Why Business Plans Fail

We all know that big and small companies say that innovation is one of their top priorities. But to be honest, it’s really hard to stay focused on that commitment when you already have too much going on your own company. Try to remember the last big company who made a big splash innovation wise. Well, we could list some names like Virgin Galactic, Apple, SpaceX, Tesla motors, Google, and, that’s it. So few companies have made great contributions to the public, why? Because the reality is, companies have grown complacent over the years. They like to stay in their comfort bubbles so much that they think a rebranding of their image is “innovation”.

What businesses don’t realize is that the market place is really tough. If you want to stay competitive, you must anticipate market changes, break in to new industries, and create new business models. That’s where the business plan comes in. As the top dog of your martial arts school, you must not only try to come up and think of new business models, you must also promote a culture in your school that promotes innovation. Tell your supervisors and managers to come up with ways on how to become different by offering new things to your current and potential customers. Tell all your employees that every idea is welcome. If you have a good and new business plan, you will stay relevant in the eyes of the consumers, and that’ll make sure that your martial arts school will survive and stay on top.

Anyway, here are some of the top reasons why business plans fail:

1. People are afraid of taking risks. People on the top don’t like taking risks because they don’t want to be known as the people who created a failed project. When people are afraid of trying new things, no new business plans will ever be created.
2. Companies, big and small, tend to convince themselves that their current product and services are “good enough” to keep them afloat. While this may be true for the present, future wise, it’s not going to be enough. Companies like Sony who made the Playstation, and Microsoft who made the Xbox, where beaten mercilessly by their competitor, Nintendo with their revolutionary Wii console. The lesson here is, it’s not enough to better, people always want something more.
3. Businessmen have a narrow view that, to be successful, they should put more money to the shareholders pocket and be less focused on creating new things. So what businessmen do is create new ways on how to save more money on operating costs by buying cheap materials and outsourcing jobs to people who are willing to do it cheap. I’m not saying that these ideas aren’t good from a businessman’s perspective, but equal focus should also be placed in creating new ways to do business.
4.  Business owners and top executives just don’t know what the people want. People who earn money like to spend their money. Businesses should know what the consumers want so these people can happily spend their hard earned money. Look at Netflix and how they’re creating new shows and releasing all the episodes all at once. People like it that way and Netflix made it possible.

To end, don’t just say that innovation is important, put action behind those words. And push your employees to come up with new things to make your martial arts school more exciting.