Survey Results Identify Biggest Startup Mistakes

Survey Results Identify Biggest Startup Mistakes February 27, 2011 http://www.SmallBusinessNewz.com What hurdles have encountered in starting your business? Tell Us Here

Survey Results Identify Biggest Startup Mistakes Doug Caverly | Staff Writer Sometimes professional missteps can't be avoided, and small matters can snowball into huge problems despite everybody's best efforts. Small business owners should always try to learn from other people's difficulties, though, and the results of a new survey outline what many people see as the biggest startup mistakes. A little background information: the Hiscox USA Small Business Survey was paid for by Hiscox, the specialist insurer, and conducted by OCR International. A full 501 small business executives participated. As for the findings, 32 percent of respondents indicated that underestimating monthly expenses represented the most significant potential problem. And indeed, it's easy to imagine that miscalculating those could cost a business a lot over time. Next, 20 percent of respondents said hiring the wrong people can cause a predicament. Then not knowing how to market and sell your product tied with not securing enough financing with 18 percent of respondents each. Kevin Kerridge, a small business insurance expert at Hiscox, observed in a statement, "People who take the leap often have great energy and passion for their area of expertise. They have a clear goal, but as they embark on their journey they may not foresee the bumps along the highway. Cash flow, human resources, marketing and insurance issues can seem boring, but are hugely important." Good luck clearing these hurdles at your own business. SBA Announces Grants In Effort To Promote Exports Doug Caverly | Staff Writer Any small business owners interested in exporting goods (or exporting more goods, as the case may be) might want to consider moving forward with their plans in the near future. Yesterday, the Small Business Administration announced a State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) pilot grant initiative intended to distribute $90 million. Note that the $90 million will be distributed evenly over the course of three years, so there's no great need to drop everything you're doing and hound government employees for applications (which aren't supposed to be released until March 1st). That said, this arrangement sounds promising. An official statement announced, "The STEP pilot grant initiative is aimed at achieving two goals: 1) increase the number of small businesses that want to export and 2) increase the value of exports for those small businesses that currently export." Could the "Do Not Track" Bill Do More Harm Than Good? - Watch Now Then, getting into the details, the statement later continued, "Activities that can be supported with grant dollars under this initiative may include: participation in foreign trade missions, foreign market sales trips, subscription services provided by USDOC, design of international marketing products or campaigns, export trade show exhibits, training workshops or other export initiatives that are in line with the goals of the pilot grant initiative." More information's available here if you're interested. Just remember to take shipping costs, taxes, and local laws (among other things, no doubt) into account if you decide to start exporting goods. Discuss this article.

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