Consider the case of Prodigy Communications Corporation. Prodigy was founded in 1984 as a joint venture among IBM, Sears, and CBS to offer “videotex” services, such as news, advertisements, shopping, and communication, from a PC. With the initial low penetration rates of PCs and modems in homes, however, it was not until 1989 that Prodigy services were first marketed. By that time many of the services we know today were already available, including email and, in 1994, access to the World Wide Web by pioneering sales of "dial-up" connections to the net. Indeed, when Prodigy first went online, it was praised as the network of the future.

At its height in 1994, Prodigy had 2 million subscribers and innovative services. Yet this first mover that could fairly be credited with creating primary demand for online services fell to a distant third behind AOL and CompuServe just two years later. Why did the front-running Prodigy fall from grace? The company made a series of operational and organizational mistakes from which they could not recover. For example, when customer usage of email accelerated in 1993 the company imposed a 25 cents charge for each email above the 30-email limit each month. Customer reaction was swift – complaints surfaced on Prodigy bulletin boards and 18,000 customers joined the “Cooperative Defense Committee” to protest the user fees. Prodigy responded by abruptly closing some customer accounts without explanation or prior notification. The company did not do much better in managing customer expectations of online chat rooms, banning discussions of any sex-related topic, including AIDS.

With Windows becoming the standard operating system for PCs, Prodigy focused on developing their own non-Windows compatible proprietary interface. Prodigy also suffered from the bureaucratic and political headaches of operating under two large, established corporate parents (CBS had dropped out in 1986), who were often in disagreement on strategy. This became particularly evident after AOL began their “free trial” marketing campaign that saw them send millions of diskettes to potential customers. Prodigy’s response was hampered by the continuing efforts of IBM and Sears to extricate themselves from the business, one in which they had invested some $1.2 billion by the time they sold the company to a group of investors in 1996. Internally, conflict between senior executives with large-company perspectives and younger employees driven by technology and entrepreneurship created havoc.

In the end a company that was first to see, and capitalize on, the huge opportunity that became the Internet changed hands and wound up being part of the AT&T empire. As of now, there is still a small group of former Prodigy employees in AT&T.

Source: Journal of Business Strategy, July/August, 2001.

What is the difference between someone who gets back up after falling?

I believe that it is a combination of mental strength, courage, faith, believe and above all sheer determination in having the ability to over come any adversity to succeed in getting back up and having another go.  From the experiences of very hurtful personal situations like marriage and partnerships break ups or bankruptcy that can destroy a business to force majuere or mistakes from the decisions that we as Entrepreneurs have to make - is the mixture need to reach success.

When i came up with the idea of Million Impossible, it was just one mans dream to create something real, something honest and something that could touch the hearts and minds of all Entrepreneurs regardless of age, race, nationality, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or personal financial circumstances.

The idea went from one mans dream who at the time was bankrupt to second a third a fourth and now over 1000 people are sharing that dream being members of Million Impossible. We expect our membership base to grow astronomically during the next three months as the Entrepreneur community starts to come together in feeling completely comfortable talking about their business challenges as well as their successes.

"The Honest Entrepreneur" is a title well placed to sum up what Million Impossible's business network is all about and I owe my coming out and telling everybody my life and business story to a woman who i think has an amazing commercial acumen as well a being a very heart felt woman called Rachel Elnaugh former MD of the industry leading - Gift/ Experience business called "Red Letter Days" and former panelist on the BBC's very successful and much loved "Dragons Den" programme.

I am so pleased that finally after 9 months of blood sweat and tears from the management team and myself that we have finally started to receive feedback from our members that what we are doing is not only unique in the way that we are approaching the "Raw Entrepreneur" in terms of honesty starting with myself being in the "Limelight of Criticism" but even more encouraging that i have now spoken to so many members that have been or are in very similar situations to myself and feel totally comfortable about expressing and sharing that with me.

IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT IF YOU HAVE THE COURAGE AND CONVICTIONS TO WALK THE PHYSICAL PATH THAT YOU ONLY FIND THE STRENGTH TO DO SO IN YOUR DREAMS THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY MAKE THEM A REALITY.

I guess the most important thing right now is to realise that none of us have to be alone and we all have a thing called emotion. Share that emotion and i guarantee that you will not only feel better but you will find an inner strength to continue on your path toward realising your dreams.

Our online digital magazine launches in about 3 weeks featuring Rachel Elnaugh and you visit her new website here http://www.rachelelnaugh.com/. Rachel offers business owners and Entrepreneurs everything from Mentoring and coaching to business Master classes and I can assure you all that it could be one of the most important investments that you could make this year.

If you have been through a challenging time in your business and you would to join us then please register fee by visiting our web site www.millionimpossible.com and you too could feature in the launch edition of our "Dreams to Reality" magazine.

If we all stand together and  help each other we will becomes the worlds most powerful Entrepreneur network.

Best Wishes

Bradley Chapman

We are making sacrifices in terms of time, income, emotions, family and friends in order to keep our dream alive which is to build one of the Worlds most successful Entrepreneur and Business Networks with very limited funds...

The reason that we are trying to do this is to prove that regardless of age, race, financial position, gender, religion or nationality that you can make your dreams a reality if you unite with other people and draw upon their strengths.

Heidi is our operations Director and she has a heart of gold, a solid business head and is one of the most loyal people i know. Always an air of inspiration- A true fighter. She is also very Shy and does not like her picture on Blogs (but ill tell you a secret - our members can see her full picture at www.millionimpossible.com). Heidi definitely holds our business together and she is the BIG CHIEF and when she says no! We all pay attention.

Heidi Weir "The Shy One"

This is a picture of Colin Stroud who is our web development director and has been the inspiration behind the design of our web sites. Colin not only manages all the art and design work he also manages some 20+ domains that we own and run. Colin is a quiet but observant guy who has a wicked sense of humour. You have to be very careful when you go on a firms night out as he can drink and usually ends up in a corner mumbling "I'm Alright, I'm Alright" - A great guy that is a dedicated, loyal and hard working director and dad of one.

Mr Colin Stroud "The Human Torch".

And this is me Brad Chapman, just a simple guy really. I want to help businesses and change the way that we think as a business community but its not easy because so many people are too proud to accept or ask for help until it's too late but if we do then our businesses journeys become easier and we will all feel more "JOY than "DESPAIR" along the way..

Brad Chapman "Believing is everything"

You cannot build a ship without the right team, You cannot set sail unless you have a captain, a navigator and an engineer. In business terms you have an Entrepreneur, a manager and a technician and without an excellent working relationship between these three characters you are dead in the water.

You also need money to fund the project and for that we have to thank Mr Simon Clarke, Mr John Blewitt, Mr John Chapman and Mr Frank Crossley for believing in our idea and funding the initial stages of development and more recently Rachel Elnaugh (former MD of Red Letter Days and panel of investors on the BBC's Dragons Den programme.

We are now 8 months old and are going through growths pain like many other start up businesses. The greatest thing about our business is that we have a great team, who have a big heart and who are prepared to do whatever it takes to make Mi a success..

Regards From all the Mi Team

Bradley, Heidi, Colin, Mat, Ryan, Kirsty, John B, John C, Simon, Frank and Adam

www.millionimpossible.com
www.millionimpossiblemagazine.com
www.millionimposible.com/forum/default.asp
www.businesssourcer.com

The Magazine will cover business topics, current business news, movers and shakers and will feature Million Impossible member businesses. The magazine will detail the initial  concept and how the idea matured to become Million Impossible business and Entrepreneur network and will highlight the key personnel involved in the business who will be talking frankly about their past, their present and their hopes and aspirations for the future.

Million Impossible is launching our business magazine online ahead of our planned printed publication which we hope to print, publish and distribute later this year.

Million Impossible intends to become one of the top three UK leaders in the business networking arena and we consider our main competitors as Ecademy and Linkedin. During 2008 and 2009 the Mi brand will move forward to cover the following areas....

www.millionimpossible.com - ENTREPRENEUR AND BUSINESS NETWORK
www.millionimpossiblemagazine - MAGAZINE FOR BUSINESS SHARP SHOOTERS
www.miseminars.com  - ENTREPRENEUR BUSINESS BUILDING SEMINARS AND EVENTS

and who knows www.millionimpossible.tv - "EVERYBODY NEEDS TO DREAM FOR 5 MINUTES A DAY" 

We are now seeking a Magazine Sponsor to help get the first edition published. Kelly Parker @ 39 Zero has already pledged to run the design and layout work for us. Kelly is a founder member of Million Impossible and runs a Creative Design business. You can find a member spotlight on Kelly's business here http://www.millionimpossible.com/member-spotlight.asp?sid=5.

If you are interested in fighting for and supporting UK Business Underdogs and wish to help us with our first edition then please email me directly on bradley@millioniossible.com and please remember that Million Impossible is trying show anyone involved in business that by being creative with limited funds that you can take a dream and make it a reality......

It takes a lot of strength, determination and dedication and of course there are lots of dark days where you feel quite alone and start to think that you may not quite make it to the finish line... It's days like that where you have to take yourself back to when when you first had the brain wave and remind yourself of the passion and vision you had!

CAN YOU HELP ME?

WE NEED A FRONT COVER SPONSOR AND A LEADING ENTREPRENEUR TO TALK ABOUT THEIR JOURNEY THAT OTHER READERS CAN ASSOCIATE WITH FOR OUR FIRST EDITION.

Regards Bradley Chapman
www.millionimpossible.com
www.millionimpossiblemagazine.com

PS- We require more members to join Million Impossible and every member helps our journey to become more successful please click here to register http://www.millionimpossible.com/register.asp 

We had planned by this stage to move to a new office which would enable head count growth to hit 30 then on growing our target of creating 80 new jobs in Essex. The business was behind schedule on stage two launch by 4 weeks and with the 3 weeks delay with our initial launch has meant that we have to make an interim to move to a slightly bigger office to enable to the business to consolidate and strengthen our product offering.

Perhaps we were to ambitious on our targets but targets are what drive businesses forward. Lessons are learned every day and one of the many lessons that we ave learned since we launched is that you cannot control technology - when it works and the systems runs smoothly you can go home at night and relax, when it goes wrong or gets delayed you get stressed to the max!

We report to a board of directors who control and guide the business and like any board they want to see targets met and exceeded wherever possible.... The new office will enable our head count to grow to around 15 heads and we hope to move to our larger premises in about 2-3 months.

The business is at a very exciting stage - THE SIX MONTH STAGE - the stage where many businesses fail!

On one hand we have come so far and the other hand we are behind on our expectations. Million Impossible was created to show that anyone with a dream and limited capital could create a flourishing business. We are no different than most Entrepreneurs and we face all the challenges that comes with growing a business.....

Moving office is like moving home and it can be a very stressful process. So here are out tips for startup businesses that are either going into their first office or looking at their second move...

1. Business Centres are a great way to start your business and offer easy in easy out terms. Phone lines can be rented with having a big set up cost and most offer broadband as well (but watch the broadband costs the can be dear) you are better of having your own broadband installed.
2. Deposits are normally a month in advance and a month deposit and you very often start in a centre and if you grow you can increase the size of your office within the centre
3. Most centres have break out areas and meeting rooms and some have board rooms offering projection systems and plasma screens
4. Phone calls can be expensive as the centre usually make a big markup..
5. Some business centres have contacts and access to local funding grants which can help your business grow and some have Innovation Teams and Mentors which can guide and support you.

 We totally recommend that Start up business should consider business centres as an option for their first move. We are based in The Essex Technology & Innovation Centre and the have served us very well during our launch/ start up phase..... visit http://www.exdra.co.uk/ for further information on business centres.

Regards Bradley
The Unknown Entrepreneur
www.millionimpossible.com - Entrepreneur website (Register Free)
www.millionimpossiblemagazine.com
www.businesssourcer.com - FREE advertising directory for all UK Businesses (Register Free)
www.numbersourcer.com - Search over 7 million memorable numbers from £99+ Vat for life

Rachel - Thank you for talking to me about my current situation and the advice that you gave me. I feel quite naked right now, but i hope in some way that other entrepreneurs will find the comfort with the fact that they are not alone- and you most definitely personify everything that Entrepreneurs are and could become. You said to me that if I was open and honest about what i had been through that other Entrepreneurs would feel it, because 95% SME are going through similar challenges.

When we met today I asked you how you feel know after Red Letter Days and you said that you have found a kind of peace in your life and have time to reflect on what you actually want to do now.  Some people come in to our lives and go quickly while others leave a mark that lasts forever!

Thank you for your time and advice. Your book is great, I read it front to back last night and i must say it touched me. Appropriately named "Business Nightmares" When Entrepreneurs hit crisis point! Exactly where i and many of Million Impossible members are right now.

Thanks once again Rachel - "Never Say Die"

Regards
Bradley Chapman - The Unknown Entrepreneur
www.millionimpossible.com

Please visit Rachel Elnaugh's web site http://www.rachelelnaugh.co.uk/. She is a very interesting and charming lady who has been through hell only to bounce back stronger - Carpe Diem!

HOW is the word that plagues you the most and the how is potentially what stops you from taking that most important first step !!!!!!

HOW - WILL I DO IT
HOW - CAN I START IT
HOW - DOES THAT WORK
HOW- CAN I LEAVE MY JOB AND AFFORD TO TAKE THE RISK
HOW - WILL IT AFFECT MY FAMILY AND MY LIFESTYLE
HOW - SUCCESSFUL WILL I BE
HOW - COULD FAIL
HOW - BETTER OFF WOULD I BE
HOW - HAPPY WOULD I BE
HOW - WILL I BUILD MY NETWORK OF CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS

HOW - many people just do not have the minerals? Well i can tell you all right now. Unless you have the balls, the courage and can celebrate the massive highs that you get when you make sales and achieve your successes and equally handle the failures and mistakes that most Entrepreneurs will make at some stage then get the thought of being an Entrepreneur out of your mind.

HONESTY - How many people are actually honest about the financial situation of their business, not many. Most would rather hide away in denial than actually ask for Help!

PAIN - You Will go through more pain being an entrepreneur than you have ever experienced in your life, don't be fooled by this foolish romantic notion that being an entrepreneur it is a bed of roses.

IMPOSSIBLE DREAM - You can and may well achieve your dreams and what a wonderful place it is. So if you do have the minerals then do not start the journey.. If however you do, and are prepared to show totally honesty then step inside and join our organisation.

Budding entrepreneurs have all the support that they need and their are so many sites that you can visit and yes i guess I'm bias towards Million Impossible Plc as i have had some input on their start up and route to market but i honestly believe that the Entrepreneur business networking, business services and support web site that they have created is a sure fire winner for all new and seasoned Entrepreneurs...

www.millionimpossible.com welcome to the the world of the Business underdog. A place where we hear you, we feel you. All we need to do is see you.

If you are looking to build a trusted network of supplier used by other Million Impossible members, If you need constructive feedback and advice on how to form your business, create, set up and run it successfully as well as being able to promote your business totally free on www.businesssourcer.com

Membership to the site is now totally free and registration is quick and easy.... visit www.millionimpossible.com now, take the first steps towards making your dreams a reality and take the HOW out of becoming an Entrepreneur.

Fortune Mag has a a list of 101 Dumbest Moments in Business. Here are a few that caught my eye:

High-tech toilets
Japanese manufacturer Toto apologizes to customers and offers free repairs for 180,000 high-tech toilets - thrones that feature heated seats, air purifiers, blow dryers, and water sprayers - after at least three catch fire. "Fortunately nobody was using the toilets when the fire broke out," says a company spokesman. "The fire would have been just under your buttocks."

Disneyland -- it's a fat, fat world
Disneyland announces plans to close the "It's a Small World" attraction to deepen its water channel after the ride's boats start getting stuck under loads of heavy passengers. Employees ask larger passengers to disembark - and compensate them with coupons for free food.

The Virginia Tourism Corp.
The Virginia Tourism Corp. scraps an ad campaign featuring people making heart symbols with their hands after it's noted that the gesture is also the gang sign of Chicago's Gangster Disciples.

Co-op Funeralcare
Co-op Funeralcare, a funeral home in Dunfermline, Scotland, says it is investigating reports that employees routinely used the cremains of the departed to keep passersby from slipping on icy sidewalks. "There's every chance people living nearby will have walked through the remains," an ex-employee says. "Some of them probably even inhaled them."

You can check out the complete list here: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/101dumbest/2007/full_list/index.html

Or use the slideshow version: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0712/gallery.101_dumbest.fortune/index.html