What defines the perfect business model? Is it little work getting lots of money? Is it long-term passive income?
For years I’ve been involved in leasing various business space. Sometimes it’s retail space, sometimes it’s office and warehouse space. Every now and then I find myself in a space that is worth more than the business I operate. There’s something seemingly unfair about that.
I look at commercial space landlords and sometimes think THAT is the perfect business model. Month after month the tenants pay you. If your occupancy rate is high, the property is paid for in short order – and from then on, it’s just an ongoing revenue stream. Sure, there are some costs associated with being a landlord, but increasingly – the heavy lifting is done by the tenants. Does the HVAC have problems? Mr. Tenant, that’s your problem. Other than structural issues, the tenant is usually responsible for everything, including taxes and other expenses required to maintain the property. It’s the magic of common area maintenance (CAM) and other expenses that are part of every commercial lease.
Yes, I think that’s the perfect business model provided the space can stay leased and isn’t sitting empty for months or years at a time. Today, that’s a big IF.
There are other business models that intrigue me though. Lots of Internet based businesses intrigue me. The reason is simple: low cost, low barrier of entry. The downside to that is everybody and their dog can do it. So it can get crowded pretty quickly. But there are still solid opportunities there.
For a long time I’ve watched with great interest the marketing prowess of various Internet gurus. When I first began to study the techniques and tactics of these guys (and gals) I was smitten with the question that so few seem to ask, “If this person is making 5 figures every month, why would they sell me their blueprint for $1997?” Admittedly, throwing down a couple of grand is no small thing, but if you could earn 5 figures every month, it’s chump change. The fact is, if I were making 5 figures monthly in a business of any kind – I would not sell you the business model for 2 grand. I wouldn’t sell it to you for any amount of money. I’d keep my mouth shut and my bank account full.
Of course, that assumes the business model is doing something other than selling the $1997 blueprint. Ah, there’s the rub. That is the business model. Showing people how to make 5 figures a month is what people want to hear, and learn. So for 2 grand we’ll show you how. That will help us make 5 figures a month, but we don’t have a business really. We just tell you how you can have yours. It’s the business equivalent of kicking the can. It has its challenges, but you don’t accomplish anything. You just waste time.
I admire some of the Internet marketing gurus. They understand marketing. They know human psychology. Con men know the same things. I admire their skills, too. It doesn’t mean I want to be one though.
Sure, there are some pretty good and seemingly honest folks hawking the perfect business model, an Internet-based business. But boy is there a lot of loud noise? I confess that I’ve spent my share of money looking at a variety of Internet business offerings – primarily because as a student of marketing I’m smitten with their ability to tease, lure and deliver. Many of them have technical skills that I just don’t have (and skills I find terribly uninteresting).
Here’s the sum total of what I have learned – something that is truly worthwhile as you pursue the perfect business model. Create it once, and get paid for it over and over!
Now that is the genius of great Internet marketing. And I find it very attractive. Of course, the rub is – most people have little to no ability to create anything, once or otherwise. There’s always a rub.
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