Starting your own company can be one of the most rewarding experiences in business, but it isn't without its challenges.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, about 12 percent of new businesses fail each year. Lack of capital, poor location, failure to manage inventory, poor planning and inexperience are among the most commonly cited causes of business failure.

But one way to make your business successful is to focus on generating recurring revenue from the get go.

Businesses take in revenue each time they make a sale or provide some service. As business owners, we can do lots of things to entice customers to come in to make a purchase, but it is ultimately the customer's decision whether to spend their money.

As a result, revenue can go up and down drastically month to month. Such swings make it hard to plan and manage expenses.

Under a recurring revenue model, customers make regular purchases, creating a steady cash flow for the business owner. Such a model means that you can better plan how much revenue will come in each month and and better manage your expenses.

Also, lenders and investors love businesses that generate recurring revenue, as they can see exactly how much money a business will make. This means when you go to the bank for a start up loan or to expand your business, you are more likely to get that loan and more likely to get a better interest rate.

That leaves a key question unanswered: How do you create a recurring revenue model?

Well, some businesses are naturally linked to recurring revenue models. Fitness clubs are a prime example. Members sign up and agree to pay monthly fees for access to the club's facilities. Those fees produce recurring revenue.

And most clubs require members to maintain their membership for a certain period or they face exit fees, meaning that even when the club loses a customer, it gets a small bump in revenue equal to a few months' membership fees.

This is basically the model American Support follows. As a provider of contact center support services, our customers pay for our service on a monthly basis. As a result, we know each month about how much revenue we will be taking in, and that knowledge has helped us grow as a company and has enabled us to take on debt to expand.

Another great example of a recurring revenue model that is less obvious is consumables. Grocery stores know that people are going to have to buy more food each week, meaning customers will regularly return to the store for more food.

Even some durable products require consumable components. Printers, for example, tend to last years at a time, but ink runs out, meaning customers will have to make additional purchases.

As you explore opportunities for your small business, be sure to keep in mind opportunities to generate recurring revenue. The more recurring revenue you can generate, the less likely you are to suffer from swings in revenue and the more able you are to plan for future growth.

As President & CEO, Matt Zemon brings over 20 years of operations, billing and customer service experience to American Support.  American Support is the nation's only complete provider of back-office services to the telecommunications industry, supporting our country by providing an alternative to offshore labor. Matt has been named one of Triangle Business Journal's 40 under 40 while American Support is included in CableFax's "Top 10 places in the cable industry to work" and WorldBlu's "Most Democratic Organizations".

Have a question about your business plan for Matt? Ask here. Your question/answer may be printed in a future issue.