Is there a guide to successful business models?

Question

Looking for a guide to successful business models- detailing those that have worked and why they work.

Answer 1

You can check out:
- Harvard Business Review - http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/hbr/hbr_home.jhtml?_requestid=43597
- Wharton school competition - http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu//article.cfm?articleid=980
- Peter Drucker - smartest man I have ever read - http://www.peter-drucker.com/

Answer 2

I teach busines and I annoy my students as I will annoy you, by telling you that there are no answers in business, only questions.

You are looking for successful business models. But they are successful only at certain times. You can't just copy. It depends on the industry, the current market and specifically what you are doing.

To find a business model that suits you do the following.

1. Find a good simple book on business planning.
2. Find a good simple book on marketing
3. Read something about strategic planning and management (because this will determine which model will work)
4. Read successful case examples about your industry or business area (business sections of the news paper, business reports etc). Talk to people in the industry.
5. Find examples that apply to your business idea
6. Think long and hard and see what you can do to improve on their ideas or adapt them to the new issues arising.
7. Send my 10% of your profit when you are a successful business person (I accept cash, gold bullion and bank cheques only).

Answer 3

bernard shaw once said, "if u want to read a good book, you write it yourself", so is my reply to your question. for every successful business, there are nine failed entities. even the successful model succeeded because of unceasing hard work, timing and lots of luck on the part of the promoters. all the management gurus, if you notice, talk volumes about the successful models but only fleetingly take up failure points from the losers. in short, my advice will be, if you invest, see that your investment grows a few cents every day, don't ape successful models blindly, and the persons and their lifestyles even less so, hire people who know the business in and out and have contacts to make your business grow, link their pay to specfic targets, live small, work like a dog for six days a week and live like a king on the 7th day. couple these qualities with honesty, keeping your word and loyalty to your customer a priority, will take you to greater heights than any role-model you care to choose. let others have you as their role model. good luck. when you are in business, your worst enemy is your domestic commitments, see that your grocer ais paid promptly for a peaceful atmosphere at home, where you have to retire every evening !!

Answer 4

The Small Business Administration has a guide like that, with mentors in an organization called SCORE.

www.sba.gov

Answer 5

The best models involve systems and processes that develop teams to succeed. That means that you don't blame people, but look at fixing up the systems.
A system is techology that produces the same result.
All the wealth is in the system.