According to Business Optimization Strategist, Stephen Pierce, there are three (3) primary reasons why people fail on the Internet:

1. Lack of Structure

2. Lack of Systems

3. Lack of Skills

However, the lack of these three Ss is not just a reason why online businesses fail. It’s also a reason why offline businesses fail as well.

Business Structure

The structure of a business provides a framework for how the company will be operated and there can be several ways of looking at how to structure a business. For instance, a business can be set up as a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporation and there are pros and cons for each type of business structure.

Some companies are built around having lots and lots of employees while other multi-million dollar businesses have very few employees. For example, Internet Marketing Expert Armand Morin who reported generates about $ 20 million dollars per annum from his Internet activities has just seven members of staff. As you can imagine this greatly enhances the profitability of his companies.

Most businesses have very humble origins but it’s important to have a clear vision of how you see your business growing in the future. This will affect how you structure your business. The structure that you choose for your business will be flexible enough to grow as your business grows. It should also be a structure that allows you to maximise your business profits.

Business Systems

Brad Semp of CashMap Systems is also of the view that systems are critical to entrepreneurial success. The problem is that many people are intimidated by systems. Yet, the best systems are designed to make your life easier not more complicated.

“Systems are very powerful and the most powerful systems are simple ones.”
Brad Semp

Business systems are just the processes you use to carry out various tasks in your business. So on one level you are already automatically creating systems in your business. It’s just that they might not be the best and most effective systems.

Documenting the steps involved in all the tasks that you do on a daily basis will provide clarity as to where and how your time is being spent. And, once you’ve achieved this you can then evaluate and improve your systems.

You’ll also be able to see where your time could be better spent and the things that you can outsource. The challenge with the latter is that you can’t properly outsource if you’ve no clear idea of what you’re doing.

With effective business systems in place you’ll have a step-by-step process that you or anyone else in your business can repeatedly follow to achieve consistent results. You’ll be able to focus on money-making or income generating tasks rather than busy work.

With the right systems in place you can focus on working on your business rather than in it. And you’ll have the confidence that should you want to take time away from your business that others can efficiently continue to run your business and make money even in your absence.

Business Skills

“The reason people are losing money is because they don’t have the right business skills and tools.”
Keith Cunningham

The above statement holds true whether there’s an economic downturn or whether the global economy is thriving. There’re many entrepreneurs and business owners who are continuing to make a lot of money even although there is a recession. And, even those who may have lost money, the amount of money they have lost compared to other business owners is relatively small.

It’s a times like this when entrepreneurs and business owners need to be most flexible. It’s easy to make money when the going is good. It requires greater skill to make money when the going is bad.

It has been said that there are four (4) ways to make money. You can make money as:

1. An Employee,

2. A Self-Employed Person,

3. A Business Owner, or

4. An Investor.

Now the wealthiest individuals are those who are able to make money in all four ways. Take Warren Buffett for example. He is known as an investor but he is also a business owner, he is also self-employed and he is also an employee.

So a key to business success and to creating wealth is to develop your skill set so that you can successfully be any one of these four. This means you’ll have to continue to improve and expand your skills and invest in your continued personal and professional development.