Unfortunately, there are many small businesses that will fail miserably each year. If you own your own business or are looking to start your own small business, then this is probably the top thought on your mind. Nobody wants to fail. Nobody ever wants to admit defeat.

Especially when you know that you have a great product that you are trying to sell. In the cookie business especially, it almost seems random why one cookie company should succeed and another one should fail. So what is the largest step you can take to avoid seeing your company sink like a stone?

Don’t offer too many varieties in the beginning.

You may be thinking that the more choices a person has in cookies, the better. However, that can actually spell trouble for a fledgling business. Let’s say for example that you start your business off with 30 different kinds of cookies. While they all take the same basic ingredients, the additives, which can become very expensive, are all varied in each cookie. In essence, you spend a lot of your money on these extras, and you aren’t even sure that your customers will like them. You may offer 30 varieties, and only 15 sell out. You are left with a lot of stale cookies and wasted money.

So offer no more than 5 varieties at first, and then offer a new cookie every once in a while to add to your menu. That way, you can put tester cookies out to ensure it is something your customers would want to buy. If you follow this simple guideline, then keeping your business afloat should be no problem at all.