First, the bad news. According to the Small Business Administration, 80% of new businesses will fail or cease to exist beyond five to seven years.

The absolute main reason small businesses fail is because the new business owner didn't properly and completely analyze the viability of the proposed business, evaluate the market for his or her goods or services, and prepare a plan for the start up and development of his or her new business.

Some major reasons new businesses fail:

• Poor planning, or worse, no planning at all.

• Not enough funds on hand to get through the start up period, and not enough income in the start up period

• Lack of focus, lack of commitment. Belief that the business will build itself.

• Lack of experience. Unfamiliarity with products, services, sales, and customer needs and wants.

• Inability to analyze fiscal data, if any data at all

• Inadequate marketing to the intended demographic.

• Over investment in equipment, supplies, and/or inventory.

• Poor leadership abilities or lack of leadership experience.

• Inability to reach or attract customers.

• Waiting too long to get advice from professional advisors such as accountants and lawyers.

There are a lot of things NOT addressed up there, some of which are almost certainly of importance, but there does seem to be a common theme about why your new business MIGHT fail. Lack of preparation, lack of funds, poor planning, lack of experience, lack of commitment, lack of advertising, lack of energy, lack...lack...lack.

Now, let's look at most people who sign up for internet businesses and network marketing programs. In my experience, they are honest, well-intentioned people, but they all seem to fall under the sway of a claim something like: "Sign up and get your free website and be rich within X number of months/days/years."

By the way, I am not being a smart aleck. I WAS one of those people, and I fell for it too! Fortunately, after spending a lot of time and money learning that the claims were not quite accurate (to be polite), I learned the awful truth.

I WOULD HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO RUN MY BUSINESS, HOW TO ADVERTISE AND MARKET, AND I WOULD HAVE TO WORK MY **** OFF!

When I think of the people I have encountered or heard about who signed up for internet businesses or who started a home based network marketing business, I am reminded of a story. This is absolutely true. Some people I knew bought a new exercise machine. It was a resistance exercise type machine, primarily intended for building muscle mass. A young female member of the family told that she was really glad to see it because she wanted to lose some weight. I have been involved with physical fitness and health for a large part of my life, and that was one of the reasons she was talking to me about it. I said, "Yep! That's a nice machine. Once you start building a little lean muscle mass...!"

That's as far as I got! Before I could say another word, she looked at me like I was crazy and said very forcefully, "I DON'T WANT to get muscles, I just want to lose weight!" End of discussion.

She had no idea of how that machine worked, how exercise worked, how her body worked, or what it would take for her to "lose weight" with that machine. She had just read the literature that said that she COULD lose weight with it. She saw the pictures of the skinny young people standing there pulling on something with bright smiles on their faces, and, in her mind, she somehow assumed that the machine was the magic machine that would CAUSE her weight loss. She was not a stupid woman, but she never reached the conclusion that she would have to use the machine to lose weight. She would have to sweat, pant, and perhaps ache as she used the machine as a tool to achieve a physique like the young ladies in the advertisements.

Everyday, people like her read the advertisements, web pages and emails that offer to "give" them an internet business that will "make" them money. Most of these people never realize that what really needs to happen is that THEY learn how to use that website, brochure, article, or whatever to build a business. They don't realize that they will have to work, and maybe work more than they ever worked before in their lives to grow that business. They don't realize that to be successful, they may have to study, learn, and make a lot of foolish mistakes on the way.

Anyone planning to get involved in an internet business or home based network marketing business needs to prepare to work, study, learn, lose, and work some more. They will have to learn about advertising and their target market. They will have to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of their product or service. They have to familiarize themselves with the promotional items available. They will have to acquire skills to do the work themselves or acquire the money to hire professionals to do it for them. An internet marketer may have to learn html and website design, while a shy network marketer may have to learn how to come out of his or her shell in order to give presentations.

TV watchers may have to become forum visitors, and stay-at-home types may have to become practicing members of community organizations in order to increase the range of their networks.

Signing up is not the end of starting a new business, it is only the beginning. You can build your new business or website, but then you have to go out and get people to come to it...and give them a reason to trust you enough to spend money and send their friends and relatives to your store or site.

At the beginning of this article, I said, "First, the bad news." Then I proceeded to explain why you might fail. The good news is that every day people begin new businesses and wind up rich or wealthy. If you don't know the difference between rich and wealthy, I suggest you read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert T. Kiyosaki.