Yes I admit, that's not the most cheerful title I've ever read either, but many small businesses fail and that sad result prevents a lot of people from even trying. So why not take a look at what you can do to reduce the downside if your small business doesn't make it. Maybe that's enough to give you the confidence to go ahead and jump in

Now, if you're thinking that only risk takes go into business, you're probably right. But no one ever said you have to risk everything because you tried. Only the terminally timid would think like that.

Here are three places you can cut your risk and they're financial, emotional and family. None of them are simple but let's see what we can cover in this article.

To protect your self esteem if your great idea turns out not to be so great, remember that only the business was a failure - not you. Maybe the idea was ahead of it's time (euphemistically speaking) or you only needed more experience. Maybe the competition was tougher than you thought and probably you make some mistakes and bad decisions. But YOU are not a failure, unless you refuse to learn from a set back until that point, you are just accumulating experience.

Making sure that your family doesn't suffer if your business fails is important to plan for. Remember, when you're disappointed and unhappy the people closest to you will feel it too, even if you refuse to share it with them. When If you're hard on yourself they will be upset. But never forget what's really important.

Yes, your family time will suffer when you're burning the midnight oil, but one Kindergarten Christmas concert, one middle school graduation, and one tenth anniversary. The day that your child is too big for you to pick up will come sooner than you think. If you paid the price of all these missed events in your life because you were "at work" failure will hurt more. We're talking about balance.

How to protect your finances is probably the easiest thing for you to control – Watch your money! If this is your first business - for heavens sake don't mortgage the house! Look at an online business as a great way to learn a lot without risking an equal ton of money. There are dropshipbusiness models where you don't need to buy inventory. You don't need to spend a fortune marketing your online business because you can learn to do much of the important work yourself. It's a great way to keep a lid on your investment – and your risk- and if you're not willing to stretch yourself enough to learn new skills, you'll never make it. Once you have a little success going for you and have a better feel for what you're doing and how to buy it, you can outsource some of the work, but don't outsource too early in the game.

Starting a small Business is tough. Louise Collins, the author of START UP MISTAKES, learned that all too well. In fact, when she looked back at her first full year running her online business, Louise added up what her mistakes cost her. It came to over $20,000.00.

And that's why she wrote START UP MISTAKES - a look at what NOT to do if you're wondering how to start a small business when you'd rather turn your money into profits - and not lessons.

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