創業公司死因無外乎以下6種

創業者要想獲得成功，就必須對自己的創業理念抱有極高的熱情。但是，這種熱情有時會蒙蔽人的眼睛，使很多創業者看不見自己的創業理念和所在行業面臨的風險。

以下是一些年輕企業家在追逐“美國夢”時犯過的最大錯誤。

1、好點子，壞行業

想知道你的創業行業是否健康，最好的工具之一就是邁克爾·波特的“五力分析模型”，即對新進者威脅、替代品威脅、顧客的議價能力、供應商的議價能力以及競爭激烈程度這五股力量進行分析。比如說，你可能想開一家電影租賃店，而且想出了極好的商業計劃，但流媒體視頻服務的出現，已經充分說明了這是個日薄西山的行業。點子再好，如果行業不行，八成也不是一個很好的長期生意。

2、好點子，好行業

我經常會見到這種情況：行業大趨勢欣欣向榮，一個年輕創業者擁有一個很好的創意，但要么就是格局太窄，要么就是在其他好產品、好服務和好廣告面前黯然失色。某個理念或某個產品可能對另一家制造商或渠道商是好的，但對于一家勢單力薄的公司來說，失敗的風險還是非常高的。

3、市場大體不錯，理念看似挺好

在輔導其他公司的時候，我最先尋找的東西就是生活的實證。所有的變量可能都是“看起來很美”，但就像我在商學院的教授曾經說過的：“如果狗食連狗都不吃，那它就不是狗食。”在花費太多時間和精力實踐你的理念之前，先看看市場對你的產品或服務有沒有需求。

我曾經見過有些理念執行得不錯，也滿足了一些消費者的需求，但僅僅是有一些需求，不代表你付出這么多的時間、精力和資本就是值得的。這些理念作為興趣愛好很不錯，但不能成為一門好生意。務必要實事求是地評估需求。問問那些可能成為你潛在顧客的人，看他們愿不愿意用自己辛辛苦苦掙來的錢購買你的商品或服務。

4、好理念，但需要一大堆鈔票來打廣告

很多理念需要大筆的廣告資金來開路，對于大市值企業的主打產品來說更是司空見慣。社交媒體營銷的確使小型生產商有了更容易獲得關注的渠道，但這筆錢也得使盡渾身解數來湊才行。搞一次殺手級的眾籌，可能是創業公司跨躍這種壁壘的最好策略。

5、好點子，好行業，但你說服不了任何人

或許你對你所做的事情很擅長，但你說服不了任何人相信這個事實。如果你缺乏社交技巧，那就要去學，或者聘請一位這方面的專家。“可愛”是一個很重要的素質，它也是羅伯特·恰爾迪尼在《影響》一書中提到的六大認知偏見之一。盡量多讀一些關于銷售技巧的書，因為銷售既是一門學問，也是一門藝術。

6、好點子，壞定價

比方說你有一家服務業公司。如果你不能從你最受歡迎的服務產品中獲得溢價，那就成問題了。如果你想成為一名成功的企業家，就必須找到一種方法把產品賣上足夠的價錢，這樣才能給你的員工發工資。你可以使用一點行為經濟學：比如制定三個價格檔次，價格最低的檔次，服務也略少，用來吸引消費者上鉤；價格最高的檔次，則包含一個“豪華套餐”。研究表明，在高價面前，其它檔次的價格相比之下就比較容易被接受了。因此，你主打的服務，也是受歡迎的價格檔次的服務，就是中間的那一檔，最終可以適當地漲價。這種方法既使你能發出薪水，也能給自己留下凈利潤。

最后，不管你是處于業務規劃階段，還是已經處在運營階段，你應該經常跟一位導師或一個具有同等資質的組織討論你的產品和服務，以更快地取得更好的結果。

本文作者Jon Denn是美國小企業輔導協會（SCORE）科德角分會副會長，同時也是偉事達公司南波士頓地區的一名CEO培訓師。

譯者：樸成奎

審校：任文科

Passion for your idea is mandatory in order for your business to be successful. However, it can blind many entrepreneurs to the risks of their business idea and its industry. Here are the biggest mistakes I’ve seen young entrepreneurs make in their pursuit of the American Dream:

Great idea, bad industry

One of the best tools to see if your industry is healthy is to look at the Porter’s five forces process by examining threats of new entrants, threats of substitutions, bargaining power of your customers, bargaining power of your suppliers, and how crowded the competition is already. You may have a fabulous video-rental store business plan, for example, but the advent of streaming video is a pretty good clue the industry stinks. A great idea in a bad industry may not be a good long-term business.

Good idea, great industry

I see this all the time: The industry is booming and a young entrepreneur has a good idea, but it’s either too narrow in scope or will eventually be eclipsed by all of the energy of the other great products, services, and advertising. The idea might be a good or great product line for another manufacturer or distributor, but as a stand-alone company, the risk of failure is very high.

A seemingly great idea in an okay market

One of the first things I look for when mentoring is proof of life. All of the variables might be looking great, but as my professor in business school once said, “If the dogs don’t eat the dog food, it isn’t dog food.” See if there’s demand for your product or service before spending too much time or energy on its development.

I’ve seen ideas that were well executed and fulfilled some consumers’ needs, but just some demand may not be enough to justify the time, effort, or capital. These ideas make great hobbies, but not good businesses. It’s important to get a realistic gauge on demand. Ask people who could actually be customers if they would spend their hard-earned money on your widget or service.

Great idea, but you need tons of advertising dollars

Many great ideas suffer from needing big corporate advertising dollars to break through. This is particularly common in everyday products that are the bread and butter of large cap firms. Inbound social media marketing is certainly making it easier for smaller producers to get noticed, but it’s still a struggle. A killer crowd-funding effort might be the best strategy for this type of entry barrier.

Great idea and industry, but you can’t convince anyone

It could be that you’re great at what you do, but you can’t convince anyone of that fact. If you lack social skills, you need to either acquire them or hire someone who has them. Likeability is important, and is one of the six primary cognitive biases originally written about by Robert Cialdini in his book Influence. Read as many books as you can about sales techniques, which seems to be as much an art as a science.

Great idea, bad pricing

Let’s say you have a service business. If you can’t get a premium price for your most popular offering, then that’s a problem. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you’re going to want to find a way to charge enough to pay others to provide the service.You might use a bit of behavioral economics: Have three pricing levels, where the lower-price-for-lesser service is your hook, and your higher price includes a deluxe package. Now, because studies have shown that the higher price will make your other offerings seem more affordable by comparison, you should be able to eventually raise the price of your most popular service—which should be priced in the middle. This method allows you to create jobs and still leave a net profit for yourself.

You should always discuss your products and services—whether you’re planning a business or already operate one—with a mentor or a peer group to get better results faster.

Jon Denn is the vice chair of the SCORE chapter on Cape Cod, and is a Vistage CEO Coach south of Boston.