Outcome: Why Some Ventures Fail

What you’ll learn to do: explain why entrepreneurial ventures fail

Photo of a cupcake whose chocolate frosting has oozed off the top and onto the display shelf

Here are some shocking but true statistics: according to the Small Business Administration (SBA), only 20 percent of all small businesses survive the first year; of those, 30 percent survive the second year; and only half of those survive the first five years. Out of ten new businesses, ONLY TWO will still be operating at the end of the first year. What happened to the other eight? Why did they fail? Some of the reasons for small-business failure are avoidable, and others, sadly, are not. In this section you’ll learn why.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

The learning activities for this section include:

  • Reading: Why Do So Many Small Business Startups Fail?
  • Self Check: Why Some Ventures Fail

Take time to review and reflect on each of these activities in order to improve your performance on the assessment for this section.