to be successful. So it will be a trial and error in the initial and this is where it going to make or break new and young businessman. Hopefully, they will adapt, and only handful can achieved success because it is very difficult if you don't have the expertise or no one is mentoring you. Going to be a struggle, but for those who succeed, it will be worth.

One of the hardest parts that I learned while trying to be one was the fact that it takes so much of your time that you wouldn't even understand. I mean working is always hard of course, there isn't any jobs that is easy and entertaining so much that you would want to do it for free, all jobs are hard and that is why people pay you for it.

But having your own company means that you are going to work harder than anyone else, you are not going to just work at office and come home and forget about it, you would have to actually end up with something on your mind at all times. So, basically you are working 24 hours, even in your dreams, it’s really hard to live like that.

[BRINIRHA]

One of the major reasons why small-scale entrepreneurs fail is this :

They do not listen and adapt to the changing needs of their customers. Around 60 percent of new restaurants fail within the first year and nearly 80 percent start to fail before their fifth anniversary.

Why does that happen? .....well, people will eat their favorite food for a while and then they will start looking for something different. We humans are wired to look for variety ....not to stay with one thing for the rest of our lives... diets and preferences change over time and businesses should understand that and change with that over time. 

Humans tend to get bored easily. and always looking for new things. so that many restaurants are closed due to not being able to adapt to the needs of their customers. and some restaurants stick to their recipes so much that their menus become monotonous with no changes or variations in them. whereas in a business we must always pay attention to what things people like at that time. follow a trend or create a trend. by creating a new menu for example. people are always curious about new things. but most of the small businesses that go bankrupt are those who are too monotonous and slow to follow the trends. the courage to make things new and strange is indispensable in maintaining a business. that's where many say that successful people tend to be more daring in taking risks and of course with careful calculations and analysis.

[Iroh]

Nice article with lot of meaningful lessons.. The biggest losers are those who don't try anything for fear of losing.. Every loss is a lesson learnt.

I want to argue. It is better to weigh everything and understand that a person is not yet ready for entrepreneurship than to take risks, implying a loss in advance. What are their failures if they have not lost anything? Another thing is when a person is dominated by excessive self-confidence, without a clear understanding of all the risks.
It's not scary to be confident, but it's scary when people are overconfident.

Distinguish between not ready and never want to try. When someone is not ready to take the risk then he still has the opportunity in the future to try. Whereas "never want to try" means that he has indeed buried his own hopes. I catch from what the OP said that someone who doesn't try anything is a loser. I think that's true, because no one can be successful without trying. How can you know the result is just trying never?

The OP mentioned that the biggest losers are those who don’t try anything for fear of losing.
I beg to differ. The biggest losers are those who put in investments and lost out entirely while those who were wise not to, still had their capital intact.

Excessive self confidence could very well make an individual turn a blind eye to the risks involved and not everyone learns a lesson from a loss.

[maknyos]

To be honest, at the beginning of their business, there must be ups and downs in their business and that's when we can judge which entrepreneurs have big souls during the crisis they experience and which business people have weak strength to get back up. Well, we often encounter principles like this in our environment where small business owners must be able to manage management as well as possible in managing the business they are involved in such as balancing expenses and income in order to align the business so that it remains.

[kryptqnick]

I don't know about other businesses, but I know OLX well. It's very much operational in Ukraine, and it's, like, probably the most popular marketplace we have. Maybe it failed in Nigeria, but it wasn't a Nigerian business. I googled, and Wikipedia says it's actually still operational in 30 countries. Since it's one of the most known websites that tons of people use in my country, I also wouldn't call it a small business or a startup.
As for reasons of businesses failing, I think reasons that are unrelated to the entrepreneurs should be added. A country can have a sudden political and/or economic destabilization, a global event  (like the pandemic) can heavily affect some businesses, and some countries have terrible legislation and business climate that just makes it very hard to create and operate a business there.

[Frankolala]

Mismanagement of funds and poor management are the major challenge in a business. For a business to succeed, first you don't think of using business funds for basic needs or for pleasure. Secondly you should always have a good customer relationship, so that if your product is reducing in quality, they will be the one to let you know by complaining with this your product will be competitive in the market.

Thirdly, motivation of employees helps a lot,let them know they are the best workers you have ever work with,and give them bonuses for work well done. Fourthly, you should know the risk in the business so that you can learn the risk management.Using borrowed funds is also a big challenge

[Eternad]

I don't know about other businesses, but I know OLX well. It's very much operational in Ukraine, and it's, like, probably the most popular marketplace we have. Maybe it failed in Nigeria, but it wasn't a Nigerian business. I googled, and Wikipedia says it's actually still operational in 30 countries. Since it's one of the most known websites that tons of people use in my country, I also wouldn't call it a small business or a startup.
As for reasons of businesses failing, I think reasons that are unrelated to the entrepreneurs should be added. A country can have a sudden political and/or economic destabilization, a global event  (like the pandemic) can heavily affect some businesses, and some countries have terrible legislation and business climate that just makes it very hard to create and operate a business there.

It will depend on countries, OLX is no longer popular in my country but it used to be before Shopee and Lazada came. There is a need for a business to expand or develop when its competitors are.Sometimes they need to do more advancement in their features and not just stick on what they know like how Nokia lose its popularity over other cellphone companies now.

[sana54210]

One of the hardest parts that I learned while trying to be one was the fact that it takes so much of your time that you wouldn't even understand. I mean working is always hard of course, there isn't any jobs that is easy and entertaining so much that you would want to do it for free, all jobs are hard and that is why people pay you for it.

But having your own company means that you are going to work harder than anyone else, you are not going to just work at office and come home and forget about it, you would have to actually end up with something on your mind at all times. So, basically you are working 24 hours, even in your dreams, it’s really hard to live like that.

That’s going to be a problem up until a point, but then you come at a crossroad that you have to decide yourself. I know a friend’s father who started that way, back in the 80's he worked insanely, and then during 90's he worked quite a lot as well, but after 2004 he retired while keeping the company, he just hired a CEO or general manager or whatever you want to call it and gave him both a salary and also bonus depending on the company profits and ever since 2004 that dude has been retired on an island with my friends mom, and husband and wife they end up just relaxing all day every day.

That’s not impossible neither but you can't just hire someone straight off, you need to build the company to a good level before you can afford that.

[fullhdpixel]

Just wow for this post! I am very much impressed because there are some facts which are actually making the failures amongst startups. I have heard/read almost all of the examples given in the OP and yes I have seen them failing. OLX is closely related to me as I have used it multiple times. The website is working till date but it's presence is next to zero. It's like surviving on it's final breaths these days. However one thing is sure, there are bigger players in the market as compared to them with bigger budget to spend on management and marketing etc. It's beautifully written article and every startup must note down them to save themselves from failing.

Indeed that OLX is still breathing and it's also true that they lack of marketing because I didn't see them appear in the ads online other than those recent companies whose concepts are also similar to theirs (buying and selling). I think that is a sign that their company's budget is getting low but did you know that OLX is one of the biggest buy and sell site before? I remember they are being advertised left and right and they even have advertising on the local television. That's how successful they are but unfortunately, they ended up on this.

It's not that the saying is true that all good things has an end because there are also old companies which are still at the top up until today. Maybe they only got carried away of their fame and then they start doing things which are inappropriate. This is a common mistake of those who experience a success.

[salad daging]

Just wow for this post! I am very much impressed because there are some facts which are actually making the failures amongst startups. I have heard/read almost all of the examples given in the OP and yes I have seen them failing. OLX is closely related to me as I have used it multiple times. The website is working till date but it's presence is next to zero. It's like surviving on it's final breaths these days. However one thing is sure, there are bigger players in the market as compared to them with bigger budget to spend on management and marketing etc. It's beautifully written article and every startup must note down them to save themselves from failing.

Indeed that OLX is still breathing and it's also true that they lack of marketing because I didn't see them appear in the ads online other than those recent companies whose concepts are also similar to theirs (buying and selling). I think that is a sign that their company's budget is getting low but did you know that OLX is one of the biggest buy and sell site before? I remember they are being advertised left and right and they even have advertising on the local television. That's how successful they are but unfortunately, they ended up on this.

It's not that the saying is true that all good things has an end because there are also old companies which are still at the top up until today. Maybe they only got carried away of their fame and then they start doing things which are inappropriate. This is a common mistake of those who experience a success.

OLX in my area is now a little dim because it can't compete with other startups such as, for example, Shoppe, Tokopedia, Lazada, TikTok they have started well and can survive until now so there are many enthusiasts because of their extensive marketing and the features that are expressed are so good. that is felt by the community and this has become a lot of people's choices for buying and selling at the startup.

There is a friend of mine who uses OLX, he sell/buy used cars, but he said OLX is now not like it used to be that many enthusiasts are now left behind so that the buying and selling they trade there is no longer a buyer, it becomes quiet and it is difficult to sell there, but that's a little Complaints about failed businesses for small circles, any of them are still basically we ourselves can do several things so as not to fail.

[Pokapoka124]

One thing all these startups have in common is that they are based in Africa. The government doesn’t do much to encourage tech startups, their rigid policies and systems tear down innovative business before they begin. In the end, they give room for foreign products to flourish in their country instead of patronizing their own. OLX was popular at some point, I think I had an account with them but I can’t remember using the service. Jiji and Jumia offer the same service and they are popular in Nigeria. I’m not sure what went wrong with OLX, they had good publicity at the beginning. The competition for the services they offer is high, I think they should focus on improving their customer base in South Africa before increasing their reach to other countries.

[Hamphser]

I don't know about other businesses, but I know OLX well. It's very much operational in Ukraine, and it's, like, probably the most popular marketplace we have. Maybe it failed in Nigeria, but it wasn't a Nigerian business. I googled, and Wikipedia says it's actually still operational in 30 countries. Since it's one of the most known websites that tons of people use in my country, I also wouldn't call it a small business or a startup.
As for reasons of businesses failing, I think reasons that are unrelated to the entrepreneurs should be added. A country can have a sudden political and/or economic destabilization, a global event  (like the pandemic) can heavily affect some businesses, and some countries have terrible legislation and business climate that just makes it very hard to create and operate a business there.

It will depend on countries, OLX is no longer popular in my country but it used to be before Shopee and Lazada came. There is a need for a business to expand or develop when its competitors are.Sometimes they need to do more advancement in their features and not just stick on what they know like how Nokia lose its popularity over other cellphone companies now.

There's no exemption and this should really be applied in all business is that as an owner then you should really be mindful when it comes to non-stop innovation or changes so that your competition wont really be

able to overtake you when it comes to innovation and changes which could possibly overtake and replace your business when it comes to ranking.This is why it would really be that normal that you should really

be thinking for something new or changes which would retain up your users or do still create that interest and make them coming back into your service/platform, because if they
do find out these changes or new things on other places then expect on what would be the next.