Businesses that Always Fail? 7 Businesses with Shockingly High Failure Rates [Backed by Data]

81 thoughts on “Businesses that Always Fail? 7 Businesses with Shockingly High Failure Rates [Backed by Data]”

1. Amazon FBA – all of these things you mentioned literally happened to me. I made morale patches. I got lucky and made $100k+ profit (after expenses and amazon fees) in 6 months off of 1 patch design alone. Lots of luck. Quickly became a race to the bottom as clones and “black hat” tactics from (assumably) Chinese sellers started. They did crazy stuff like buy up all of your inventory then cancel the sale. This locks your inventory for a couple of weeks.

   It was a fun and crazy and heartbreaking experience. Learned a lot. Don’t recommend full time.

   Great video as always!

   1. “They did crazy stuff like buy up all of your inventory then cancel the sale. This locks your inventory for a couple of weeks.” That’s crazy. And Amazon, I imagine does not do jack about it. What a nasty environment to do business in.

   2. @@KOSMOinfinite they definitely did not. It’s difficult to “prove” and plus they (the hostile sellers) would just make more accounts and keep doing it. Only thing you can really do is place a limit on how many of a quantity can be ordered at a single transaction. It helped a bit but it’s wild seeing the attacks go down in real time

   3. Fantastic video! Totally broke my heart with these “build it and they will come” types of business- reality hurts

   4. Thank you for sharing that, hearing the reality rather than the daydream is brilliant.

   5. I’m so sorry to hear this. Business is hard enough without this in it.

2. It constantly amazes me how many people want to start restaurants. the dream business, they always want to start a restaurant and yet its just about one of the single most difficult businesses there is, get ready to never do anything but live and breath in that restaurant and the failure rate is massive.

   1. Might be because a lot of home cooks think they are great chefs, but are delusional. And even when they are, their creations isn’t necessarily what most people want. And in a small place, there isn’t much market, and in a big place, there is constant and brutal competition. Every bank should require their prospective restaurant owners to watch 10 seasons of kitchen nightmares and pass a test showing they understood how not to go about it before opening the purse.

   2. @@bjornlangoren3002 Yes, over and over they tell me about how they’ve got the magic recipe. Wait until they find out what Grandmas secret recipe for glazed chicken and his wife makes lemon tarts that will blow your mind and the husband is a kind of legend at summer BBQ and believe this, you just try his hot wings, everyone tells him all summer “dude.. you GOT to sell these wowww”.
      But,
      right as you point out. This does not actually transfer well into an actual profitable restaurant.
      I’m also pretty sure I have seen that very thing on ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ where someone refused to change grandmas special recipe to whatever was the actual in-demand popular chicken dish. “but we can’t, she passed away and we need to honor her”.
      The great home chefs may actually be the last people who should turn it into a restaurant.

   3. Any business needs the creative guy and the business guy. Keep the creative guy away from the customers & the money !

      I deal with self published creative types (books & documentaries) and 90% are really clueless. I’m like “I want to send you money, what is the price & payment options ?” and it takes multiple emails over several days before this information is finally revealed

      Authors don’t know how to sell books.
      Film makers don’t know how to sell DVD’s.
      Chefs don’t know how to run a restaurant.

   4. @@captain-poppleton This is a valuable observation. You don’t want managers and admins creating menus or writing scripts either. People coming up with a dream business may not always think about those things.

   5. In my experience, People who made their money in let’s say construction or selling shoes, they decide to buy a but the food business is a totally different beast

3. I always feel so sorry for people who start little businesses and fail. Handmade signs, poor displays, awkward parking, etc.
   4 months later the building is for rent again.

   1. I feel so sorry for them too. but Hell ya, Julianne Iwersen Nieman is the one and only CFA that i recommend. look her up if you need too

   2. Hello beautiful lady can I get to know you?

   3. @@Herna_9231 Down BAD

   4. Tbf I’ve noticed that handmade signs can sometimes be more of an attention getter just because you see printed ones all over the place so much people tune them out.

   5. Im going to start a Herbalife! distributorship in a shopping center so i can achieve the Gold level… and lose my shirt while doing it

4. Two best businesses in my experience: beauty and childcare. I spent most of my life as a teacher. I quit and went solo. I opened a day care center for young kids. Even started to franchise it out. Then invested into beauty salons.

   Reason being is that people always need someone to look after their kids. And women always want to look attractive even in hard times. You’re guaranteed to make money. And both businesses are not that expensive to set up.

   1. And both require just the right sort of employees who may be hard to find and keep but who were the making of the place. In my town I’ve seen many come and go over the past decade or so. It’s a scramble to find another good daycare or hair salon.

   2. I would not recommend childcare. Beauty salons/spas, sure if there’s an area without too much competition

   3. Was the daycare center difficult to begin? Can we have a real chat off line?

   4. God forbid parents would look after their kids 😂

   5. @@macneoh7418 Some people have no choice. Surely you know that.

5. If 66%of entrepreneurs never start a business then you have a generous definition of “entrepreneur”.

   1. My thought exactly 😂

   2. ‘Potential entrepreneurs’

   3. She made that illogical stat up which then begs the question, how much of the rest of her video is also nonsense? Also, she cites 81% of gyms failing. Well, thats not too bad considering 90% of all startups fail in the first year according to the BBB. This video is 🦬💩.

   4. 😂😂

   5. ​@@smokejaguarsix7757Both stats can be true.

6. People telling others how they can get rich doing this thing or another and making you pay for that information is a really good business to get into because there are always those out there willing to pay to be told how to do something without having to really do it. Buying self help materials is like buying a gym membership, most people will never use it but will keep paying for the illusion of changes they could make, and there are those who take it and run and transform their lives with it.

   1. This woman’s program costs $10,000.

   2. Yeah, I was amazed at how many attend Tony Robbins and other people selling success formulas. 
      When they don’t work, all he attendees blame themselves, luckily for the hosts.

7. I have run a trucking business for the last two years and I can safely say it was the worst financial decision I have ever made… Government regulations have made maintenance expenses insanely expensive and customers hate having to pay for freight. Your caught in the middle trying to make a buck while the mechanic wants thousands upon thousands every time it goes in for something and the customer wants to kick you to the curb because the next carrier doesn’t know his numbers and voluntarily runs himself out of business by not charging enough .

   1. Well said. I had 30 trucks until fuel prices hit $4 a gallon in 2009. Sold everything and glad I did.

   2. Same, I hate these rates but I hate more that Carriers haul this cheap freight. I don’t haul anything under 2$

   3. @@TwoShotEspresso I agree. It seemed like every time some owner/operator would go out, there were two more to take their place. They’d haul for nothing.

   4. Nope. It’s just always been a bad business. My dad did this in the 80’s and it was extremely hard for him, too. Pretty sure he died broke from having to pay off all of this and the trucks. I hate to kick you while you’re down and have had that experience, but maybe someone reading this needs to read it. It’s never been good to truck and you can’t make it good. They’re too expensive unless you’re a mega-corp with the fluid funds to deal with it all and that marginal savings on delivery fees makes owning it profitable for the OTHER part of your business.

   5. God bless you, man, truckers, and the people who run the trucking business people don’t think about the only thing about the truckers, but they’re the lifeblood of America. I’m an import export guy and it’s horseshit how you guys are treated from top to bottom

8. I started a wood-fired pizza concession trailer business two years ago. It’s been crazy busy and nonstop. I love the work, but it requires long days and nights. Five star rating so far. For a small business to succeed, you need passion for your business and hard work. If you start a business purely for money, you will fail. You have to love what you do and seriously take care of your customers and employees.

   1. Requires long days and nights is applicable to most small businesses if the person wants to succeed. Starting a business will result in more work time, not less compared to a normal job. Not realizing that will increase failure rate.

   2. We started a pie company almost 6 years ago that’s doing very well; HOWEVER, we love what we do and put in MEGA HOURS. Everything you say is 100% true and ignored by most entrepreneurs.

   3. I clean private businesses offices at night. I love to clean I have so much work just due to referrals and my start up cost next to nothing. I bought most my stuff at garage sales and net after taxes and expenses way more then my friends working the corporate grind.

   4. Amen brother

   5. How did you find a commissary??

9. As an immigrant in Australia, I founded an IT company, and after 8 years, sold it to Deloitte, one of the Big 4. But along the way, I faced failures in other ventures. The key is to keep pushing forward—never settle. Adapt your habits, build a strong network, and success will follow!

   1. Szep munka! 🙂 Ausztraliaban indult a ceg vagy meg Magyarorszagon?

   2. hello, i started an IT company as well. how do you get clients? it seems so hard

   3. Deloite is such a success of incompetence!

10. You are so right about dry cleaners, with one or two exceptions: If you put a dry cleaners near a military base, or in Washington, DC, you are golden! It is even better if you use the “green” dry cleaning methods for them, and charge the same flat fee per piece (not like traditional cleaners that charge varying prices per piece, often with higher prices for women’s clothing). No, in this case, a “green” dry cleaners with less toxic cleaning methods, and with the same pricing per piece makes amazing money in places where you are required to wear suits and business attire, or uniforms that must be perfect. This is the perfect argument for doing market research and really KNOWING your market.

    1. Army vet here! You’re so right

    2. You’re half right, but I specialize in Brownfield remediation. I also have seven businesses, and I understand what it takes to run a green dry cleaner and believe me the overhead makes it ultimately a fruitless venture. But your thought process about location, location, location, being near a military base or perhaps Washington DCis really an incredible thought and it could work there I think.

    3. This is the truth per my Dad

11. My brother-in-law bought a popular run down restaurant/bar in 2007 in a small town in the middle of no wear. Everyone told him he was crazy, and it took a few years to completely have it remodeled since he was running another business. However it was a labor of love for him, and he didn’t want the place to be demolished by a land developer. Not only did it have histrionic value, but in its heyday it was where his parents first met. The place itself was beloved by the community, and they were chomping at the bit for it to reopen. My brother-in-law hired an excellent chef, and wait staff with whom he profit shares. The restaurant is so successful, he had to turn down the then governor one night who wanted to book a large party at the last minute. My sister and her husband are well loved throughout the community because of their involvement. In 2015 a man had a heart attack while driving in front of the restaurant. The car jumped the curb, and crashed right into the dining room. Fortunately it happened on a Monday when the restaurant was closed, and no one was there. The community came together to help repair the damage, and the restaurant was up and running the next day.

    1. In the middle of no wear. Right. So, just between the top and bottom of a bikini…

    2. ​@@botalm1878And it has both histrionic and historic value.😊

    3. @@botalm1878Just left of Rock Bottom

    4. Thank you for the good story.

    5. @@botalm1878If I ever notice that you make a typo, I’ll be on your butt big time!

12. 1. Gyms
    2. ATMs
    3. Dry Cleaners
    4. Hotels
    5. Amazon FBA
    6. Retail Stores
    7. Restaurants

    Maybes
    1. Trucking – last mile delivery
    2. Senior Care Centers
    3. Real Estate – rental properties

    Better
    1. Laundromats with Services

    Not my experience with laundromats. Theft, vandalism, employee side-gigs, drugs, prostitution, bad neighborhoods, break-ins after hours. Terrible business “opportunity” in my area!

    1. In my town a homeless guy works at the laundromat.

13. If the average person knew what small businesses paid for rent they would be astounded. If they knew how many small and medium businesses took out short term loans just to make payroll they would be terrified.

14. Rental properties do have that one problem: 1/3 of the tenents straight up refused to pay rent and trashes the house so the landlord has to spend thousands in cleaning + remodeling fees. Even people with high credit scores can do this, or maybe the estate agent was just horrible at vetting tenents. There are amazing folks but they’re so rare these days.

    1. If it was perfect, everyone would be in it.

15. I was a cook at a very popular restaurant when I was a kid … on payday we ran across the street to cash our checks … the last few employees to get in line usually had their paychecks bounce and would have to come back a day or two later.

16. I’ve been an independent (5 units) landlord for 51 years. There’s only ONE rule to be a successful landlord: “A vacancy is always better than a bad tenant.”

    1. YES……. and dont just rent to anyone, ask for IDs, SS cards,
       # of people YOU ALLOW to live there, and hit em with a
       NO CRIME AGREEMENT, if police come to the house, out they go. NO, NO FORGIVENESS.,
       just bcz they have money does not mean they will pay you,

       and if they seem like scum, dont rent it out to them…..

    2. @@Viceroy321 Rent at slightly under the going rate so you can show the property to lots of people. Tell each one that you’ve already promised it to someone else, but if it falls through you will call them. After a couple days of showing the place, choose who you want to live there, and give them a call. Check references, get a feel for them, etc. As a rule, college age boys tear stuff up. Single mothers without great jobs don’t pay rent and it’s super hard to kick them out. You might rent to a Mexican couple, but you turn around and a dozed people will be living there. Certain races may be more likely to destroy things, be belligerent and do everything but pay you, while trying to play the victim. Gay males are the BEST to rent to, as they usually keep things clean, don’t have kids to destroy things, etc. Lots of often valid trends in potential renters.

    3. If people don’t move out your rents are too low

    4. ​@@Viceroy321have you heard of swatting? What if renter suddenly gets stalked?
       I rejected a person who was interested in me but they started following me and staying outside my place of dwelling, I involved police. Is that going against me? I didn’t want this.

    5. ​@@FableCountryOfc not. It’s talking about your Problems like if you cause too much noise pollution (partying at night) and then neighbors call police on you for that reason.

17. My aunt used to own a senior care facility and they don’t kick people out who can’t pay, they send them to the hospital for emergency care and then refuse to take them back claiming that the person needs a higher level of care than they can give them
    It is a brutal business

    1. Doing that is the same as kicking them out, what a terrible thing to do to a human being.

    2. Just stating what is common practice in the industry. I never claimed that I have legal or moral answers for the problem

    3. Are you gonna take them in?

    4. I didn’t offer them a place to stay when they could pay. I take no responsibility for anyone but myself.
       I don’t take over McDonalds fails when they close their drive in windows late at night. I limit my financial endeavors to day trading im the stock market

    5. @@danwest6803 I was trying to respond to Leonard, the mobile comment interface is really bad

18. Started Tomini’s Pizza in Danang, Vietnam. Only open 2 nights of the week. Busy with all 5 star reviews. Spent a year learning Napolitano style using electric fast effficient oven. Rent free. Building clients thru word of mouth and social media. Takes time but love the biz. 🍕🇮🇹

    1. Danang is gaining ex-pats and virtual workers from the US all the time, amazing beaches. That’s a great idea. I like that town, hope you are building a good life there.

19. My old boss owned the most popular bar in town and he made more money off the ATM in the lobby than I made gross all year. You’re spot on with needing the right location.

20. I was in the ATM business. You don’t collect cash from the machine. You withdraw from your Bank account and load the machine with cash. As someone withdraws cash, a bank transfer goes from their bank account to your bank account.

Comments are closed.