Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Key Decisions That Could Kill Your Business

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Key Decisions That Could Kill Your Business Numerous studies and polls have been conducted on the failure rate of small businesses. Some experts estimate that 50 to 70 percent of new businesses fail within the first 18 months. While those numbers seem bleak, we dont often stop to wonder whether these promising initiatives failed due to cultural decisions made along the way. Take a look at these three companies failures and the lessons learned the hard way. Wrong Environment In 2010, after Damian Kimmelmans London-based digital design agency, We Are VI, posted a loss of approximately a quarter of a million pounds and let go 25 staff members, Kimmelman, who was the sole owner, shut down the company. Last year, when Kimmelman discussed his businesss closure with CNBC, he blamed the failure on his having spent too much time planning and not enough time doing. We Are VI was unable to juggle the demands of its big name clients, he added, and said that it hadnt established a recognizable niche in the advertising space. He also claimed that the firm would have grown if it had stuck to a single, distinctive product offering. But perhaps most telling was Kimmelmans comment that he gave up the business because he really hated agency life. This suggests that Kimmelman wasnt fully aware of the day-to-day rigors involved with managing a creative agency, and a firm with an unenthusiastic CEO at the helm will not be able to survive in the long run. The lesson? Before you launch a new business, make sure that the type of company youre planning to run, including the company culture, is a good fit for you. For more decisions that could kill your business, check out my full post at the AMEX Open Forum.