Believe me, I know.

The final contributing factor to death of sixty-three percent of businesses who died from bad management was that owners had no relevant or applicable business experience.

Bad financial planning was second reason sited by survey as to why most businesses fail. In business, it's always about money. According to U.S. Bank study, eighty-two percent of business failures studied reported poor cash flow management as a contributing factor to death of business.

Seventy-nine percent of businesses were inadequately funded, and seventy-seven percent miscalculated cost of doing business. In other words, they failed to take into account all of costs involved when setting price for their products.

Let's move on to my favorite subject: bad marketing. You've heard me preach this sermon before. You can have greatest product in world, but if your marketing efforts are inadequate or ineffective you will end up with a warehouse full of greatest product that no one in world has ever heard of.

The study showed that bad marketing was a contributing factor in death of sixty-four percent of businesses surveyed. Many of these misguided entrepreneurs either minimized importance of marketing and promotion or ignored it totally.

A vital part of marketing is knowing who your competition is and always knowing what they are up to. The entrepreneur who ignores his competition is a fool (gee, was that too harsh?) and is always destined to fail, as proven by fifty-five percent of dead businesses in survey who either didn't even know who their competition was or simply chose to ignore competition altogether.

Here's a nice hole in sand for you, sir.

Please insert your head…

Another mistake made by forty-seven percent of deceased businesses was that they relied on just one or two customers for bulk of revenues. This is a common mistake made by many business owners who devote all their energy to one huge client. What they don't seem to understand is that if that one customer goes away, so does most of their revenue.

When performing your business autopsy you might identify other contributing factors that were beyond your control, such as a down economy, lack of qualified employees, new government regulations that negatively affect way you must do business, failure of a strategic partner, etc..

There will always be things you can't control. The key to business success is to keep control of those things you can and do everything you can to prepare for those things you can't.

Next time we'll discuss a few things you should and should not do to help ensure your business success.

Here's to your success.

Tim Knox tim@dropshipwholesale.net For information on starting your own online or eBay business, visit http://www.dropshipwholesale.net

The same rule applies with investing in a relative's business. I have raised money for several business ventures and not once did I ever think about asking my relatives to chip in. The last thing I'd ever want to do is lose my mother's yard sale money. I'd never hear end of it!

An investment is made with understanding that your money is totally at risk with no guarantee of return. Even under best of conditions an investment in any business is a gamble. You are betting your money that business will be successful and that you will get a payback at some point in future.

Hug your money real tight before making investment, because if business doesn't make it, you will never see your money again.

You and your wife also seem very worried about making your son mad, which raises another huge red flag for me. If your son isn't mature enough to take word "no" without getting upset, he's certainly not mature enough to start and run a business. Unless that business is a bicycle paper route, and even then I wouldn't put my money on his chances of success.

The bottom line is this: if you can afford to give your son money and can do so without attaching strings to it, then by all means give him money and wish him well. Encourage his entrepreneurial spirit and support him as a parent should.

Do not, however, expect anything in return and never bring up money again, especially if he's one carving turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

Here's to your success!

Tim Knox tim@dropshipwholesale.net For information on starting your own online or eBay business, visit http://www.dropshipwholesale.net