I hear the exasperated statement all the time from both fathers and mothers whether married or single who are overwhelmed from the daily grind of being wife, mother, homemaker, employee, church secretary, and this is just a small list of activities that consume at least 95% of time available to today's mom. In this post, I shall highlight 5 major reasons why home based businesses fail.

"I Wish I Could Be A Work At Home Mom." This statement is easy enough said but not so easy done. The fact is that most home based startups fail and the reasons can be numerous.

Below I have outlined 7 reasons why home based businesses fail and why moms are even more susceptible to failure:

1. Not understanding your target market

Some businesses fail because they don't understand their target market. It is often shocking to me to find business owners who know nothing about who their ideal target market is. How on earth can we sell to people if we know nothing about them? And no, I'm not talking about stalking every single person who likes your Facebook page.

I'm talking about who would most likely love and buy your product. What is their description? What are their struggles? Once you know this, you will know how to create products, content, promotions and everything you need to attract and retain them as a customer.

2. Failing to plan ahead

Most internet marketers have heard about the successful mom who just decided to start an internet based home business because she realized that she was feeding her children fish sticks most weeknights. Not having enough time to cook a decent meal for her family was the gasoline that ignited the fire burning in her heart to venture out on her own.

But I can venture to guess that if the business was successful, then it wasn't something that was just done on a whim. There had to be some calculated planning that was a part of the foundation of carrying out her dream of work at home mom bliss.

Most people don't really have a plan, they just see the big picture that usually comes into play only after much planning and carrying out of this plan would have been accomplished. This is why it is extremely crucial to have a well thought out plan that can help you from beginning to end. Most people, especially moms have a hard time even planning a plan.

What I mean is, they can see the end but don't know the best path to take to arrive there. Here are a few simple tips that should be covered when making a plan. You should know what service or product you are going to offer to your target audience that would benefit and enhance their life. You need to then figure out how to expose yourself to this audience via the internet, hence the term "Internet Marketing."

You should decide how you are going to set up your work schedule apart from your family obligations, what tasks you will handle versus which ones will be done by an employee, virtual assistant or even a family member. I would suggest you only handle tasks that are going to bring in more business.

3. Lack of consistency

This is a must when carrying out specific duties for your internet home business. If you are not seeing any results, then figure out a way to track your progress. For example: if you are promoting an eBook and at the same time using guerrilla advertising tactics and you are not seeing at least one sale a week then try something new or a different approach.

4. Lack of patience

I know that there are thousands of internet marketing businesses that promise thousands of dollars in a two week time if you just follow their system to exact specifications. Well, sorry to kill your dream but 99% of the time this is not going to happen. Not to say that it hasn't happened before but I would not lean into this idea when starting a serious home based internet business.

This pitch is usually given to get rich quick seekers. A more realistic time frame would be at least 6 months to a year before any real results are accomplished, so don't quit your day job just yet unless you have some cushion to fall back on that would cover this time frame. You will be surprised at the success that can be found with just a little patience.

5. Not learning enough

Learn, Practice, Learn, Practice, Learn is the key. Be aware that in the world of internet marketing, there is more than one way to skin a cat. From selling e-books, to affiliate marketing, to blogging, to Google ads and this list is just the tip of the iceberg. Learn the various ways in which to market your product or service.

Some may be a gold mine for you and some will not work for you at all, but you won't know until you've tried it and besides, this is what marketing is all about, calculated risks. I don't use the word calculated loosely, always plan your marketing tactics to cut down your failure rate.

6. Idleness

Not realizing the importance of putting your hands to something. There is a saying in the Bible that goes. "Whatever A Man Finds To Do With His Hands, He Must Do It With All Of His Might." Even if you are not seeing results right away, this is ok; you must still keep working towards your goal. It takes a normal business at least a year to turn a profit but that profit cannot be made if there is no work to put in. This leads to the next one.

7. Lack of money for tools and supplies

Some home businesses fail due to lack of money for tools, supplies. There is always a new tool that would make your entire job easier or possible than you can ever imagine. There is always a new product that would make the whole process easier. There's always another computer or software to free up your time. Too many business owners think they don't have enough money to set up their business perfectly before launching.

You can work with what you have instead of borrowing to get equipment that may or may not be worthwhile for your business. If your customers are excited about the product and you're consistently selling it, and there's a tool that cuts your time in half, then that's a great item to consider if you can afford it.

SOURCE: https://ngdollar.com.ng/causes-of-business-failure-how-to-fix-them/