"For entrepreneurs -- especially those just starting out -- businesses succeed as much as they fail. I’ve seen this time and again as a mentor and entrepreneur. But statistics also suggest that the failure rate for new startups within the first five years is as high as 50 percent.
Of course, real entrepreneurs treat business failure as a milestone on the road to success. They count on learning from their mistakes, and use the experience to move to the next idea. But why not learn from the mistakes of others, without all the pain and suffering?
Here is my list of 10 top startup failure causes -- and how to avoid them:
1. No written plan. Don’t believe the myth that a business plan isn’t worth the effort. The discipline of writing down a plan is the best way to make sure you actually understand how to transform your idea into a business.
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