The published failure or success rate of any given venture or opportunity will largely determine how many people will try it and how many will not. Sometimes even if the success rate is low, the desire for a positive outcome and no other alternatives will make people take a chance on something even if the odds are not good. But, it is important, in any situation to know what exactly is included in a success rate, and that it is measuring what you think it is measuring. Whether you are looking for the perfect business, weight loss program or even infertility treatment, it is important to understand the success rate data.

How is the success rate defined? Do you know what was measured by the study or survey? If the study was on an infertility program, what patients were included? Does the program screen in only the best candidates or do they offer services to everyone? This will highly affect the success rate information. For a weight loss program, what was the average starting weight of the participants? How much did they lose on average? What does the program entail? Studies on businesses can very greatly from industry to industry and even from market to market.

Next, look at how the data was collected on the success and failure rate. If it was simply self-reported there is a greater chance that the data is inaccurate because different participants will report the same thing in different ways. If the success rate is being reported by an organization that will profit from the success of the program, then the rate will likely only look at positive aspects of the program. On the other hand, if the rate is reported by a competitor, they will only look at the negatives. Look to see how many people/programs/businesses were included in the study as well.

The length of time that the information was collected is also important. In some cases it is only necessary to take a single collection of data, but in other cases, it is better to follow the success or failure rates over a time of many weeks, months or even years.