{"id":102,"date":"2010-12-08T12:04:26","date_gmt":"2010-12-08T12:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jobshuk.com\/yoni67\/2010\/12\/08\/the-business-grim-reaper-and-my-near-death-tour-through-the-graveyard-of-failed-businesses\/"},"modified":"2010-12-08T12:04:26","modified_gmt":"2010-12-08T12:04:26","slug":"the-business-grim-reaper-and-my-near-death-tour-through-the-graveyard-of-failed-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobshuk.com\/yoni67\/2010\/12\/08\/the-business-grim-reaper-and-my-near-death-tour-through-the-graveyard-of-failed-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"The Business Grim-Reaper and My Near-Death Tour Through the Graveyard of Failed Businesses!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Graveyard <\/font><\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

The Business Grim-Reaper<\/span><\/strong> <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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…and My Near-Death Tour Through the Graveyard of Failed Businesses!<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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An original Business blog article by Yonatan Maisel<\/span><\/strong> <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

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You’ve read them <\/font>and I’ve read them. The startling and worrisome rates of small-business failure. Up to fifty percent in the first three years according to some. It’s frightening. But is it enough to put fear into you?<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

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Last night I awoke with a startle. The wind was blowing the shutters against the side of our home. I heard a cat scream in the distance. Far off, the rumble<\/em> of thunder. There was, as I focused my eyes better, a presence materializing at the foot of our bed. An apparition which was becoming less transparent and translucent and more and more visible with each passing second…<\/font><\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

My heart skipped several beats! I began to sweat uncontrollably…It was…<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

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HIM! The harbinger of death himself. A living skeleton. The Business Grim-Reaper!<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

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"Am I? Has my business…died?"<\/strong><\/em> I asked him, my voice shaking uncontrollably.<\/font><\/p>\n

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"Not yet…"<\/strong> <\/em>he answered in an unworldy, terrifying voice. <\/strong>"Consider this just a visit<\/font> to show you what might be if I have to come back!"<\/strong> <\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

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And with that, he grabbed my wrist with his cold, clammy hand and we floated away together to…The Graveyard of Failed Businesses…<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

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     <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

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…"Look around,"<\/strong> <\/em>he shrieked. His voice echoed into the bitterly cold night. "And don’t think it couldn’t happen to you!"<\/em><\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

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And look I did at the masses of graves, each in a sectioned-off plot of the vast graveyard. There was the section for Financial Failure<\/font>. A section for Improper Planning<\/font>. And others as far as the eye could see…Not Being Aware of Economic Conditions<\/font>. Poor Marketing Strategies<\/font>. <\/font>Improper Advertising Methods<\/font>. Inefficiency. Poor Communication. Inability to Cooperate. Refusing to Utilize Technology…<\/font><\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

I looked at a few. "Harold’s Plumbing, 1999-2002, Died from too little web-presence."<\/em><\/strong> And "S&R Tech, 2004-2006, They refused to use Twitter!" <\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

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"B-But…that section over there?"<\/em><\/strong> I asked. "It’s so much…"<\/em><\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

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"Bigger?"<\/strong> <\/em>he finished the sentence for me in his deathy, raspy voice. <\/font><\/p>\n

"Yes,"<\/em><\/strong> he continued. "That is the special section of the graveyard reserved for people who are not blogging for business!"<\/strong><\/font><\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

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"B-But it’s FREE! It’s the single-greatest way to market a business,"<\/em> <\/strong>I interrupted. "I tell my readers that all of the time Mr. Reaper. Every chance I get I tell my readers that 80 to 90 percent of my new clients and customers now find their way to my doorstep as a direct result of having read my blog! Just two posts a week…it only takes two or three hours of writing! And I’m always going on about using Social Media to increase readership…"<\/strong><\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

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"Well continue to tell them," <\/strong><\/em>he said, cutting me off, the first hints of the imminent rising of the sun now appearing on the horizon. "The Graveyard of Failed Businesses’ Blogging Section is quickly running out of space!"<\/em> <\/strong>He stared at me long and hard with those empty, hollow eye-sockets…<\/font><\/p>\n

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"Tell anyone who isn’t blogging for business that…<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

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…it’s a 21st Century DEATH-SENTENCE!" <\/em><\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

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"And," <\/strong>he spit out with an evil<\/em> hiss, "I’ll be coming for them!"<\/em><\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

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