There is a real attraction to purchasing a "business in a box" system.
To someone who has never undertaken the journey of business creation before, it seems logical that the steps could be laid out for you and the ground plowed ahead of you to guide you every step of the way, for just a one-time fee of $999.00
Think of all the time you'll save and the headaches you'll avoid if you don't have to research and actually learn what starting a business is all about!
What you may be overlooking, however, are gigantic business creation problems and voids that must be solved for every company.
How is the seller's motivation, previous business experience, knowledge, and lack of understanding about the specific business subject going to impact the fundamentals of the new business?
Here are the specific shortcomings I see in the typical pre-packaged startup product:
1. What is the seller's motivation? These products are designed, first and foremost, as a moneymaker for their owner. He sells you his system, makes his profit by getting your money upfront, and often could then care less whether you (his customer) ever make a dime.
2. Usually, the "cookie cutter" business that you're buying is a one-size-fits-all model. OK, maybe you can make a few sales in the beginning, but soon the market becomes totally saturated for your product and there are no new customers looking to buy your offering.
3. None of these systems take into consideration the business operating skill of the owner.
I know a very savvy business investor who controls millions of dollars in a private venture capital fund (for new business startups.) He once told me his philosophy on finding great startup companies to invest in was to "bet on the jockey, not the horse."
That may not be the best advice for picking the winner of a thoroughbred race, mind you, but in analyzing business startups, it really makes sense.
What was he saying? It's this: the subject or topic of a new business is usually not as critical to financial success as the skill and know-how of the operator.
My years of daily experience in small business development lead me to the very same conclusion.
Some people just seem to know how to make business after business thrive . . . they have the Midas golden touch when it comes to making money. They know how to operate companies.
Of course, it goes without saying that good businesses have to have products or services that are valued and in demand.
But the greater variable in business sustainability and profitability seems to be the skill and ability of the owner to successfully execute his/her operations.
4. Most business packages are doomed from the start because the purchaser is not given the tools and help needed to be a good business operator.
Enticing sales pitches thick with emotion appeal to the greed and laziness that exists in most people. These types of promises can be hard to ignore.
Let's face it; we've all been fed the great lie about how easy it is to own a profitable online business.
It is that anyone can get rich very quickly by simply following some online system laid out for the owner who will then follow along and mindlessly reap huge financial rewards.
The underlying lie is disguised as "kick back as the cash rolls in."
That just won't happen.
You see, small businesses are successful because the operator knows how to execute his business model and he knows (or learns) how to entice prospects and deliver to them exactly what they are looking for.
In a business package, these skills and traits can not be passed on by the vendor. You buy his product, but you don't get him or his execution.
