TNNWC Survey Results – Accepting a Greater Government Role in Private Sector Business
Introduction:
It started with the following survey, conducted by TNNWC Group, LLC. :
WHY NEW BUSINESSES TEND TO FAIL - RANK THE REASONS: A TNNWC SURVEY.
The polls were closed at 8/15/2010, with the following results, analysis and implications:
8/23/2010 - The Survey results are in, and they are discussed in greater detail in the text below. Survey respondents were mostly from US-based business networking groups, and represent a mixture of entrepreneurs, conventionally-employed (or unemployed) senior management, and a handful of independent or group-affiliated professionals in private practice.
It seems that in ranking the possible reasons that fledgling businesses and emerging enterprises fail, the most popular primary reason (i.e., the factor most at fault) was "A DIFFICULT ECONOMY WITH INADEQUATE ASSISTANCE FROM THE GOVERNMENT," while the least popular primary reason (i.e., the factor least at fault) was "THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE IS UNORIGINAL, ‘ME TOO’," OR ‘PLAIN VANILLA’ - There's plenty of alternatives (and competitors) out there in the market."
It would seem that the idea of producing a better-quality or more unique product or service has taken a distant back seat to the perceived failure of the US government to rescue business "victims." This, in and of itself would not seem to bode well for the fate of the entrepreneurial initiative, i.e., "build a better mousetrap... etc."
Going one step further, this type of response might indicate an increased acceptance, by the respondent business and professional population, of bigger government with more involvement and responsibility in what used to be termed "private sector" business affairs.
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Now, back to the Survey Questions:
While there are many reasons, sometimes operating in combination, that new businesses tend to fail (sadly, the successes are the striking exceptions!), Please rank each of the reasons below on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the LEAST significant and 5 being the MOST SIGNIFICANT. Thank you for your input. Polls will close on August 15th. Thank you for participating! At TNNWC, your opinion not only counts -- it is vital to our providing you with better service.
To repeat, 1 is the LEAST SIGNIFICANT and is the factor of least importance, and 5 is the MOST SIGNIFICANT and the factor of greatest importance.
Again, thank you for providing your invaluable input into this quick survey. Here are the issues to be ranked on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest):
1. POOR BUSINESS PLAN
2. THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE IS UNORIGINAL, "ME TOO," OR "PLAIN VANILLA" - There's plenty of alternatives (and competitors) out there in the market.
3. LACK OF ADEQUATE CAPITAL FOR LAUNCH AND OPERATIONS
4. POOR MANAGEMENT, WEAK LEADERSHIP OR UNCOORDINATED TEAMWORK
5. A DIFFICULT ECONOMY WITH INADEQUATE ASSISTANCE FROM THE GOVERNMENT
6. POOR PROMOTION, MARKETING OR BRANDING
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[End of Survey]
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Here are the Survey responses:
OUR READERS RESPOND! - AN ANALYSIS OF THE RESPONSES
Out of 180 completed responses, our readers ranked the reasons for business failure as follows. Each percentage reflects the number of respondents who thought that that particular reason was the most significant reason for new and young business failures:
1. POOR BUSINESS PLAN
12%
2. THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE IS UNORIGINAL, "ME TOO," OR "PLAIN VANILLA" - There's plenty of alternatives (and competitors) out there in the market.
4%
3. LACK OF ADEQUATE CAPITAL FOR LAUNCH AND OPERATIONS
14%
4. POOR MANAGEMENT, WEAK LEADERSHIP OR UNCOORDINATED TEAMWORK
25%
5. A DIFFICULT ECONOMY WITH INADEQUATE ASSISTANCE FROM THE GOVERNMENT
27%
6. POOR PROMOTION, MARKETING OR BRANDING
18%
Take a look at the above statistics. It would seem that that most of our respondents believe that the government is not being as proactive as it should be in properly "stimulating" the economy. What should the government be doing? Or, more pointedly, what should the entrepreneurs among us be doing, while we wait for a government “bailout” that may never come our way?
Based upon this small statistical sampling, approximately six times as many respondents thought that their economic woes were primarily caused by insufficient government intervention as those who thought that business difficulties and failures were attributable to product and/or service uniqueness or quality.
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Summary of Article:
WHY NEW BUSINESSES TEND TO FAIL - RANK THE REASONS: A TNNWC SURVEY.
The results of the above TNNWC Survey are in. Survey respondents were mostly from US-based business networking groups, and represent a mixture of entrepreneurs, conventionally-employed (or unemployed) senior management, and a handful of independent or group-affiliated professionals in private practice. The results speak of a shift in perceptions of government's role versus the role of the entrepreneur in the private sector, and a serious departure from traditional US free-market capitalism.
