Shortcomings of Business Systems

By | July 6, 2017




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Why True Entrepreneurs Avoid Business Systems Like the Plague

 

What makes your business model unique? Are you plugging into a business system somebody else created, or are you designing a business model of your own?

I include this question to forewarn you about business systems that I consider “turn-key businesses.”

Anybody can start a turn-key business because everything is in place right from the start. This means you mustn’t decide what product or service to sell, or even how to sell it. You simply follow the procedures of the business system.

Receiving your marching orders from the corporate office or your “upline” removes some of the burden of business. You don’t necessarily have to think about what you’re doing–you have only to do it.

Another plus? You know the system you’re using works; if you do everything precisely as it’s prescribed, then you really don’t have near the number of things to worry about as the business person who starts from scratch.

The question becomes: Are turn-key business systems more beneficial than businesses built from the ground up?

On the one side you have a proven formula–something that works every time as long as you follow the steps. You’re virtually guaranteed success at one level or another.

But, on the downside, you will pay for your use of the system. Franchise owners have to pay franchise fees to the founder of the business for their use of the system. Network marketers usually pay above-market prices for the products they use. And people like me who bought into a business system unlike franchises or network marketing paid exorbitant amounts of money on the front end just to get started.

The biggest expense of all, though, is the stifling of your creativity.

Keep in mind that when you use another person’s business system, you’ll have very little say in how to improve the business. While some companies may welcome your suggestions and ideas, you’ll still be powerless to implement them. Why? Because the recipe for success has already been decided and the founder of the business doesn’t want you messing it up.

In addition, because the parent companies of business systems often (but not always) have public images to maintain and public investors to please, they want uniformity on every front. They don’t want some maverick waving his banner for the whole world to see.

Another thing you should always consider when evaluating any business system is the competition you’ll face. You’ll not only compete against similar businesses within your particular market, you’ll also compete with your own business!

For instance, let’s look at network marketing, a form of business I’m very familiar with due to my three years’ involvement with two different network marketing companies….

Most network marketing companies have international markets. As an associate of one of these companies, I can sign up anybody I meet. Any person in any country in any state or city is fair game because network marketing companies don’t have sales territories.

That means the average network marketer faces massive internal competition (competition from within the same company). A group of ten network marketing sales associates might contact or solicit the same exact person all within a month’s time. Or, if a particular area is saturated with associates, they might begin contacting each other!

And how about the vending business I bought into? They gave me a sales territory based on zip codes, but they treated it very loosely. They told me I could really place my machines anywhere I wanted to, but to try to stay close to my territory.

To this day I believe the “sales territory” they gave me was merely part of the sales pitch to convince people like me who recognize the potential hazard one might face from competition within a single parent company.

The advantage the maverick businessman has is total creativity. He creates the product or service, starts the business, writes the policies–he has total freedom. He’s not checked by corporate executives. He’s not bound by by the rules and regulations of a parent company or corporate office.

Of course the do-it-yourselfer will run into more obstacles than the person who uses a business system. But the potential rewards are far greater for the do-it-yourselfer because he doesn’t pay exorbitant prices for the use of a business system.

Best of all, the do-it-yourselfer can immediately implement any ideas he has for improving his business. He answers only to himself. “Will this idea improve my service? Will I draw more customers if I implement this?” And so he simply does what makes the most sense for the long-term success of his business.

You can’t put a price tag on freedom. I know on the surface it may not seem like a big deal, but just wait until you’re in business for yourself… you’ll want the freedom.

So why do I place this huge emphasis on the freedom to be creative? Because in the world of business, creativity and innovation are king.

If you’re merely a copy, or if your business is merely a duplicate, then your time is numbered. But if you’re the original, the maverick, the trailblazer–then your long-term success will be that much more probable.




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A Quick Note from Me to You

Congratulations! You’ve just gained volumes of knowledge that will serve to protect you in any new business endeavor you decide to undertake. Furthermore, you just learned in less than one hour what it took me six years to figure out!

Once you’ve found a business you think you’d like to pursue, I encourage you to visit again.

Something may jump out at you that you overlooked before. And you may find that reviewing Start a Business Guide will help you in your decision-making process.




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