1 | Tweets that mention Entrepreneurs Blog » Blog Archive » Mark Rhodes writes: “I never Fail, that is why I am a Success!” -- Topsy.com

July 19th, 2010 at 12:57

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Robert Daley, Entrepreneurs BA. Entrepreneurs BA said: Mark Rhodes writes: "I never Fail, that is why I am a Success!" – http://bit.ly/bpl0Fz [...]

2 | Steve Hooper

July 22nd, 2010 at 01:59

Great post, the industry I am looking at starting my business in there are a lot of people who think along these lines but again I have a realistic head on my shoulders that says this will not happen! Understanding that it takes time to build a business is one thing but my question would have to be how do you plan a business that will need customers to know if it is going to be a success or not.

For example with a brand new product into a market that has never seen anything like it before, no matter how much advertising there is a chance that is taken that it might not work. With this in mind where is that magic line drawn where you cut your losses and run away?

By the way the days I learn the most are the days I fail!

3 | Mark Rhodes

July 23rd, 2010 at 16:04

Hi Steve,

Firstly thanks for your feedback and comments on the post. You’ve asked two things here:

(1) How do you plan a business that will need customers to know if it is going to be a success or not.

Most people usually find a way to test the market with a sample audience, be that business contacts, friends, family members. In order to get a sense that you are not the only one who thinks it is a great idea. However you have to be a little careful here – firstly the people you use to sound out or test the idea must be in your target market. Secondly you have to be aware that friends and family sometimes are protective and will say things like “Are you sure this is going to work?” and then cause you to doubt yourself and your idea. I often say we should look to take advice from experts, too often people have a great idea, ask family and friends who have less ambition and lower goals who don’t get our world or mindset and then believe it when those very people doubt our ideas. You need to float the idea past some people and see what they think, often people are over protective that someone might steal your idea. One of the things James Caan often talks about is that ‘if your idea can be easily copied without plans, designs or specifications then it may not be that good of an idea.’

(2) For example with a brand new product into a market that has never seen anything like it before, no matter how much advertising there is a chance that is taken that it might not work. With this in mind where is that magic line drawn where you cut your losses and run away?

There is no magic answer to that one that I am aware of – it comes down really to how much belief you have in the idea, and how long you can keep going with it financially and emotionally. Most people give up far too soon. Many people have huge success after keeping going when pretty much everyone else would have given up. I once heard someone say that Colonel Sanders slept in his car travelling the USA for 2 years and visiting something like 1,100 restaurants until one finally agreed to trial his recipe, he was at retirement age at the time. I also heard that one of the most successful book series of all time “Chicken Soup for the Soul” was turned down by something like 144 publishers before one said yes.

Mark Rhodes, a Millionaire Mentor the EBA, presenting at tomorrow’s seminar.

Email any other questions for Mark to experts@the-eba.com