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There are more than one or two reasons for business failures - there are many. The factors below give some selected reasons which lead to business failures:

POOR ATTITUDE
Owner loses interest, is not motivated.

POOR RELATIONSHIPS
Owner develops poor relationships with staff, suppliers, bankers, customers and does not get their full co-operation and relationships

POOR OR NO BUSINESS PLANNING
Not planning ahead to establish future income, expenses, resource requirements (staff, equipment, funds required)

POOR FINANCIAL CONTROL
Not giving serious attention and control to business expenses. Giving too high a credit to customers. Not collecting debts on time. All this leads to not

having enough money for day to day running costs and purchasing items for business. Not understanding ongoing financial position so that measures can be taken if required.

POOR RECORDS
Not having suitable records for all business transactions. This prevents business managers from making good business decisions.

POOR STOCK CONTROL
No proper stock records of what was received and what was sold and what is still in stock. Also, holding more stock in business than can be sold results in money being tied up unnecessarily. Excess stock can also deteriorate or become old and out of date.

POOR CREDIT CONTROL
This includes not making creditors fill in proper credit forms with rules and conditions for non-payment, on time etc. Not specifying to customers the credit limit they can have. Giving credit to wrong people or unknown persons. And not ensuring that people pay accounts on time etc

POOR MARKETING
Not planning marketing strategies and implementing marketing objectrives properly, resulting in ineffective advertising, selling and distributing of goods and services.

POOR STAFF CONTROL
Leaving everything to staff without any control or overall surveillance. Employing more than enough staff or employing untrained or unsuitable staff. Failing to build a team that is compatible and complementary.

POOR TIME MANAGEMENT
Spending time excessively in some selected areas only at the expense of other areas that get neglected and give rise to major problems.

POOR KNOWLEDGE OF BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Not looking for changes in the business environment which present threats and opportunities to the business. Not responding to threats which may ultimately cause business failure. Not accepting opportunities which will allow the business to thrive. Failing to identify your target market due to poor market research. Failing to adapt your product to meet customer needs and wants.

POOR EXPERIENCE
Not knowing enough about the industry in which one operates. Not knowing about buying, selling, interacting with customers, controlling and handling money etc.

POOR STOCK OF TECHNOLOGY
Using outdated technology can hinder your business progress and effect your business competitive.

POOR LOCATION
The location of the business is not close to transport links or customer bases.