I want to talk to you about why businesses fail. If you like the information that I'm providing, please subscribe to my channel. I intend to give you more and more business techniques and tips to help you succeed in your career. But today, we'll focus on why businesses fail.
Consider the image in the video; the ultimate problem is business failure at the center, but what leads to this? At the very start, people make bad decisions, or they might even make no decisions, but either way, that action winds up impacting the organization. Then, we typically see poor decisions' impact on your income statement. It impacts your profitability – the wrong decisions will ultimately hurt your profits. As profits start to be reduced, the cash and the working capital erode. I often joke that no company has failed due to running out of cash or working capital, and I tease people because failure is often thought of as "running out of cash" or "lack of working capital" as the chief reasons for going out of business.
Unfortunately, companies go out of business because of the bad decisions that were made or not, impacting profitability. As a result, profitability decreased, resulting in cash erosion and, finally, organization failure. The real reason that business fails is because of incompetent management teams because they are the ones that act or fail to act. Management decisions, actions or lack of action drives the business. There can always be unique situations, such as the Fukushima tsunami or the COVID-19 virus, that force companies to close. However, even these events should have generated some prevention planning as part of the strategic planning process. There should have been an identification of threats that would have included severe events, as mentioned, and resulting discussion of actions to be taken. The question should have been, what happens if our business gets shut down for a while? And accordingly, what steps should we take today to protect the organization?
Connect with me
My name is Jim Lindell. I'm a CSP-certified speaking professional and an executive coach, and I have been doing both for the last couple of decades. Please contact me if your conference needs an entertaining, practical business speaker for keynotes or breakout sessions. If you'd like to see your career grow, please talk to me about being your executive coach.
I want to talk to you about Buc-ee’s because I've finally crossed it off my bucket list. I speak all over the country and brag about Kwik Trip, an excellent gas station in the Midwest, and it's fantastic. They have clean restrooms and great convenience products. Attendees at my seminars would ask if I stopped at Buc-ee's yet.
So I tried to find out more about it because I was interested. Recently, I was driving from near Asheville, North Carolina, to Nashville, Tennessee. When I came across my first Buc-ee's, I had to stop and check it out. It was fascinating, with "tens" of gas pumps and a convenience store similar to a small Walmart. After filling up, customers go into Buc-ee's for food, apparel, souvenirs, and restrooms. So as I walked in with great anticipation, there was Buck-ee in costume. I ran up to him and asked if I could get a picture. I put my arm around him, and another Buc-ee's employee took the picture. I was so excited to be there, and I told everyone this was my first visit to a Buc-ee's.
As you walk through the store, you'll notice different areas and the size of the store; there are so many other things—souvenirs, clothing, and lots and lots of food, but what Buc-ee’s is famous for is their restrooms. So in the video, you can see an image of the world-famous restrooms. I didn't take pictures in the restrooms, but they were spotless. You will appreciate Buc-ee's if you've ever stopped at a gas station with dirty restrooms. As I walked out of Buc-ee's, I noticed they had another statue of Buc-ee, the mascot, and took another photo.
It seems like all businesses today are recruiting. Buc-ee's is no different, and they need people too. Outside the building, they had a recruiting sign encouraging people to apply to work for Buc-ee's. They offered significant wages and fringe benefits.
Connect with me
My name is Jim Lindell. I'm a CSP-certified speaking professional and an executive coach, and I have been doing both for the last couple of decades. Please contact me if your conference needs an entertaining, practical business speaker for keynotes or breakout sessions. If you'd like to see your career grow, please talk to me about being your executive coach.
Jim Lindell is a National Speaker, Author, and Vistage Chair. He is motivated by helping others improve their lives and businesses.
He is President of Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc.
Order Jim's book - "Controller as Business Manager".
controller as business manager - jim lindell - thorsten consulting group