Gene H. Irwin
Announcing the creation of the "3D-Business Launch Model"
You have been wanting to "Start Your Own Business" for quite some time. Problem is, that's the wrong goal. Before you reach for the delete button, read (hear) me out. We all have a tendency to start things, most of which don't get finished, at least not in the best quality possible. Stating the objective as "Starting a Business" is on par with the phrase "I'm going to College". That too, is also the wrong goal. Let me prove it to you.
For more than 35 years, I've worked with several high-tech companies, and evaluated over 3,000 companies to help acquire them for investors. That process is known as the "Mergers & Acquisitions" market, and entails a lot of investigation of the Company, Industry, Market and potential for the future. It also requires something called an analysis of the "FAIR MARKET VALUE" of the business. That's an intense evaluation of the performance of the company based on its financial numbers and history. I've written a book about that process which can be found on Amazon and Forbes books,"The Secret of Exiting Your Business".
The purpose and creation of the "3D-Business Launch Model" is to teach new business owners how to create and develop the 3 major ways to start a business. They include STARTUP, ACQUISITION, and buying a FRANCHISE. Each of these ways to open and run a business require different talents, abilities and various amounts of money and staff.
In addition to the Mergers & Acquisitions process stated above, I've created businesses, bought franchises, sold franchises, bought software companies and helped to take 3 companies public through the IPO (Initial Public Offering) process. I helped to create more than $275 million in sales and contracts. I have a BS degree in Chemical Engineering, and MS work in Mechanical Engineering, Thermodynamics, and Nuclear Engineering.
In my humble opinion, those credentials qualify me to be an expert in advising people to understand what it takes to create a successful and profitable business, especially in explaining in detail the process of creating "Your Own Home-Based Business".
The reason "Why starting a business is the wrong goal" as featured in this blog post is because it's doomed to fail. Everybody starts something, and then stops it. Here are some examples: "Our daughter is the first person from our family to go to college". "Our son decided after high school to start a soft drink vending route".
What do you think about when you have heard someone say "he/she is the first person from our family to go to college, or I'm going to college”? Yup, it's like that. They think their goal is to go to college. Let's look the success rate of doing that, because you and I can think of people who went to college and failed. Oh, I don't mean they failed in their courses with bad grades (some do), but they failed to set the proper goal and in doing so set themselves up to fail. So, what is the proper goal for going to school? Simple. "Go to college and graduate!"
There are many challenges one faces when starting a new business. This is also true for starting a business or going to school. The National student clearinghouse reports* show that by the end of 4 years, only 42.1% completed their college degree. That means nearly 60% failed to graduate in that 4-year period. I can hear what you're about to say: "...well, Gene that has nothing to do with starting a business!"
Au contraire my friend, because it has everything to do with starting a business. Let me prove it to you. Before I move on from our college-bound kids let me give you one more statistic. Those of you who want to go to college and expect to work part time to put yourself through college need to know that the numbers are nothing short of catastrophic. At the end of 4 years only 19.4% graduated. Obviously, part-timers, that means more than 80% fail to graduate in 4 years. Sobering statistics.
The sources and references I'm quoting below for "Starting a Business" include the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Harvard business school, Wall Street Journal and Forbes.
By the end of the 7th year that somebody "starts a business", the failure rate is 58%. Well, this massive failure rate stuff isn't good. You want to build a business that is a successful, and be sustainable, but you have 65% to 75% probability of failing in less than 10 years. So, if "starting a new business" isn't the right goal, then what is? If you're serious, meticulous, and focused in the details, you want to: "Create a successful and profitable business!"
Anyone can "start" a business. Think lemonade stands, shoeshine boxes, selling candy or Girl Scout cookies. Those are examples of starting (and stopping) a miniature business. When it's about dinnertime, those would-be business owners close up shop and head home. There is an inevitable reality with people who start things. At some point, they want to stop them. It's similar to losing weight. Subconsciously, we want to find something we lost. It's human nature. Perhaps "giving away" weight is better, rather than losing it. Just sayin'.
I normally don't assign myself as the author of a quote but I think this might work: "If our driving force is to create something, there is something magical in the concept, a pledge to build something that didn't exist before, a defined purpose that is greater than your own." Gene H. Irwin
If you're going to dream about a successful company, make it a great one, so that the rest of us can come along and applaud you! Success brings about more success, and people who create with focus cause more people to succeed! Successful efforts are contagious.
So, how do we do that, "create a successful and profitable business?" There are only three (3) ways I that know how we can do that. It is something I've coined years ago as the "3D Business Launch Model", or 3D-BLM for short. it's actually pretty simple and obvious when you consider you can:
a) Start from scratch and create a "Successful and Profitable Business";
b) Acquire a business to improve its "Success Through a Profitable Acquisition";
c) Adopt a proven strategy in a territory by buying a well-known Franchise.
If you go to the YOUTUBE channel, and lookup either Gene H. Irwin, or 3D Business Launch Model, you will find a video entitled "3D-BLM Franchise Development" or find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60kEn6GeGcs .
In it, you will find a wealth of information about franchise operations and also a very detailed look at a company that I recommend you use in all of your considerations for franchise operations. Those of you who are interested in franchise operations will find this information a treasure chest of knowledge. (PS. The Franchise Business Model contains a lot of expense, traps, detailed rules one must follow and challenges for all but the very wealthy of us. Trust me when I say this from an insider's point of view. It is a very complex world, which is why I created the video. Please watch it if Franchises are your interest.)
To put it another way in which we may think about our options in creating a business are to:
1) Going alone without a blueprint or an example to follow (i.e., Startup);
2) Buy a business to add to our unique perspective to make it better (i.e., acquisition);
3) Adopt or adapt a proven strategy in a protected area or territory via franchise
Regardless of how you work your way through the questions of which direction to take, there are 4 VERY BIG hurdles to get past, if you are to "Create, Succeed and Profit":
How long is this going to take?
How much will it cost to build and sustain?
Can I do all of this myself… Or can I afford to get expert help?
Which business model should I pick: Start up; Acquisition; Franchise?
Let’s approach this from the 3D Business Launch Model©, or 3D BLM approach:
For the purposes of this brief introduction let’s set some sales volume or pricing parameters so we are talking about the same types of opportunities. Most of the clients I represented in the “divestiture” position were experts of running their business, but not of selling it.
In this example, the majority of business owners were already invested in time and effort with revenue up to $100 Million. They sought my advice in how to (a) sell it to their employees, (b) sell it to their family members in a “generational-type” sale; or (c) in most cases, have it acquired by a 3rd party, many of whom were NOT located in the United States.
MERGERS & ACQUISTION DEVELOPMENT MODEL
For acquisitions in this introduction of the course development, let’s assume YOU are in a position to acquire a business which will cost between $10,000 and $10 Million. Believe it or not, the acquisition steps are almost identical in this small and large price range. A key element in the Acquisition Model is to learn about, and understand in detail, the concept mentioned earlier of the FAIR MARKET VALUE. Basically, it means understanding that what the seller is selling, is usually NOT what the buyer is buying. (See my comments in this free video: https://youtu.be/DQg3BCFqvhM).
FRANCHISE DEVELOPMENT MODEL
Building a business through a proven Franchise model is the one “most likely” to succeed, but not necessarily the most profitable one for you. We will talk later about the FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document) and the complexities of owning a franchise, but many people choose this route. See my comments in this video: "3D-BLM Franchise Development Recommendations." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60kEn6GeGcs
START-UP and DEVELOPMENT MODEL
Similar to “going to college” or “starting a business”, most Start-Up business models have a high risk of failure. We will now focus on some of those areas first, because the things which tend to cause business failures are actually easier to spot and, in some cases, overcome, in start-up models rather than having to change the culture of a newly acquired company / new division / new franchise in order to solve the problem. Introduction to the 3D-BLM process: https://youtu.be/ehaJ450Y1Uk
One of my favorite quotes comes from a theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein, who said:
“We can’t solve a problem by using the same type of thinking we used to create it.”
Here are some of the more common reasons why businesses (of all types) fail:
Cash flow Management is neglected;
Lack of client loyalty, due to the ease of availability of (perceived) resources on the internet;
Failure to adequately market their products and/or service via technology and online;
Increased competition and/or lack of “Unique Value Proposition”;
Lack of Marketing and Focus on the Customer’s issues and needs amid rapid change;
Uncertainty in State and Federal Regulations;
Doesn’t understand company SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats);
Doesn’t know how to generate new client / customer leads and manage “Cost Per Lead” CPL;
Staffing isn’t strategically planned far in advance of anticipated growth;
Undercapitalized (not enough money, cash, credit lines for long-term growth);
The market has changed, and company fails to keep up (think Sears, K-Mart, Toys R Us, etc.);
Somewhere in all of the words you’ve read thus far are the ingredients for the “secret sauce” in creating your new business into a massive success. The recipe is boiled down to 4 “P” ingredients:
PASSION (Your commitment to follow through on your goals);
PRODUCT (Your product might by physical, intellectual or some type of service);
PEOPLE (Those who work in the business, support it, and become avid customers);
PROFIT (If you don’t have a profit, you don’t have a business… you have a hobby);
I’ve thrown a lot at you in this brief blog post, which talks about the pitfalls of being self-employed. Subscribe, call or email us to have FREE access to several videos which solve most of these problems for you, and may help you determine which course of action may be most beneficial to you in your “Creation of a Successful and Profitable Business”!
Successfully,
Gene H. Irwin
ghigfac@aol.com
(800) 750-8767
* Completions Report – Yearly Success and Progress Rates Causey, J., Pevitz, A., Ryu, M., Scheetz, A., & Shapiro, D. (Feb 2022), Completing College: National and State Report on Six Year Completion Rates for Fall 2015 Beginning Cohort (Signature Report 20), Herndon, VA: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. by NSC Research Center February 2022
Details of your First Home Business: htpps://gene-irwin.mykajabi.com/homebusiness
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