The business start-up world is not for the faint of heart. Anyone considering the life of owning a business needs to be applauded.

    A person must invest vast amounts of time, planning, financing, marketing, managing, etc. in order to make thought become a business reality.

     Positivity and confidence are paramount traits that a person or group considering entrepreneurship needs to possess or at least have a grasp of also.

     Here at the SEED Center Business Incubator, numerous people visit or reach out to us looking for assistance to get started or to find ways to solve long-standing problems within their enterprises.

     As much as we want to see every business owner succeed, the real deal is not every idea is going to be profitable.

     According to LendingTree research:

• 18 percent of businesses fail within one year.
• 31 percent of businesses fail after two years.
• 38 percent of businesses close after three years.
• 45 percent of businesses stop functioning after four years.
• 50 percent of businesses fail after five years.

     What are some of the reasons for these outcomes?

     A study done by CB Insights (a private equity company based in New York) identified several reasons start-ups fail. The company reviewed “post-mortems” of 111 failed businesses since 2018. Twelve key reasons for failure were identified:

• Ran out of cash/failed to raise new capital – 38 percent of businesses.
• No market needed – 35 percent of businesses.
• Got outnumbered – 20 percent of businesses.

• Flawed business model -- 19 percent businesses.
• Regulatory challenges -- 18 percent of businesses.
• Pricing issues -- 15 percent of businesses.
• Not the right team -- 14 percent of businesses.
• Product mistimed -- 10 percent of businesses.
• Poor product -- 8 percent of businesses.
• Disharmony among investors -- 7 percent of businesses.
• Pivot gone bad -- 6 percent of businesses.
• Burned out -- 5 percent of businesses.

     One concept that would be good for our residents – in the Southwest Louisiana area – who are want to start a business is to consider ‘count the costs.’

     For instance, right now, our region has a workforce challenge.

     Certain businesses are employee intensive, so a potential start-up owner needs to take into account his or her ability to hire trained or untrained staff.

     If you are not able to keep adequate staff, it will be hard to remain open. And if you are not open, that means revenue streams can become stunted.

     The lesson? Know your market, not just your customer base but workforce also. Count the costs.

     What follows are some concepts (www.forbes.com) related to starting a business that could prove useful:

• Before you begin: get the right mindset.
• Determine your business concept.
• Research your competitors and the market.
• Create your business plan.
• Choose your business structure.
• Register your business and get licenses.
• Get your finances in order.
• Fund your business.
• Apply for business insurance.
• Get the right business tolls.
• Market your business.
• Scale your business.

    Here at the SEED Center Business Incubator, information and support are available to our start-up community. Knowledge is very important in any endeavor, and our agency and partners are available with open minds, ears, and expertise.

     Entrepreneurs are people who drive our nation’s economic system. Each success is another building block in developing strong communities.

     All we ask is that a person count the costs, there is fine line between success and failure. We want people to plan to win!

Eric Cormier is Senior Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Strategic Initiatives. He can be contacted at 337-436-3727 or ecormier@allianceswla.org.