Consider the following warning signs when considering starting or growing your business

• Over-gearing of the business

• Insufficient experience of key management – the inability to successfully manage & grow the business

• The business owners are not actively involved in the business

• The market for the product is clearly saturated or non-existent

• Inability to justify various assumptions in the business plan - failure to demonstrate how market share will be captured

• Conflicting information between the business plan and supporting data will result in the ability of the entrepreneur being called into question

• Failure to deliver key outstanding agreements or requirements that are essential to the success of the plan, such as major contract which does not materialise

• Non-compliance (legal, statutory, tax) in existing companies that wish to expand

• A poor credit rating does not bode well at all