| Finally, someone has put pen to paper and written | | | | planning and doing all the things you need to do to |
| an article on how to fail in business. | | | | get this baby off the ground. |
| Thank God. | | | | If you've ever kick started a business you'll know |
| We all know the scary figures. Within the first | | | | exactly what I'm talking about here. |
| year 80% of new business fail which means 20% | | | | It's all pure adrenalin. |
| don't. | | | | Stage 2: The Avoidance Stage. |
| And... after 5 years, 80% of the 20% that didn't | | | | This is the stage where you start avoiding the |
| fail, do fail. | | | | things that you don't like doing. |
| Are you clear on that? Good, let's move on. | | | | Things like cash flows, setting up accounts, |
| It's 80/20 rule. You know, the Pareto principal. | | | | learning accounting software, thinking about which |
| The what Principal? | | | | software to buy, writing job descriptions, talking |
| Vilfredo Federico Damaso Pareto (July 15, 1848, | | | | to bank managers, etc, etc. The list is endless. |
| Paris - August 19, 1923, Geneva) was a | | | | Incidentally, this is the best time to interrupt the |
| French-Italian sociologist, economist and | | | | failure cycle and move back to the excitement |
| philosopher and all round clever guy. | | | | stage. |
| Wikipedia describes the Pareto principal as - | | | | Stage 3: The Excuses Phase |
| "The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 | | | | This is the stage where you come up with |
| rule, the law of the vital few and the principle of | | | | reasons, excuses & stories for why you |
| factor sparsity) states that, for many events, | | | | didn't do the things you know you should have |
| 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the | | | | done to be successful. |
| causes" Disappointing really, we've failed to tell the | | | | Stage 4: The Blame Phase |
| world how to fail. | | | | This is the last stage in the failure process. This is |
| We're failures!! | | | | the one where the dismal business results are |
| What is a Business? | | | | externalized and they become someone else's |
| Many business owners DON'T have a business... if | | | | fault. |
| they don't turn up for work, nothing actually | | | | We've all heard them. |
| happens. | | | | I couldn't get the right staff, my suppliers let me |
| What they do have is a job | | | | down, my office was in the wrong part of town, |
| I would describe a business as a commercial, | | | | etc, etc. |
| profitable enterprise that works with, or without | | | | To summerise, failure is a result of four primary |
| you. | | | | factors. |
| So... How Does One Fail in Business? | | | | 1. Wrong goals. |
| It's nowhere near as hard as it sounds. | | | | 2. Unclear focus. |
| The failure of a business is basically four stages. | | | | 3. No action plan. |
| Stage 1: The Excitement Stage. | | | | 4. Mental barriers. |
| This is where your romantic dream of owning | | | | So there you have it, the blueprint to failure. |
| your own business starts to become a reality. | | | | It's not so hard is it? After all, many have |
| The sleepless nights & excitement filled days | | | | succeeded. |