"If You Build It..." they might NOT come!!!

If you build it….they might not come!

Some time ago an acquaintance of mine received troubling news of the reduction in force by his employer. His management job was subsequently eliminated in the wake of broad cost-cutting measures. Fortunately this man was able to rebound quickly and worked diligently to scrape up financing and open a small business in his hometown – abandoning corporate America to live the American Dream of business ownership. But just over a year later, his business is faltering, and instead of “living the dream,” it was more like enduring a nightmare. What went wrong? How could this accomplished manager leap from the frying pan into the fire? Like many entrepreneurs, this man believed that, like the cinematic Field of Dreams, all that is necessary is to open for business (“build it”) and customers will immediately flock there and make it a success. Few things can be less true, especially in today’s ultra-competitive marketplace.

Today, not only is the mere presence of a new enterprise or business NOT a guarantee of success, but in this climate of economic downturn and fiscal contraction even well-established businesses are struggling for their very survival. Standby establishments in nearly every community across America are slashing prices, staff, and in many cases closing their doors forever. If you “build it” they might not come after all. Existence does not guarantee success. Even firms with fantastic products and services at competitive prices does ensure or in any way guarantee success. And firms with poor customer service don’t stand a chance!

Businesses today must do far more than open their doors, offer good products and have great customer service. They must market effectively, establish and maintain a web-presence (even those that have products and services that don’t easily lend themselves to web-merchandising), and most of all successful business today must have a proven “SYSTEM” of operation that has been tested over time to give positive results, even in difficult economic climates.

Wise entrepreneurs are not withdrawing during this economic cycle. Rather they are searching for these proven business models with well-developed systems of operations, and products and services that are either immune to economic downturns, or better yet are “counter-cyclical” to negative economic trends. Clever business people see this downward trending economy as the golden opportunity to buy right, build wisely and enjoy a great reward, but only with products and services that have demonstrated success in troubling economic times, and only with proven systems of operation. There simply isn’t a learning curve opportunity that allows business development in today’s marketplace.

At Access Education we are proud to have services that have proven systems of success and have counter-cyclical tendencies. Our last blog discussed these business types in detail. We’re enjoying growth and expansion today, because we don’t blindly assume that building or opening assures success.