Your business may not be growing because of poor growth prospects.  Growth prospects is the likelihood that a business will consideraly improve its performance.  There are several key factors that could contribute to poor growth prospects. 

The Market For Your Product or Service:  Perhaps there isn’t a market for your product or service.  Many entrepreneurs venture into business without stopping to consider if there is a market for their product or service.  Just because you have a great idea doesn’t mean that it will sell to consumers.  If you’re going to offer a product or a service you have to first crunch the numbers to assess whether or not there is a receptive audience for them. 

For example, you have the cure to hair loss, now you need to figure out how many people are in your potential customer pool and the liklihood that a percentage of that pool will buy your product.

 Let’s assume that you will sell your product in your retail store and over the Internet to consumers worldwide.

Based on these numbers you can quickly if that is a big enough market to sell your product or services to at the price your want and make a profit.  You have to be realistic about your potential consumer pool before you risk it all.

Spending Power of Your Potential Consumers: 

Spending power is the amount of disposable income that consumers have and what they are likely to spend it on.  During a booming economy when the unemployment is low and people are able to easily find jobs the consumer base will have more disposable income.  Also, when the individual tax rates are low it means that consumers get to keep more of their hard earn money and will have more disposable income to spend on consumer products.  In a bad economy and where the individual tax rates are high consumers will have less disposable income.  When consumers have less disposable income they make tough choices on where to spend that money.

When money is tight consumers chose to spend less on things that are not critical such as toys, restaurants, gifts for others, music, etc. and instead spend on critical needs such as rent, mortgage, transportation, medical, utilities, etc.

Market forces: 

As an entrepreneur you have to be concerned about the impact of market forces on your growth prospects.  Market forces are defined as economic factors that affect the availability of goods and the demand for them. 

Here are some examples of market forces that could affect your growth prospects:

- Future legislation:  Future legislation that could require you to do things to your product that may drive up cost include changing the labeling; undergoing new certification process, etc.  Legislation can be negative as well as positive to your business.  You to stay in tune with what’s going on politically and be prepared to adjust to new legislation in order to remain competitive.

                - Taxes Rates:  Raising or lowering the tax rates on corporations or businesses can change the demand level for your product because you have to react by raising or lowering the price of your product to remain competitive. 

                - Competition:  New entrants into your market segment could pose a threat to your growth prospects.  They could syphen off customers and reduce your customer pool and hence demand for your products or services. 

                - Trade Agreements:  Trade agreements could contain stiuplations that can open your market to ovreseas competitors thus creating the opportunity for more competition and less demand for your products and services.

                - Supply or Demand For Other Products:  The supply and demand for other products such as electricity or the raw materials needed to produce your product will impact your ability to make and sell your products at a competitive price.  For example, electricity is a basic component in the manufacturing of all products.  If the cost of electricity goes up it will impact how your price your products to make up for the added cost.