Benjamin Franklin said “failing to prepare is preparing to fail”. This could not be any truer than when starting a hospitality business. In the past decade, we have seen the industry continuously grow to become one of the more preferred industries for small business owners. It is continuously evolving on both the technological and customer front and the year 2019 promises continued growth on the hospitality front. Increased competition and fluid changes have meant that those getting into the hospitality business should be armed with a few basic essentials to ensure a great start to their venture into the hospitality arena. From recruiting employees with the right skills to getting your numbers rights, here are a few tips to get you going.

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Starting any kind of business is always going to be a pretty serious challenge. However, there are plenty of things that can make it even harder than it would be otherwise. One of the most common of these is trying to start completely from scratch. After all, if you’re either taking the place of an existing business or taking one over, a lot of the groundwork will already have been done for you. However, if you’re building your business from the ground up, often literally, then there are a lot of potential challenges and stumbling blocks that you have to be aware of. With that in mind, here are some things that you can’t afford to ignore if you’re looking to build your business from the ground up.

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A positive mental attitude is crucial for entrepreneurial success. But optimism alone won’t ensure your new business stays afloat — according to a study by InsuranceQuotes, 20 per cent of US small businesses fail by the end of their first year and 50 per cent by their fifth.

There are various reasons for shutting shop and success rates are higher in some sectors than others.

But some basic principles apply to companies in most countries — if you want to get set for success, here are three expensive pitfalls a startup should swerve.

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