There are industries that encourage failure! Do companies really want you to fail or quit? Not every company! For example, insurance companies, particularly property and casualty companies want you to pay for the insurance and never make a claim. When you make a claim, they do everything to slow down the process before they have to pay you for your loss. Is this isolated?
This may be a contrarian view, but I do not think so. There are companies and industries that succeed based on your failure. I mentioned one industry which is insurance! They were created based on your mistakes in the case of property and casualty. Property and casualty insurance is coverage against loss of property, damage or other liabilities. It includes vehicle insurance, liability insurance theft insurance and elevator insurance.
You may be driving down the street or on the highway and someone hits you. You probably want that driver to have vehicle insurance to cover the damage and liability of the accident. At the very least, you want to have insurance to cover you if they do not have coverage. The insurance is based on your failure or mistake! The insurance company wants you to pay and never make a claim. You want coverage for those losses that will inevitably occur over time.
This is true for health insurance, life insurance and long term disability insurance. The insurance company pays a lot of money to underwriters and others to assess the risk, develop a premium and investment strategy to make a profit on a particular type of insurance. All forms of insurance go through this assessment and develop a premium to make a profit. There are intricate layers of insurance to limit the risk for the insurance company and meet the needs of the individual, company or group.
An industry such as smoking cessation is also based on your failure to succeed. It is based on your inability to stop smoking! I realize smoking is an addiction, but smoking cessation has become the answer. There are pills, gum, patches and even hypnotherapy! There are other companies and medical professionals who specialize in treatment. It is based on your inability to solve this condition yourself. It requires considerable effort and professionals to rehabilitate a drug or other addiction.
Weight loss is a huge industry based on failure to balance diet and exercise. There are books, diets, recipes, package meals, programs, prepared meals, meetings and plans. They succeed based on your failure to control your weight. Even the people who succeed using these plans go back to them for more recipes or help to maintain the weight. Still others fail and quit multiple times and return or find a new plan, book or another solution to lose the weight. It helps to sustain the industry!
Some may say there is a need for a particular product or service and they are just supplying it. It seems like marketing 101 for entrepreneurs or anybody who has a business. Just satisfying a need for a particular product or service is what this country is all about. Of course, t he product or service should be at an affordable price. Insurance, particularly health insurance can be beyond many people’s reach. We all understand the implications of being uninsured, but it is a risk.
Before all the technological innovations such as mobile phones, music and video, we did just fine. Now the people who grew up with these conveniences say they cannot live without them. There will be more products and services to satisfy our needs and wants because there will be businesses to satisfy them. Do you really need all these conveniences? I have resisted smartphones for years and still do. Do we really need to be connected all the time?
Final thoughts
There are many industries that satisfy needs that are the result of our failure or mistakes. They are not the only ones that survive based on perceived needs. Do we really need all the technology we have today? Technology has changed how we do things! We need laws about texting while driving, using our phones while driving or even walking. Things are changing and testing our ability to cope with all the changes. There are industries that encourage failure.
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I have a gym membership that costs me $10 per month. I go about 10 times per month. The way I figure, if everybody with a membership went 10 times per month, they’d probably lose money and go out of business, but they are profitable and expand, likely because a large number of people don’t use their membership, thus reducing their replacement and maintenance costs.
A lot of people sign up with health clubs etc. and quit soon thereafter. Often they have contracts and keep paying for so specified time, but they do not go. The health club industry is based on people trying to lose weight or get in condition. All they have to do is walk and that is free.
Very interesting idea, unfortunately failure is a mega billion dollar business. Does it make sense to invest in these businesses that encourage “failures?”
Insurance is based on failure and it is very lucrative. Just ask Warren Buffet!
I see encouraged failure all the time with student loans. The more you fail… as in late payments, falling behind. The more interest and late fees accumulate. Because bankruptcy is nearly impossible to get for a student loan, the more you fail, they more they profit.
Very tru! Th rivate loan companies seem to capitalize on failure. They should make less since they guaranteed.