whenever someone asks why do businesses fail I have a simple answer;
here’s how it happens
1. the entrepreneur guesses what the market wants
2. they follow conventional ‘business advice’ and do everything everyone else does
which means they tackle the wrong tasks, in the wrong order. and they get lost in the marketing noise.
BECAUSE their business is unique.
in other words, they’ve got THEIR specific process wrong.
when you ask why do businesses fail remember this:
doing everything “right” kills more businesses than you can imagine
read that again.
because COUNTLESS entrepreneurs building their businesses tell me stuff like;
“I followed X’s steps and it didn’t work”
“I don’t know how to fit this part of X’s program into my business – what am I missing?”
here’s the deal.
In the last decade of officially consulting entrepreneurs not ONCE have we stuck to ONE program, outline, method or strategy.
EVERY single time we create a specific, specialized combination of all the greatest tools, techniques, methods and strategies. We package the best of the best and fit it into their unique business model.
back to you
if you want to avoid business failure here’s what I suggest;
don’t get caught up believing in your product too soon
let’s talk about that. because I’m guessing it’s a shock to hear me say “don’t believe in your product”
so let me explain. because it's important to why businesses fail.
whenever I see people struggle with marketing and selling their product, I hear words like “passionate” “vision” “determination”.
nothing wrong with that.
but the problem is, most entrepreneurs (me included) are blind.
we fall in love with our product. we often have a vision no-one else shares.
so we spend years building a product/service and then go to sell it. crickets.
if reading this stings – good. you need to hear it.
because it's why businesses fail. and it's my job as a consultant. I tell the hard truth so you get out of the trap and get moving on the way to success and profit.
onward.
even though we need passion, commitment and a big vision for the future…it’s extremely dangerous when we hold on too tight.
ask me how I know.
after pushing thousands of entrepreneurs out of their comfort zone for this long, I’d be crazy not to see a pattern that answers the why do businesses fail question.
all of this means one thing.
most often we (entrepreneurs) don’t listen to the market. we don’t listen to what people really want. we don’t analyze negative feedback.
which is another reason why businesses fail.
negative feedback might not be easy to detect. because it’s not always “doubtingdan68” spittin’ hate bomb comments.
negative feedback might be as simple as nobody’s opting in to our stuff.
so what do we do?
we need to turn the passion, commitment and vision into a positive feedback loop.
here’s how:
1 understand the customer’s needs
2 commit to honest intellectual learning based on what the market is “saying”
the reason I’m telling you this is because I see so many entrepreneurs who need help – they build the “Field of Dreams”
remember the Kevin Costner movie?
“build it and they will come”
no.
they won’t.
here’s how you build a product/service that sells effortlessly;
1. ask the market what they want
2. interpret what they really need
3. create the irresistible solution/offer
“duh Joey, tell me something I don’t know”
ok, let me break it down for you with this example
Henry Ford famously said “if I asked the market what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse”
Instead, he understood the market wanted to get to where they want to go FASTER.
THAT was the real pain and problem. NOT the horse.
So he created a better way of transportation.
Make sense?
which means our job as visionary entrepreneurs is to interpret the pain people have. and the problem it presents in their life.
and create a solution around that
THEN they’ll come.
THEN they’ll buy.
anyhoo…
…just an outpour of my own love and passion to serve – I know I went on and on and on. but it’s difficult watching so many people follow the same path to nowhere and why businesses fail.
I hope this serves you.
Joey