What makes the difference between a successful business and one that you pour years, your money, your soul and your family's soul into only to become another business failure statistic in 2-5 years? Why do some people work like we do, out of the garage, basement or dining room, and end up a "million billionaires", while you end up losing your house?
Why? My company had its shining moments, we had a good product/service and, in fact, the first four or so years showed we were headed for success. So, what happened? As much as I hate to ask why and less like to face the answers, I discovered the answer, the secret, the key to success while face down in the mud.
It was the day after we had to close the business and my world was dark. Winter was turning slowly to spring and by that I mean the 8 foot wall of grey ice next to our driveway was finally beginning to melt. I had read every "power of positive thinking" book out there and some twice while trying to convince myself that there was a silver lining. I kept asking myself why I had failed. All comparisons to Edison's 6,000+ light bulb tries failed to cheer me up. I was supposed to be successful. I had watched others succeed and had confidentially joked with them that I would invite them to my castle in Ireland someday. Now, my hopes for someday seemed to be "never-ever day." What had I missed? The answer would not come and the pain of failure was sharp making it difficult to even breathe.
I did what a lot of people do when they need to think. I decided to go for a walk. After all, I had no business to claim my time and nothing else to do. I walked along seeing the beauty of the mountains forcing myself to be grateful. Look at the positive side; I said to myself, finally after years of working 70 hours a week now at least I had time to take a walk.
Suddenly, as if the world dropped off in front of my feet I fell, face down into a pool of post-thaw snow mud. I just lied there in the mud and wondered why I should get up. When I was finished feeling sorry for myself and grieving my lost business I suddenly knew why I had failed. It hit me right there in the mud exactly what the one strategy of success we had neglected which had caused the lack of success, the failure. It was embarrassing. We had a good product/service but it all had come down not doing this one thing. I had gotten so busy that I had forgotten, put off, not placed the importance into "marketing" my product/service. How many years had I wasted in doing the efforts of business only to find at the end that my product/service was worthless when not sold into the hands of consumers? If consumers did not know about my product then I wasn't selling and if my product wasn't selling than I did not have a business. Like me, I thought, as I started extricating myself from the tear and snow laden mud, with no business.
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