By Steve Baker

I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that 98% of businesses are small businesses. That bodes well for entrepreneurial spirit that has made our nation great. The bad news is that 80%, that’s right, four out of five new businesses will fail in their first five years.

After years of building my own companies and consulting growing businesses, I’ve come to realization that too many business owners can’t see their business through an objective eye, which often leads to their demise. It takes an incredible amount of intense drive, determination and a strong ego to breathe life into a business and create products from scratch, but it’s also that same ego that won’t let a business owner be objective about what their business needs to succeed. The business is up and running at light-speed and management doesn’t have time or willingness to stand back and take a real look at what they have created. They are too close to problems to see them. Just like a proud parent, they have spent sweat and time creating this “baby,” and they refuse to believe that it might be less than perfect.

I call this “business parent trap.” It is in this trap that business owners often create and introduce products that would not test out in marketplace. There’s an attitude of “Hey, it’s gotta be great because I thought of it.”

I’ve found that there are usually two basic things wrong with a business: product (the Baby) and management (the Breath).

So how do you assess your business? Are your employees going to tell you that you’re headed in wrong direction? Not likely. Occasionally a consultant will be brought in to review company’s performance in a given area. Unfortunately, when management does bring in a consultant, they often are really looking for affirmation – not straight-forward constructive criticism. Sadly, some consultants are more than willing to “affirm for a fee.”

If you’re going to succeed, then someone needs to tell you if your baby’s ugly or you’ve got bad (corporate) breath. So here are some blunt yet truthful thoughts for your business, and perhaps you:

Many people are simply not comfortable walking into a room full of strangers and striking up conversations. Here are five common stumbling blocks that you may face and tips to help you overcome them.

A RELUCTANCE TO TALK TO STRANGERS. You were taught at an early age not to speak to people you don't know. It's not safe. In certain situations today this is still good advice. In business, however, talking to strangers is a way to generate interest and support for your products and services. If you only talk to people you already know, you will miss out on opportunities to make new connections and establish valuable contacts.

To get past your discomfort in talking to strangers, set a goal for yourself before you attend any networking event. Decide how many new contacts you want to make or how many strangers you want to meet. In some cases, you may specifically target individuals whom you'd like to know.

Next come up with some icebreakers or conversation starters. Have questions prepared that you can ask anyone you meet at event. You may want to inquire about other people's business, their connection to sponsoring organization or their opinion of venue.

LACK OF A FORMAL INTRODUCTION. It's much easier to make a new contact when there is someone else to handle introduction and pave way. If you wait for another person to make move you may not meet anyone. At networking events, goal is to meet as many people as possible.

This is time to take bull by horns, walk up to people you don't know, introduce yourself and start a conversation. You can do this if you have prepared your self-introduction in advance.