The Tribune

By SIMON COOPER

Res Socius

THIS week's article is directed more towards Internet entrepreneurs, although the comparisons to land-based businesses are there, too. Besides, many Bahamians are already out there on the web, and their businesses are starting to attract good resale prices, too.

I guess we have all heard the story of how Thomas Edison conducted a thousand experiments before his first bulb glowed properly, while all the time his mother called out: "Thomas. Why don't you get a decent job?" An item on Open Forum recently reminded me that Walt Disney was fired from his first job because "he lacked imagination", that Henry Ford's first two car companies failed, and that the first four Macy's stores failed, too.

These entrepreneurs did not fail themselves, though. They just lacked the experience they needed to succeed, and the serrated blade of business failure was what delivered it. The difference is that they did not waste time fretting and give up. They picked themselves up, made a note of what went wrong that time, and became the legends they still are.

An old wife's tale says that business people "need hair on their chests to come out on top", and that's still largely true today, although the feminists would rightly decapitate me if I dared forget the quotes. These days we'd more likely say they benefit from a few battle scars, although the likes of that fellow that started Facebook do prove the exception.

There are two main reasons why businesses fail. These are a tendency for concentrating on the input side, and a penchant for hiring friends and family members. I'll dispose of the last one first. If you absolutely have to hire someone you know socially, for heaven's sake have a formal job description, and separate yourself from the decision process. In other words, use a broker, albeit a different kind from me. Or else: "Hello battle scars. Welcome to the pack!"

Many hands-on specialists make the mistake of believing they inherited the raw skills to run a business. By this I mean that they imagine folk will buy their goods and services because they are so well made. In so doing they unwittingly concentrate on the input side, as opposed to figuring out why customers want them in the first place - in other words, why their outputs are desirable.

No matter what kind of business you go into, you are going to make mistakes, as sure as you are going to exceed the speed limit no matter how carefully you drive. The secret is not to ignore what happened - facing up to failure and its causes is the only way to learn. Trust me, I have had my failures too, from time to time.

The difference lies in the way I've learned to deal with them. Learn from them, and move forward without unnecessary remorse. And that's why you should not fret about a failure when it happens in your life. Regard it as a useful lesson instead.

NB: Simon Cooper is a founding partner of Res Socius, a business brokerage firm and businesses for sale directory service. Res Socius is authorised by the Bahamas Investment Authority to facilitate the sale and purchase of businesses and provide consultancy services. Contact 376-1256 or visit www.ressocius.com.