创业公司死因无外乎以下6种

创业者要想获得成功，就必须对自己的创业理念抱有极高的热情。但是，这种热情有时会蒙蔽人的眼睛，使很多创业者看不见自己的创业理念和所在行业面临的风险。

以下是一些年轻企业家在追逐“美国梦”时犯过的最大错误。

1、好点子，坏行业

想知道你的创业行业是否健康，最好的工具之一就是迈克尔·波特的“五力分析模型”，即对新进者威胁、替代品威胁、顾客的议价能力、供应商的议价能力以及竞争激烈程度这五股力量进行分析。比如说，你可能想开一家电影租赁店，而且想出了极好的商业计划，但流媒体视频服务的出现，已经充分说明了这是个日薄西山的行业。点子再好，如果行业不行，八成也不是一个很好的长期生意。

2、好点子，好行业

我经常会见到这种情况：行业大趋势欣欣向荣，一个年轻创业者拥有一个很好的创意，但要么就是格局太窄，要么就是在其他好产品、好服务和好广告面前黯然失色。某个理念或某个产品可能对另一家制造商或渠道商是好的，但对于一家势单力薄的公司来说，失败的风险还是非常高的。

3、市场大体不错，理念看似挺好

在辅导其他公司的时候，我最先寻找的东西就是生活的实证。所有的变量可能都是“看起来很美”，但就像我在商学院的教授曾经说过的：“如果狗食连狗都不吃，那它就不是狗食。”在花费太多时间和精力实践你的理念之前，先看看市场对你的产品或服务有没有需求。

我曾经见过有些理念执行得不错，也满足了一些消费者的需求，但仅仅是有一些需求，不代表你付出这么多的时间、精力和资本就是值得的。这些理念作为兴趣爱好很不错，但不能成为一门好生意。务必要实事求是地评估需求。问问那些可能成为你潜在顾客的人，看他们愿不愿意用自己辛辛苦苦挣来的钱购买你的商品或服务。

4、好理念，但需要一大堆钞票来打广告

很多理念需要大笔的广告资金来开路，对于大市值企业的主打产品来说更是司空见惯。社交媒体营销的确使小型生产商有了更容易获得关注的渠道，但这笔钱也得使尽浑身解数来凑才行。搞一次杀手级的众筹，可能是创业公司跨跃这种壁垒的最好策略。

5、好点子，好行业，但你说服不了任何人

或许你对你所做的事情很擅长，但你说服不了任何人相信这个事实。如果你缺乏社交技巧，那就要去学，或者聘请一位这方面的专家。“可爱”是一个很重要的素质，它也是罗伯特·恰尔迪尼在《影响》一书中提到的六大认知偏见之一。尽量多读一些关于销售技巧的书，因为销售既是一门学问，也是一门艺术。

6、好点子，坏定价

比方说你有一家服务业公司。如果你不能从你最受欢迎的服务产品中获得溢价，那就成问题了。如果你想成为一名成功的企业家，就必须找到一种方法把产品卖上足够的价钱，这样才能给你的员工发工资。你可以使用一点行为经济学：比如制定三个价格档次，价格最低的档次，服务也略少，用来吸引消费者上钩；价格最高的档次，则包含一个“豪华套餐”。研究表明，在高价面前，其它档次的价格相比之下就比较容易被接受了。因此，你主打的服务，也是受欢迎的价格档次的服务，就是中间的那一档，最终可以适当地涨价。这种方法既使你能发出薪水，也能给自己留下净利润。

最后，不管你是处于业务规划阶段，还是已经处在运营阶段，你应该经常跟一位导师或一个具有同等资质的组织讨论你的产品和服务，以更快地取得更好的结果。

本文作者Jon Denn是美国小企业辅导协会（SCORE）科德角分会副会长，同时也是伟事达公司南波士顿地区的一名CEO培训师。

译者：朴成奎

审校：任文科

Passion for your idea is mandatory in order for your business to be successful. However, it can blind many entrepreneurs to the risks of their business idea and its industry. Here are the biggest mistakes I’ve seen young entrepreneurs make in their pursuit of the American Dream:

Great idea, bad industry

One of the best tools to see if your industry is healthy is to look at the Porter’s five forces process by examining threats of new entrants, threats of substitutions, bargaining power of your customers, bargaining power of your suppliers, and how crowded the competition is already. You may have a fabulous video-rental store business plan, for example, but the advent of streaming video is a pretty good clue the industry stinks. A great idea in a bad industry may not be a good long-term business.

Good idea, great industry

I see this all the time: The industry is booming and a young entrepreneur has a good idea, but it’s either too narrow in scope or will eventually be eclipsed by all of the energy of the other great products, services, and advertising. The idea might be a good or great product line for another manufacturer or distributor, but as a stand-alone company, the risk of failure is very high.

A seemingly great idea in an okay market

One of the first things I look for when mentoring is proof of life. All of the variables might be looking great, but as my professor in business school once said, “If the dogs don’t eat the dog food, it isn’t dog food.” See if there’s demand for your product or service before spending too much time or energy on its development.

I’ve seen ideas that were well executed and fulfilled some consumers’ needs, but just some demand may not be enough to justify the time, effort, or capital. These ideas make great hobbies, but not good businesses. It’s important to get a realistic gauge on demand. Ask people who could actually be customers if they would spend their hard-earned money on your widget or service.

Great idea, but you need tons of advertising dollars

Many great ideas suffer from needing big corporate advertising dollars to break through. This is particularly common in everyday products that are the bread and butter of large cap firms. Inbound social media marketing is certainly making it easier for smaller producers to get noticed, but it’s still a struggle. A killer crowd-funding effort might be the best strategy for this type of entry barrier.

Great idea and industry, but you can’t convince anyone

It could be that you’re great at what you do, but you can’t convince anyone of that fact. If you lack social skills, you need to either acquire them or hire someone who has them. Likeability is important, and is one of the six primary cognitive biases originally written about by Robert Cialdini in his book Influence. Read as many books as you can about sales techniques, which seems to be as much an art as a science.

Great idea, bad pricing

Let’s say you have a service business. If you can’t get a premium price for your most popular offering, then that’s a problem. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you’re going to want to find a way to charge enough to pay others to provide the service.You might use a bit of behavioral economics: Have three pricing levels, where the lower-price-for-lesser service is your hook, and your higher price includes a deluxe package. Now, because studies have shown that the higher price will make your other offerings seem more affordable by comparison, you should be able to eventually raise the price of your most popular service—which should be priced in the middle. This method allows you to create jobs and still leave a net profit for yourself.

You should always discuss your products and services—whether you’re planning a business or already operate one—with a mentor or a peer group to get better results faster.

Jon Denn is the vice chair of the SCORE chapter on Cape Cod, and is a Vistage CEO Coach south of Boston.