There’s a huge difference between having a business and having a business that is systematic. A systematic business will reproduce its success over and over again while any other type will require repeated and unique effort for every profit generating event. The best conceived business systems will thrive whether you’re managing it every day or not.
Why do you want a systematic business?
If you own a company that is creating profits day in day out that performs independently of your own daily efforts you can enjoy life more while not sacrificing your income. It’s a simple concept but it doesn’t happen automatically. You have to plan and be persistent until you get it right.
There’s a difference, in my mind, between a business that does the same thing over and over again – like an accountant repeatedly doing taxes for a set group of people – and a business that has a few distinct systematic elements.
- Scalable – If it works well small it will work well large
- Independently reproducible – Success doesn’t require you to be hands on for every sale
- Predictable – Through a combination of demand and marketing you can largely predict your growth and success
- Outsourced – Whether the work is done by in house employees, contract labor, or vendors, you’re not responsible for executing the work.
For example: A website designer that creates websites on a case by case basis is different than a business that sells custom designed websites based on a predictable template, at a price that is attractive to the largest demographic of potential customers, and is staffed by talented contract employees.
Here are a few more examples of what I consider to be great systematic business:
Affiliate Marketing – Find a product niche and create a low cost website to promote the product. You are then paid by the merchant whenever someone clicks from your site to their site and makes a purchase. Merchants will also pay for leads and sometimes clicks. Even though you may set up the initial offers and maintain them they are working for you day and night.
Low cost products sold over the internet – If you can come up with a useful product to sell that lends itself to internet or mail order sales you can produce a pilot run of the product and ship directly to the customer. Don’t be scared of competition. The more the better. As a matter of fact, if you sell your product directly to the consumer you may have a huge advantage as you’re not having to pay distributors who receive a large percentage of the profit in exchange for their services.
Any service business – You could start a copywriting service, a website design company, a consulting firm for a particular business niche, or any other you can think of. The important thing to remember is that the demand you create should not be met by you alone and you’ll need reliable employees who know their stuff and can work efficiently based on the particulars of the business system. You’ll also need a methodology for acquiring new customers predictably.
I’m working on a few business systems right now: An online mattress sales company, a website design service for small business, an affiliate marketing company, and internet leads sales.
What about you guys? Who’s successfully running a profitable system?
