

Caveman

Entrepreneurship

A hands-on guide for the budding entrepreneur

By Sharon and Ray Steelman

Copyright 2007 / 2011 by Charles Ray Steelman,

17 Stockton Street, Huntsville, Alabama 35806

Copyright Registration Number: TXu 1-777-077

Published on Smashwords

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any mechanical or electronic means whatsoever, including any retrieval systems or information storage systems except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in an article, without the written consent in writing of Charles Ray Steelman or Sharon Steelman. The writings in this book may not be e-mailed to any third party without the written consent of Charles Ray Steelman or Sharon Steelman.

Smashwords Edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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International Standard Book Number: 978-0-9853931-0-6

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: Applied For

This is the first edition which was written over several years. This is an ongoing project which is a sort of log book of our experiences in business and life. Writing began in 2003 and continues today.

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The Authors

Sharon and Ray Steelman

During the past thirty years, Sharon and Ray Steelman have started and run six successful businesses. Their most recent accomplishment is Bama Jammer ™ Promotions. Beginning from scratch, with no money, no equipment and no office, in seven years they transitioned a modest business into a multi-million dollar advertising specialty company. After trial and error, long hours and lots of sweat equity, the pieces finally began to fit.

It is amazing enough to build six successful businesses, but to do so completely debt-free is even more amazing. By applying Biblical principles, frugal business practices and good work ethics, Sharon and Ray have proven that anyone can realize the "American Dream!"

The Steelmans have co-authored four books, some of which have been marketed by Books-A-Million, Barnes and Noble, Baker and Taylor, Wal-Mart, Hohner, Inc., Amazon.Com, Gaylord Entertainment, Opryland, many tourist attractions and local and regional book stores. They also have been published in numerous business and trade magazines. In one recent year Ray was named "Writer of the Year" by Yesterday's Memories magazine, a nostalgic publication with national circulation.

Sharon is no stranger in business and professional circles, often appearing as a speaker or panelist at national and regional conventions and business meetings. In 2004, she was nominated from a pool of executives from 23,000 companies as "Woman of the Year" in the Advertising Specialty Institute's most prestigious award for women. Sharon and Ray were both nominated in 2004 as "Entrepreneur of the Year" by ASI. By very narrow margins, they came in second place nationally in both of the above awards. Sharon attended the University of Alabama in Huntsville where she majored in International Trade and Foreign Language.

For years, Ray, known in harmonica circles as the "Bama Jammer", has amazed audiences with his skills playing the harmonica. The Bama Jammer has taught literally thousands to play the harmonica through his books, audio and video tapes and harmonica seminars. His books, cassette albums and CD's have been marketed by Wal-Mart, Books A Million, Barnes and Noble, Baker and Taylor, Amazon.Com, Hohner Harmonica Company, theme parks and on the internet. Ray occasionally teaches harmonica in seminars for schools, businesses and professional groups. He is well known to the viewers of You Tube, Vimeo and Reverbnation with over 200 harmonica and vocal videos that are seen daily around the world. Ray is also a general aviation pilot holding the following certifications: Single engine land, multi-engine land, high performance and complex aircraft, IFR certified (flying in the clouds by instruments only and no outside references). Ray holds a BS and an MA degree in Industrial Management from Middle Tennessee State University.

Based on sales growth, Bama Jammer Promotions was named the "Fastest Growing Distribution Company in America" in 2003 and again in 2004. In the sixty-year history of this award, this is the only time that the same company has received this recognition twice. In 2004, Bama Jammer Promotions was named "Small Business of the Year" (wholesale / retail division) by the Huntsville / Madison County, Alabama Chamber of Commerce. In 2005, Bama Jammer was named a "Torch Finalist (ethics in business)" by the North Alabama Better Business Bureau. In 2006, The South Regions Minority Business Council named Bama Jammer "The 2006 Supplier of the Year" (in the medium size company category) in the Southeast. In 2007, Sharon was selected as one of three finalists for the Huntsville / Madison County Alabama Chamber of Commerce "Entrepreneur of the Year." In 2008, Bama Jammer was the recipient of the "Torch Award (ethics in business)" by the North Alabama Better Business Bureau.

If you can imagine it,

You can achieve it;

If you can dream it,

You can become it.

William Ward

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Our Story and Business Philosophy

(Taken from Bama Jammer promotional and advertising materials)

Since this white-knuckled company was started over twenty eight years ago, it was built on a strong foundation of fair pricing, superb service and great products. The company has always operated completely debt free. Without exception, the needs of the company have always been met out of the cash flow of the business. Bama Jammer was initially started on a part-time basis with virtually no capital or equipment. It was operated basically out of an automobile until the cash flow was adequate enough to support the business. No money has been borrowed from any source for the establishment and operation of Bama Jammer, for equipment, expansion or capital outlay. This philosophy has been maintained even though the company has moved into the multi-million dollar markets.

Today, the company operates out of twelve company-owned buildings offering a total of 58,000 square feet. Bama Jammer uses cutting-edge technology and the latest in high tech equipment and products. Even so, it continues to operate on a debt-free basis. The management has learned that hard work, determination and strategic and frugal business practices are the elements that determine a business' long term survival. The Bama Jammer management has learned that "things may come to those who wait, but only the things left behind by those who hustle"! The folks at Bama Jammer believe in hustling! This company is proof that the American dream can still be realized!

At Bama Jammer, we keep it simple. Our no-overhead (except for labor) policy, streamline procedures and no-frills operation allows us to save money. We can compete when others, because of their costs, are forced to drop out of the bidding. By nature, our industry has wild fluctuations, razor-thin margins and prices that fluctuate daily. We use our high volumes and low overhead to offer competitive prices. Through partnership-type arrangements with our subcontractors, they become 1099 independent labor, which again controls our bottom line. Our products are marketed in-house, directly to the customer, or through a network of contracted Authorized Independent Distributors. These Distributors are each privately-owned businesses ... not staff commissioned sales people. Collectively, the features above allow us to save even more money and operate more efficiently!

Through strategic planning, super products, great service and a "word of mouth" referral system, we have been able to build a business that operates world wide and has become a prominent force in the advertising industry. We want to be the company to choose for people who want and appreciate competitive pricing, personalized attention, extra effort, knowledgeable staff and fair treatment.

Sharon and Ray Steelman believe very strongly in applying Christian principles in the business arena. They believe firmly in the message found in Romans 12:11 ... that we are to "be not slothful in business." They believe in operating their business without the burden of debt, which is taught in many places in the Bible (Romans 13:8; Proverbs 22:7; Proverbs 22:26-27). They believe in applying the principles of love to all men which is the underlying theme of the entire Christian New Testament.

You may contact us at:

Bama Jammer™ Promotions

2913 Governors Drive, SW

Huntsville, Alabama 35805-3722

We hope that you enjoy Caveman Entrepreneurship and that, in some way, it will help you to realize your dreams.

Our Special Thanks to:

Christy Steelman Chamblee, our niece, who has served as a Professor of English, at several universities and colleges in and around Huntsville, Alabama whose countless hours of editing and literary suggestions made this book a reality.

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A note to the reader:

From this point forward and in order to convey the feeling of one on one instruction, this book is written from the viewpoint of Ray Steelman, and contains many personal stories, references to events and experiences exactly as they happened. We believe that the best way to teach a person about the world of the entrepreneur is to share the experiences that we have had over the years. This is a peep into the front lines and the trenches of the everyday operation of our businesses. In this book we tell it like it is; the good points and the bad.

This is our story.

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The Purpose of This Book

This book was prepared over several years as private and personal messages to our children. Like the mama lion in the jungle, we were teaching them to hunt. This text was written as a "hands – on" guide to teach them to survive in the business world and in life in general. It was prepared as a "sort of" survival handbook. Sharon and I have been very fortunate to be able to thrive in a hostile business world by the sweat of our brow and shear determination. We want to be sure that our three children (and grand children) have the skills necessary to fight the battles and come out winners. If we are not here to guide them, they will have our words in print for reflection, direction and encouragement when the times are hard and the going gets tough.

Sharon and I semi-retired a few years ago and gradually phased out most of our business interests. By applying the things taught in this text, we were fortunate to retire at relatively young ages. Sharon retired at age 45 and I was, well let's just say just a little older. Natalie and Bethany, our daughters had already had their own company, Bama Jammer, Inc., up and running for a few years. Here is a Press Release that was sent to the media in the Fall of 2011.

On September 1, 2011, at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce business awards banquet, Natalie Steelman Hasley, of Bama Jammer, Inc., was named the "Young Professional of the Year." The Banquet, entitled "Champions of Small Business," was the Chamber's 26th annual award ceremony. This annual event at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama, was sold out with over 1,200 in attendance.

There were 42 nominees in The Young Professional category. The age range was up to age 40. The nominees included business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals in all fields including business, accounting, medical, insurance, investments, education and legal. This award is very competitive and a tough category to win. It is the Chamber's highest award for young professionals and business people.

Natalie, age 26, won this recognition for her community involvement, management and leadership roll and the growth and direction that she has taken her company, Bama Jammer, Inc. Bama Jammer provides embroidery, screen printing and promotional items and apparel to the federal government and regional businesses. Natalie started the company in 2006 with a $75 investment. At the time, she was a junior and cheerleader at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. In four years, the company crossed the multi-million dollar threshold.

When Natalie walked across the stage to receive this award, I leaned over to Sharon and said, "I can die now. We have taught our children to hunt."

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Dedication

Thirty years ago, I pulled into the drive-through window at a McDonald's fast food restaurant on South Parkway in Huntsville, Alabama. A pretty young lady came bouncing to the window, smiled at me and blurted, "Welcome to McDonalds. Could I take your order please?" "Yes," I responded. "I'll have a sausage and biscuit, a diet coke, and what time do you get off?" While many shook their heads in disbelief, three months later we were married.

That innocent meeting terminated Sharon's career as a hamburger flipper and began the biggest adventure of our lives! I stumbled into my life's partner, business partner, fellow adventurer, explorer, lover and best friend! Together we have overcome what seemed to be insurmountable hurdles. We have beaten the odds time and time again. We began without a dime in our pockets, and accomplished things that others said could not be done. Together, we have built six businesses; raised three great kids; visited a lot of places; won more awards than I can remember; got our pictures in the paper; accumulated lots of stuff; traveled the world; bought and flew airplanes; met Zig Ziglar, Steve Wynn, Dave Ramsey, Phil Niekro and baseball stars and other athletes, country music stars, movie stars, at least one first lady and other important and famous people; were TV personalities; wrote books; played the harmonica and banjo; owned Cadillacs, Jaguars and Mercedes; juggled; won a dance contest; taught Sunday School; were featured in many magazines; made a few speeches; got some money in our pockets; became grandparents; and lived life to its absolute fullest. How could I not dedicate this book to Sharon, my greatest inspiration?

Ray "the Bama Jammer"™

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Caveman Entrepreneurship

In the words of Blanche Dubois in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar named Desire, the entrepreneur, like the caveman, must return home each day "bearing the raw meat from a kill in the jungle!"

Caricatures are by our dear friend, Walter Hartley.

So, you have tons of debt, credit card bills, a pregnant wife and four kids. What a great time to quit your job and to go into business for yourself!

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Introduction

On March 22, 2003 it was a bright and beautiful, cloudless day and we were sitting in the Las Vegas airport heading home to Huntsville, Alabama. There were twelve of us and we had just attended the Advertising Specialty Institute's annual convention and trade show at the Sands Exposition Center. Traveling with us were six employees from our office and our two teenage daughters, and four family friends. This trip had a been special one since our company, Bama Jammer Promotions, had sales revenue for 2002 that ranked us among the top ten fastest growing promotional products distribution companies in the United States and Canada. There were 18,000 other companies competing for this honor and we had made the top ten! What made this even more rewarding was the fact that we had started with absolutely nothing and had accomplished this in five short years! We knew that the competition was stiff. Many of the top ten companies were financial giants with large staffs, numerous sales people and tremendous budgets. We were tiny compared these Goliaths in our industry. At that time, we only had six full-time employees, two part-timers, and three part-time contract labor sales people. We knew that the mathematical probability of us winning was not in our favor. Realistically, we were expecting to be awarded ninth or tenth place.

We were waiting for breakfast in a fast food airport restaurant when the conversation led to an event that had happened the night before at the Excalibur Casino. It was spring break for most colleges and high schools and Las Vegas had been flooded with hordes of college and high school kids who migrate there each year from all across the country. One of them had won thirty nine million dollars by running the odds up on a one dollar slot machine! Each one in our group was sharing their views of what they would do if they had won the thirty nine million dollars. After a while it was my turn to reveal my dream. After careful thought, I stated that I would love to devote my time to writing.

As we all made our way to our departing gate, I thought about my statement. Why would winning a fortune allow me to write? Writing certainly does not require financial independence. Of all the choices of things that I could do with my life, I wanted to write. If this was the thing that I wanted most to do, and there were insurmountable hurdles that would hinder me from doing this, then why not do it! My wife, Sharon, and I had already written four books that had found moderate success. Although the books were self- published, they had found distribution and had experienced fair sales in Wal-Mart, Books-A-Million, Opryland, Baker and Taylor, Hohner, Inc., Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and a few other local and regional book stores. Sharon and I had also had been published many times in several national and international trade and professional magazines. Yesterday's Memories, a popular nostalgic magazine, had even named me "Writer of the Year" a couple of years before. My heart beat fast as I began to collect my thoughts and weigh the possibilities.

That was the moment that I decided to write this book. Before the plane had left the ground, I had completed this introduction.

By the way, our company, Bama Jammer Promotions, two days before had been awarded a granite monument which read:

"Bama Jammer Promotions - The Number One Fastest Growing Promotional Products Distribution Company in America – 2003"

NOTE: A year later, in 2004, Bama Jammer was again named "The Fastest Growing Promotional Products Distribution Company in the Country." In the sixty-nine year history of the Advertising Specialty Institute, Bama Jammer is the only company to have won that award twice.

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Our personal advice to budding entrepreneurs:

"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left behind by those who hustle!"

"Never confuse the impossible with the merely improbable!"

"Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment."

"May God always keep an arm around my shoulder and a hand over my mouth...or get me in a headlock if necessary!"

"Don't place too much importance on a formal education.

It's self-education that is important and will make you wealthy."

"The volume of sales means nothing. In business, the only thing that matters is the amount of money that goes into your pocket at the end of the day."

We were once asked to sum up our business strategy in as simple terms as possible. Our reply was,

"Buy low. Sell high."

"You must sow the seed of ambition in your heart."

"Remember, that your body is your temple

and your first million dollars is good health!"

"On investing... Experience has taught us that the best place to put our money is in our own pocket."

"One of our greatest pleasures in life is accomplishing things

and reaching the goals that others said we could never attain."

Sharon and Ray Steelman

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About Bama Jammer ™

Bama Jammer ™ Promotions

Accolades

In 2007, Bama Jammer was the recipient of the "Torch Award (for ethics in business)" by the North Alabama Better Business Bureau.

In October 2006, The SRMBC named Bama Jammer ™ "The Minority Supplier of the Southeast " (medium size companies)

Bama Jammer ™ was a finalist in North Alabama Better Business Bureau's Ethics in Business Award (Torch Award) 2005.

In August of 2004, the Huntsville / Madison County, Alabama Chamber of Commerce named Bama Jammer "The Small Business of the Year" in the wholesale / retail division.

Named "Number One Fastest Growing Promotional Products

Distribution Company in America - 2004

Named "Number One Fastest Growing Promotional Products

Distribution Company in America - 2003

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Index of Chapters

Caveman Entrepreneurship

1. So, You Want to be a Caveman

2. Damn the Torpedoes...Full Speed Ahead

3. Valuable Advice from Stupid People

4. The OccuDent Experience

5. Radio Talk Show Hosts and Other Blowhards

6. Attorneys, Bankers, Accountants and Other Bloodsuckers

7. Let's Rob the Bank. .. Legally

8. Practice Does Not Make Perfect

9. Davy Crockett, the Perfect Businessman

10. Why Do I Attract Parasites?

11. Your Best Friend and Worst Enemy, Uncle Sam

12. Am I Lucky or What?

13 .Change is in the Wind

14. Seat of the Pants Marketing

15. All Cave Men Must Carry a Big Stick

16. Leaders, Bosses and Bossy Leaders

17. The Best Mousetrap, And No One's at My Door

18. Squeeze the Dollar 'til the Eagle Grins

19. Let's Plant a Money Tree

20. Thank God I was Bad at Math

21. College Degrees and other Worthless Pedigrees

22. Stealing Third Base

23. NAFTA – The Job Termination Act of 1993

24. The American Dream is Sometimes a Nightmare

25. How to Flop at Business

26. You're Fat, Ugly and Over Weight, and Those Are Your Good Points!

27. A Caveman's Obituary

28. Pick only the Fights that You Can Win

29. Strategies That Make a Preacher Cuss

30. Get Your Ducks in a Row

31. Cookie Jar Capital

32. God Watches Over Children and Fools

33. Lots of Flies Follow a Garbage Truck

34. Cutting Your Losses

35. Why Didn't That Kite Electrocute Ben Franklin?

36. Ed McMahan Ain't Coming

37. Executive Development

38. In 2008, I took a nap, when I awoke my whole world had changed

39. A Tip of the Hat to the Ladies

40. Reinvent Yourself

41. The Hardest Part, Getting Off Your Butt and on Your Feet!

42. Handing Off the Baton

Business Tips

Appendix

Resources

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Chapter One

So, You Want to be a Caveman?

The caveman was the world's first real entrepreneur. He had no choice. Either he got up, got his club, wandered into the woods, set his traps, killed something and drug it home each day, or he starved. He had to be able to out-run the fastest saber tooth tiger or he perished. There were no guaranteed salaries, pension plans, 401K's, trade unions to protect him, deferred compensation programs, life and health benefit programs or Christmas turkeys or bonuses. The caveman had to perform each day, every day by the sweat of his brow and with his two hands and wit or he would not survive. Were there some cavemen who survived better and longer than others? Sure there were! Some hunted longer, ran faster, got up earlier, learned to set better traps, learned to preserve their foods and prospered better than the others. These cavemen had the prettiest women, wore warmer furs, had better caves, bigger clubs and were envied and copied by the other cave people. Since mankind first came upon the earth, there were those who learned to excel over others. There always have been those who, through their willingness to take calculated risks, work harder, work smarter, work longer, develop their skills and improve themselves, achieve when others fail. This is true in the animal world. The biggest and strongest buck gets the doe. The fastest gazelle is never eaten by the lion. The smartest mouse is never caught in the trap no matter how large the cheese appears to be!

Nothing has changed today except that the mentality of the caveman has been absolved by today's modern world. Most people today would starve to death if they had to survive by killing something and dragging it home everyday. Most would starve if they had to really work to make a living. Many today had rather live with tremendous debt, work in jobs that they hate and with people that they despise and live in houses that they cannot afford than to roll up their sleeves and change their condition in life.

Today, it is hard to listen to the radio without occasionally stumbling into one of those financial gurus on the talk radio stations out there. On every show, someone will call in to ask advice on the matter of personal bankruptcy. This person is always in debt because he has established habits of making one poor choice after another. He always has lived in houses that he could not afford, attended college on borrowed money, bought automobiles when he should have been walking and built up credit card and personal debt that was larger than his annual income. All of these callers want to declare bankruptcy. They are seeking advice as to how to get the process started. Almost none of them are willing to do the things necessary to eliminate the debt. What? Work two jobs! Nonsense! Work out a payment plan to systematically eliminate the debt. Not me! They just want to know how to wipe out the debt that they, under legal contract, legitimately owe. By doing so, they cross the magic threshold that converts them from a consumer to a thief! They are technically robbing a bank! They are absolutely no different than the person who straightens his mask, sticks a gun in a teller's face then runs to a get-away car. They are doing exactly the same thing except that the bank robber deserves more respect since he is more honest in his intentions. A thief is someone who knowingly and willingly steals from others. If we would today again implement debtor's prisons, there is no doubt that personal debt would drop to near zero. Mankind has become accustomed to the cushions afforded by this society. Today, there are few consequences for a person's actions. Because of this, the caveman mentality of eat or be eaten has been lost. As our bankruptcy courts have proven, many have become lazy and had rather steal than to actually work to change their condition. What is as disappointing is that society has accepted this and places little or no shame on the actions of these people!

This book is addressed to those who, like the cavemen of long ago, want to enter the world of entrepreneurship. This is a great country with opportunity hanging before each of us like a ripe, red apple ready for picking. There is no better place to be in the universe for those who want to enter the world of entrepreneurship. That world is not for the lazy, fainthearted, weak or unstable. It is for those who are willing to run ahead of the racers, to work longer, harder, faster and smarter. It is for those who are willing to break tradition, to color outside of the lines, to stand straight, to square their shoulders, swallow hard and kill something for the pot each and every day. It is for those who are not willing to live like everyone else. It is for those who do not want to be normal. It is for those who want to lift themselves above the crowd and, by their own two hands, shape and direct their future. If you fit this mold, then get on your feet, pick up your club, follow us as we welcome you to the brotherhood of the caveman and the greatest adventure of your life!

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Chapter Two

Damn the Torpedoes... Full Speed Ahead!

In this world, timing is everything. What would your life had been like if you had not overslept, left your apartment late, rounded the corner downtown and bumped headlong into the stranger that twelve months later would be your spouse? How about the time that you were headed home and decided at the last minute to make one more sale call that resulted in the biggest sale that you ever made? Remember the time that you hastily made a right hand turn and, by a hair, avoided becoming a part of a Mack truck grill! Timing is everything in this life. Lives are permanently changed by split second decisions. Fortunes are missed by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lives are changed by chance encounters that result in opportunities that would never have come about again.

Timing is everything in business. It is absolutely amazing that some people plunge headlong into a business venture when all the signs are wrong and the whole world is screaming, "Stop! Not now!" Wait until things are right and your business will at least have a fighting chance to survive. Many people enter into business the exact way that they enter into a marriage. They plunge head long without a lot of thought and without weighing all the possibilities, that after the magic is gone, things might not work out exactly as expected. To survive in business is tough when things are right, the stars are aligned, and everybody is waiting to beat a path to your door and grab your product from your fat, little hand. Many people are so eager to go into business that they ignore the signs and assume that some how the whole thing will work out. These same people fly to Las Vegas, rush to the casinos and, without knowing anything at all about the science of gambling and the laws of probability, eagerly give their money to strangers in the name of entertainment! "Damn the Torpedoes... Full speed ahead," may have worked for the battleship, Hartford, and Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, but, quite honestly, I would not want him on my team or leading my Navy. He actually should have ended up at the bottom of Mobile Bay!

In those Management 101 classes, the wise old college professors, with their baggy pants and flip flops with socks, will teach you that there are five functions of management. Those functions are planning, organizing, directing, coordinating and controlling. In the college of hard knocks, the real training grounds of this world, there actually are eight functions of management, the five functions above, plus negotiating, executing and evaluating. All of these functions are equally important. If you fail at any one of them then the likelihood of success goes down dramatically. The first five functions are extremely important. But, you can plan, organize, direct, coordinate and control all that you want to -- but, if you don't perform, if you don't make something happen, if you don't execute, then the business will fold and you will be under an overpass with a "work for food" sign around your neck! If you don't negotiate the best terms, the lowest price, the sweetest deal, then your margins drop, your costs go up and you are headed back to your old job on the assembly line. If you do not properly evaluate your efforts and weigh your successes and project accurately into the future, then get your lunchbox ready and start getting used to those mayonnaise sandwiches again!

In discussing the eight functions of management, the first one is planning. It is first because the first thing that you have to do is plan. You have to have a game plan. You have to have a road map. You have to have a strategy. You have to know where you intend to go with you business before you ever buy the business cards. You have to do your homework. Do your market research and know that there is a demand for your product or service. Know without a doubt that if you open a Mom and Pop grocery store that it is not located in the shadow of Kroger Supermarket. Plan, plan, plan! Do your market research. Know your product. Know your competition. Know that you can produce and sell your product at a competitive price. Be sure that you are not trying to sell buggy whips to yuppies driving corvettes. Depending on which analysis a person reads, the failure rate of small businesses in the first five years is around 65%. It has been estimated that of the remaining 35% as many as 30% are not making a profit at the end of that five year period! That means, that of the original start-up companies, only 25% are still in businesses and profitable after five years. So, the probability of a start-up company surviving for five years and being profitable is about one in four. Your chance of failure is 75%!

It is amazing that so many businesses start each and every day with ideas that have absolutely no possibility of surviving in the marketplace. Some of these are seasonal businesses that open their doors at absolutely the wrong time of the year. I know that sounds crazy, but, if you watch, you will see it happen every day. Many young businesses start with such a limited market that the business does not have enough customers to support their product or services. I saw a young fellow start an exotic reptile retail business in a small rural town of twenty thousand people. The owner was passionate about his cause but probably had no more than ten or fifteen potential customers within a thirty mile radius! There was very little potential for repeat business. Once you buy one of those funny lizards with bad breath, there is little need to keep coming back for others. This particular fellow rented a retail storefront in a high visibility area and was probably lucky to pay the first month's rent. You have to be passionate about what you do but you also have to be practical and use some down-home common sense. You have to build a better mousetrap and everyone will beat a path to your door, only if they want to buy a mousetrap!

The bottom line is this. Do your market research. Know that you can sell the product that you are marketing. Be positive, without a doubt, that there is a demand for that product. Be sure that you can price that product at a price that people are willing to pay. Be completely sure that the product will have a long-term demand and will not suddenly become obsolete. Be sure that there is going to be repeat business. Don't be impulsive. Take your time. Read all the signs. Be patient and make a sound decision after very much study. Then remember the seventh function of management... Execute the plan while minimizing your exposure and risk. Work, work, work and five years later maybe you will be in that 25% of surviving businesses which are actually making a profit!

Damn the Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead!

Here is the story of my worst business decision and my biggest business mistake.

Like Admiral David Glasgow Farragut mentioned above, in my first real business venture, I used the "Damn the Torpedoes" approach. All the signs were wrong. My financial situation was wrong. My business structure was wrong. My business experience was deficient. My market analysis was incorrect. My business plan was non-existent.

I was in my late twenties and had just moved into an assistant principal position at S.R. Butler High School. At that time Butler High School was the largest secondary school in the state of Alabama. In the history of the Huntsville City School System, I was the youngest person to ever be appointed as an assistant principal at a major high school. I surmised that I was an experiment to see if a young administrator would be better suited to work with the 3,100 teenage students that walked through Butler's doors each day.

I had accomplished a lot at such a young age, but, in my heart I had a wrenching desire to be independent and explore the possibilities as an entrepreneur. I had experimented with several ideas, all of which had been moderately successful. I liked the feeling of controlling my own direction. I liked not limiting my income to what someone else thought that my talents and services were worth. I liked the idea of molding my future with the sweat of my brow, limited only by my imagination. --- Then opportunity came my way!

One day an old friend walked into my office at Butler High School. I had known him since our high school days and I had heard of his success in the retail world. He had opened two sporting goods stores in Middle Tennessee which appeared to be doing really well. One was in my hometown of Fayetteville, Tennessee and the other was in Tullahoma, Tennessee, approximately thirty miles from Fayetteville. He told me that he had decided to move to Florida and his stores were up for sale. My heart beat fast. -- He said that he thought that I would be the ideal candidate to purchase the stores because of my energy, enthusiasm and demonstrated record of success. He said that my personal connections in the school business would guarantee an immediate market into the school systems for selling sporting goods and team supplies. He was right, I thought! How could I miss this opportunity? How could this possibly go wrong? I could keep my job as assistant principal, hire a manager and sit back and watch the money roll in! I would never in my life get a chance like this again. I had been so successful at everything that I had ever done that this business could not fail. I was well known in the region and my friends, family and acquaintances would surely rush to my stores and snatch my products right off of the shelves! I had to move fast before someone else beat me to it!

The next thing that I knew, I was in front of his banker and his attorney entering into a partnership with another old friend of mine to purchase both stores. My old friend and I would be equal partners, each owning fifty percent of the business. In hindsight, my partner knew no more about the retail business than I knew, so, the recipe was right for failure. To make matters worse, we purchased the business assuming all assets and liabilities! How could we have been so stupid? Of course, there was nothing in writing listing the total debt owed or the assets owned by the company.

Here is a brief summary of the rest of the story: We soon found that the competition in the sporting goods marketplace in southern Tennessee and north Alabama, our primary markets, was fierce. We also learned that we did not have enough working capital to make the business thrive. There was a lot more business debt than we had expected (Remember we assumed all of the company's liabilities!). The assets and inventory were pretty much as they were explained to us but the stock was old, outdated or unfashionable. The rental lease agreements were unbreakable and we were obligated for many years. My connections in the school system did not yield the outcome that we were expecting. Since neither my partner nor I were working directly in the business, we naturally had to hire two managers and, of course, clerical help. As a result, our overhead skyrocketed! Both my partner and I had purchased the business with borrowed money so we each had a personal note payable to the bank each month. To make matters worst, we had each pledged everything that we owned to the banks to collateralize our personal business acquisition loans. Month after month we were under the constant pressure of high business debt, high personal debt, low sales and the mental stress of holding the operation together.

That was, without a doubt, the worst business decision that I ever made. We were able to hold on to the business for six years until we got it into a position that allowed us to sell it to another wild-eyed opportunist. In six years of operation, it never made us a dime. In the process, it destroyed a long friendship with my partner; disrupted our lives for six years, destroyed one marriage, and kept us under enough constant pressure that it ate away at our attitudes.

Now, let's look at the good part of the experience. I had gotten a great education pertaining to running a business. This was my baptism into the world of the entrepreneur. Here are twenty-one things that I learned:

1. Never enter into a partnership, regardless of how tempting it is to you. A partnership is the worse form of business structure.

2. Never create, and definitely never assume another's business (or personal) debt.

3. Never think that you have all of the facts in any business transaction.

4. Never let your emotions and your ambition get you into a business deal.

5. Never pledge all that you own to secure a "can't loose" business deal.

6. Never trust anyone who in or outside the business that profits from your decisions.

7. Never begin a business by borrowing personally.

8. Never enter into a business unless you are willing to run and control the business yourself. Quit your day job.

9. Never assume that others will beat a path to your door to buy your product.

10. Never enter into a business without thoroughly researching the marketplace and the potential market for your product.

11. Never enter in a business deal without a good, solid, well-thought-out and written business plan. Update that plan at least once, maybe twice, a year.

12. Never consider starting a business unless you completely understand a Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Statement, Cash Flow and Projection Statements and all tax responsibilities, liabilities and ramifications.

13. Never enter a business arrangement that you cannot permanently close any day of the week and walk away from it whenever you decide to do so.

14. Never let other people "pull your strings." -- Always stay in complete control.

15. Never let a business arrangement destroy personal relationships.

16. Never begin any business endeavor without lots of operating capital.

17. Never enter into any endeavor unless everything is in writing, listed and outlined in detail.

18. A fifty percent ownership is a Mexican standoff. \-- No one has control.

19. Always read the fine print!

20. Beware of those who pump up your ego and then try to sell you something.

21. Never rely on verbal agreements.

As painful as the experience above turned out to be, it gave me the foundation upon which I was able to build many successful businesses. I never forgot that terrible experience and can still feel that painful gnawing in my gut. Over the years, I have applied the principles above to every business in which I was ever involved. I never again started a business that didn't work.

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Chapter Three

Valuable Advice from Stupid People

One thing that I was fortunate to learn when I was very young was to be careful from whom I take advice. God blessed me by teaching me early in life that there were actually very few people from whom I should take advice. You should never, ever, ever take advice from stupid or inexperienced people. In fact, be very careful to even take advice from smart and experienced people. Once I had a Certified Public Accountant give me advice pertaining to a business decision that absolutely would have turned my success into mediocrity. I even paid him highly to give me that poor advice. The most precious gift that God can give one of his children is to bless that person with good old fashion common sense. Time has taught me that common sense is not too common after all! In fact, it is really quite rare. I had rather be surrounded by people with common sense than professors with stacks of degrees and no talent for practical application. To survive, you have to be street-smart. A person has to develop the ability to know when things really don't add up. You have to be able to smell a bad deal just as easily as limburger on rye. You have to devise an inner sense to know when to hold the cards or fold the cards as Kenny Rogers would say.

As an entrepreneur, you have to learn to think on your feet, if you are to make it in the business world. Just like the caveman, you have to know when to stand and fight or when to climb the nearest tree. Surround yourself with the best advisors that you can find. Listen to their wise counsel while weighing their knowledge, experiences, prejudices and biases. The actress Glen Close summed it all up in her character as Patty Hughes, the tough attorney in the 2009 cable TV series Damages. With a cold stare and tight jaw she leaned forward toward her client and summed up her profession in three words. --- "Trust no one!"

Our daughter, Natalie, learned this lesson when she was in the first grade. Natalie was fascinated with beauty contests. She competed in her first beauty walk when she was in the first grade and, although she was the prettiest one on the stage, she didn't finish very well in the competition. She was heart-broken. Natalie had never competed before and was not as experienced as the other little girls. She did not have the poise and confidence that it took to win. She did not project the bright smile. She did not know the proper way to walk, to stand, to turn and to court the judges. When the second grade competition rolled around, she was ready. She knew that one of the teachers in the school was a past beauty contestant and that the teacher knew what it took to win. This teacher had been involved in beauty contests for years. She knew everything that Natalie did not know. Natalie knew that this teacher had the knowledge to teach her how to win these contests. Unknown to her mother and me, Natalie met with the teacher several times before the competition. She got the teacher to train and coach her. Natalie learned how to walk holding her head high and proud. She learned how to smile and entice the judges. Natalie developed the poise, confidence and charm that is necessary to win. She learned all the little secrets that are required to excel in those competitions. Natalie easily won the beauty walk in the second grade, and every grade thereafter, because she learned the value of seeking wise counsel. Of all the people that she knew, Natalie selected the one person who she felt knew the most about what she was trying to learn. Her Mom and I were so proud of her for winning the contest, but I was elated that she had learned the value of seeking wise counsel.

It is imperative that every entrepreneur learns what Natalie learned in the second grade. People are always free with advice. Be careful to whom you listen. If you want to learn to hit a baseball then talk to Mark McGuire. Don't talk to the guy down the street that never got a hit in his life! If you want to learn to be the best at golf, take the advice of Tiger Wood. -- not personal advice -- but golf advice. If you want to learn about business, find the most successful businessman in your town, call him on the phone and listen to the lessons that he has learned. Don't talk to your fellow worker who is on the brink of bankruptcy and doesn't know a balance sheet from a bed sheet!

When starting a business, surround yourself with the best advisors that money can buy. Never skimp on attorneys and accountants. That will be the best money that you will ever spend. Take their advice, but weigh it as carefully as sieve in the hand of the wisest of sages. Read everything that you can find pertaining to all aspects of your business. Become the best expert anywhere on your product, your service and your business. No one should know more about your business than you know. Be sure that you always understand that these advisors work for you. They are hired help. They are there to advise you, but you are the one who makes the final decision. Be sure that you know enough about your business to be able to do just that. In the words of Blanche Dubois in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, the entrepreneur, like the caveman, must return home each day "bearing the raw meat from a kill in the jungle!"

* * *

Chapter Four

The OccuDent Experience

In the mid-eighties, Sharon and I found ourselves running a successful insurance brokerage business. We specialized in providing employee benefit programs and had clients from Mobile to Nashville. Our business was steadily growing each year and our renewal commissions had us dreaming of tropical cruises and dark sun tans. In our quest to provide better employee benefit programs, Sharon and I noticed that dental insurance plans on the average were becoming unaffordable for most middle class Alabama families. We experimented with trying to self-insure the dental programs but found that eliminated our commissions as well as limited the benefit package to the employees. One day, we had a vision. We decided to somehow start our own dental benefit program that we would develop from scratch, design and completely control. Also, we were hearing rumblings that the Alabama trial lawyers were filing horrendous lawsuits against insurance companies doing business in Alabama. These lawsuits were systematically driving the insurers from the state. Sharon and I decided that we had better properly position ourselves in case the lack of tort reform in the Alabama Legislature (which was controlled by the Alabama trial lawyers) eliminated our livelihood. As it turned out, we were right and the OccuDent story described below saved our hides! This also was a giant step for us since it was a headlong hurdle into the true world of entrepreneurship.

Since 1984, Sharon and I had been living completely on commissions. We had no salary guarantees, no weekly draw and no annual bonuses. Like the caveman, we had to kill something each day and throw it across our shoulders and find our way back home. -- or we would get hungry! So since 1984, I guess that you could say that we were entrepreneurs. However, when we decided to develop our own dental benefit program (The Alabama Department of Insurance would not allow us to call it insurance.), we truly crossed the line into the true world of the entrepreneur. From our imagination, we invented our own product. We designed our own contracts. We built our own sales force. We planned our own marketing strategy. We designed all of our sales brochures and applications and software packages. This thing lived or died by our capabilities. This was our baby and we were determined to watch it spring forth, bloom, grow and flourish!

We had a great idea. Sharon and I actually had been thinking about it for a couple of years. We had done detailed market research and felt very strongly that the product would sell. Being active in the Alabama State Health Underwriter Association, we knew insurance brokers throughout the state that we felt would sell our product. Everything was falling into place. Our game plan looked good. Our product was being birthed in our minds and imagination. Our hearts were beating fast. Then, like the marathoners in the twenty-third mile, we hit the wall!

The OccuDent program was technically a Dental Maintenance Organization (DMO) and was patterned after the Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) that became popular during the eighties. We wanted a catchy name that everyone would remember, therefore the name OccuDent was created by combining the terms "occupational-dental" plans. We had a group of dentists throughout Alabama that contracted with us to provide dental benefits to our customers at deep discounted charges. We, in turn, collected a premium from those covered under the plan (the insured) and returned two thirds of the money collected to the dentists who participated in the program. Each dentist received this monthly "capitation fee" based on the number of people in the plan that selected that particular dentist as their dental provider. The dentist received this capitation each month even if none of his participants received dental care. The concept was unique in that the dentist would get a capitation check from us each month which provided the dentist with a guaranteed income. We, of course, kept the remaining one third of the premium as our fee for administering the plan. The contract itself was actually between the dentist and his patients and we (OccuDent) functioned as a third party administrator.

We soon learned that the wheels of bureaucracy turn very slowly. The Alabama Department of Insurance regulated all "insurance" programs within the borders of the state. Since our program was the first of its kind in Alabama, there was some uncertainty in how to classify us. We were not insurance yet we provided insurance type benefits. Should we be regulated by the Department of Insurance or the Department of Public Health? Finally, after some debate and heated discussion, it was determined that we would be regulated by the Department of Insurance. The Department of Insurance had a statute on the books that stated that all insurance companies within the state of Alabama must post one million dollars in cash to be held in escrow by the Department. After learning this, Sharon and I thought that we were doomed. Needless to say, we didn't have a million dollars. All we had was an idea and a lot of energy. We were stopped dead in our tracks!

Sometimes a person is better off not knowing what lies ahead. If we had known what we were up against, we probably would have given up. Everyone was telling us that there was no way that we, a couple of naive laymen, could start a real insurance (although - remember... it was not really insurance) company. We began to understand how Noah must have felt. There were those who we knew were talking (probably laughing) behind our backs. "Everyone knows that you can't start and run a real insurance company -- and run it out of the basement of your home. -- you've got to be kidding. Besides that type of thing takes a lot of money, personnel, lawyers and high priced accountants...Stop dreaming!"

Despite the opposition and seemingly insurmountable hurdles, Sharon and I continued to push forward. We filed the appropriate forms, paperwork and financial statements with the Department of Insurance -- and we waited -- and we waited -- and we waited some more. In the meantime, we started reading the legal codes that regulated insurance companies in Alabama. Months and months of reading and study lay before us. In the meantime, I made several trips to the Alabama Department of Insurance. I soon became a familiar face in the halls of the Department. All the secretaries and most of the attorneys knew my name. Soon we were on a first name basis and many probably thought that I worked in the building.

One day, I made a discovery. I found a little-known statute that said that, instead of posting a million dollars cash, it might be possible to post a million dollar bond. What a break! If I could only convince the attorneys at the Department of Insurance to accept a bond instead of cash, we might be able to pull this off. I went to work!

For the next few months, I met with the various attorneys at the Department of Insurance and presented my case. Terry Raycraft, one of the attorneys, began to get a little friendlier to me. Maybe Mr. Raycraft felt sorry for me. Maybe he was amazed that we would not give up. Maybe he was curious as to how far we would go before we quit trying. Maybe he really wanted to help.

Then, one day, we finally got the go ahead on the bond. The Insurance Department decided that they would accept the bond instead of a million dollars in cash. We immediately started that process and, within a month, we had a million dollar bond in hand! Shortly thereafter, all of our contracts, marketing materials, brochures, financials and other paper work were approved by the Department. Two long, hard, years after we first approached the Alabama Department of Insurance with our idea, we were issued a certificate of approval to operate as a Dental Maintenance Organization in Alabama.

On August 1, 1991 OccuDent began operation in Alabama. We sold our first client the next day. Within thirty days, we had thirty two dentists who agreed to participate in the program. Within two months, we had sixty seven dentists enrolled in the OccuDent program. We made money from the day that we sold our first customer. The company grew rapidly and, within a year, became our full-time work. OccuDent was always profitable and grew to have over two hundred and fifty dentists and agents on our monthly capitation schedule and payroll. We eventually had five full-time employees working in the basement of our home. Other than our payroll, our overhead was zero.

At 10:00 AM on March 30, 1995, OccuDent was purchased from Steelman and Associates by United Concordia Dental Plans of Camp Hill, Maryland, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pennsylvania Blue Shield. Sharon and I drove to the Alabama Department of Insurance in Montgomery to close the deal. Around the conference table we all sat. The sale had to be supervised and approved by the Department of Insurance. On one side of the table sat a long line of officials from United Concordia. These included their Vice-President, controller, a couple of attorneys, Director of Marketing, and a couple of other people whose titles escape me. On the other side of the table sat Mickey Debellis, the Alabama Insurance Commissioner, attorney Terry Raycraft, Elizabeth Bookwalter, who was another of the Department's attorneys, and other insurance officials. At the end of the table, Sharon and I sat alone. In a few minutes it was over. OccuDent was no longer ours. Fifteen minutes later, the United Concordia folks were headed back to the airport. Sharon and I and our two young daughters, Natalie and Bethany, were on the way to Fort Walton Beach, Florida. We had smiles on our faces and a jingle in our pockets. The sale of OccuDent certainly changed our lives. Two years later, OccuDent (the name was changed to United Concordia) was said to be the largest dental provider in the state of Alabama.

There are several lessons to be learned from our OccuDent experience. No matter what the odds are, never give up. OccuDent molded Sharon and me into real honest-to-goodness entrepreneurs! We learned the eight functions of management from the ground up. We learned that real cave people keep pushing ahead no matter what others are saying. We learned that those who ridiculed us the most were the first to come to us, asking for a job, and wanting to buy stock in the company. Many of the principles of success outlined in this book came from the OccuDent experience. We learned the value of a good solid business plan. We learned the importance of controlling overhead and expense. We learned the true value of business relationships. We learned that there are times to dream, times to build, times to buy and times to sell.

The OccuDent experience brought us headlong into the world of caveman entrepreneurship. This experience placed us in a position to help others by establishing endowed scholarships, to use our resources through the Mercy Flight program to help the sick, to hire the handicapped, and to further expand our community service through the establishment of Bama Jammer Promotions. We learned that opportunity hangs before each of us like a ripe, juicy red apple on the branch of the apple tree. We each have to reach out and get it. We may have to stretch a bit, climb the tree, get a taller ladder or stand on someone's shoulders. God places the apple in front of each of us, however, it is up to us to provide the effort to get it.

Sometimes a person is better off not knowing the challenges and pitfalls that lie ahead. If Sharon and I had known the obstacles that were before us in establishing and operating OccuDent, then we may have given up before we started. We may have said, like the others, that this cannot be done. There is some blessing in not knowing any better.

There was an elderly lady and a young man on the Metro subway system late at night in Washington. They both were departing at the same station. The young man walked ahead of the elderly lady as she shuffled toward the gate. The young man politely held the gate open and waited for her. "Young man," she exclaimed. "You are so polite. I never see this type of character displayed here in the city." He answered, "Yes Ma'am. I am from out of town and don't know any better."

When I was twenty eight years old I was living in Huntsville, Alabama and was teaching and coaching at S.R. Butler High School, the largest school in the state of Alabama. I had been active and physically fit all of my life. I started running when I was thirteen or fourteen years old and had run almost continuously since that time. One day, I saw a poster stating that the regional track club was having a 5K cross country race in a couple of weeks. Although I had run for most of my life, I had never run with others or participated in any formal running programs. I did not run in college or have any formal training pertaining to track and field \-- and running. I decided that if I did not have anything to do on that date that I might go and at least jog along.

The day of the race came and there I was in my $15 black Converse high top tennis shoes, my favorite Jimmy Buffet tee shirt and cut off jeans. There was a huge crowd, most of whom were very good runners. I could tell that because they all had dark tans, those cute little nylon running shorts, headbands, Nike tank tops, wrist band timers and those $120 running shoes. From the beginning, I felt a little intimidated. Like the others, I got my contestant number pinned it to my shirt and headed for the starting line. There were a couple of hundred runners squeezing together and waiting for the race to begin. I lined up near the back of the group.

From the starting gun, I began to measure myself against the competition. I really did not know how fast that I should run, but it seemed to me that the others were really starting out too slowly. I picked up the pace and, after the first mile, I was running pretty close to the front of the pack. I continued to run faster and faster until I noticed that there were only five runners in front of me. I picked up the pace. Not long after that, I was up front. I remember thinking that later in the race the other runners would probably pass me like I was standing still. My heart pounded in my chest. I was out of breath. My side was beginning to hurt. "Only one more mile," I thought -- "Only one more mile." Finally, I could see the finish line and nearly collapsed as I threw myself across the string marking the end of the race. When it was all over and the dust settled, I had won first place!

The other runners were giving me strange looks. A guy like me who came out of nowhere should not win one of these races. I could tell what they were thinking. Today, I have a navy blue "First Place" ribbon professing that, on that particular day, I was the fastest runner in the 5K cross country race. You see, I won because I did not know that I could not win! I won because I was not aware that others were faster, that others had held college records, that others were known state-wide as being the fastest and best. I won because I did not know that I could not win!

The day after the race, the local newspaper sports section had a small article pertaining to the race, the winners and the background of the first ten finishers. As I read the story and learned of the credentials of the top ten runners, I was amazed. Each of the top runners had a long and detailed history of successes in high school, college and beyond. How did I actually win that race? I remember thinking that it must have been a fluke. Each of those runners must have had a bad day! After that race, I never won another race. That tells you something about the power of one's mindset.

Here is a quick story to illustrate that point.

On September 9, 2007, a low budget movie was released in 400 theatres across the country. This movie was the idea of Alex and Stephen Kendrick, two young men from Albany, Georgia. They had experimented with making movies since they were children but had no real experience, contacts in the movie industry, actors or money. What they did have, however, was an overwhelming desire to spread the Christian gospel through the element that had the most influence on children, teenagers and young adults...the movies. They stated that they began praying for a movie plot that would touch people and change lives forever. Using their father who suffered from many years from multiple sclerosis, as their example, they began a film centered around a Georgia high school football team and the spiritual plot of trusting God above all things.... and never giving up. Their story revolved around the theme that "the deepest test of faith is when a person feels like God has abandoned him." Their church family at the Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia immediately decided to back the movie as a part of their testimonial and determination to spread the good word.

This movie, Facing the Giants, was directed by amateurs. There was not a professional actor in the cast. The equipment was far from the best that was available. The movie was filmed on location in Albany at the local high school and in the community. The action shots were taken at the local high school football games using home town folks. When the movie was finished, a single copy of the DVD was sent to Provident Music Group since some of their music scores had been used in the movie. The staff at Provident reviewed it, loved it, and sent a copy to Sony, their parent company. At that time, Sony was the largest movie distributor in the world. Sony was shocked at the modest, low budget production and decided to see what they could do with it. The movie was released in September, 2007 and enjoyed a 17 week run that immediately impacted over 1.5 million people! At this writing, the DVD has now been released in over 56 countries and can be found on store shelves everywhere!

Facing the Giants has a great theme and hard-hitting story about the undying strength of faith in God when faced with overwhelming odds and hard times. "Our fathers strength in God during his ongoing struggle against multiple sclerosis was our inspiration'" stated the two brothers. They went on, "His steadfast resolve gave us a foundation to trust God for the impossible and to praise him whether we win or lose and despite everything...Never give up!"

The following excerpt is taken from the June, 2007 issue of the Christian magazine, Homelife.

"In the fall of 2006, movie theaters projected a life-changing scene from the film "Facing the Giants." A high school football coach dared his blindfolded team captain to attempt the death crawl drill while carrying another player on his back. After pushing his body to the limit, the young man begged the coach to let him stop short of the goal. "It's too hard!" he yelled. But the coach's passion to see him succeed surpassed the boy's desire to give up. "Don't quit! Don't quit! Don't quit!" the coach screamed with more intensity as every additional yard only increased the boy's burning pain.

In audiences across the country, men had tears in their eyes as they questioned their own level of commitment. But the coach's impassioned message was not simply a line in a movie script. It was it was an echo from the hearts of the screenwriters, Alex and Stephen Kendrick."

Here is the inside story. When the young football player was asked how far he thought that he could carry his teammate during the four point crawl he stated, "At best 50 yards." Then he was blindfolded. When the pain, screaming and entire ordeal was over and the blindfold was removed, the young man was lying in the opposite end zone! He had carried his teammate 100 yards.... twice as much as he mentally though that he could carry him.

There is a real lesson here. None of us should ever restrict ourselves to the limits imposed by our own mindset!

* * *

Chapter Five

Radio Talk Show Hosts and Other Big Mouths and Blowhards

Over-the-air radio is one of the most misused forms of media today. There is so much potential to reach the masses with programming that can be helpful, inspirational, patriotic, educational and uplifting. Instead, we have a choice of listening to music or talk shows. Most of the talk shows are no more than big mouths with a mike. Almost all of them have a hidden (or open) political or personal agenda that they push each day, slowly brainwashing their listeners with their propaganda and polishing their egos until they shine like spit on a Cadillac bumper. What is amazing is that people call the shows daily singing the hosts' praises and "dittoing" their philosophies. What ever happened to free thinkers in this country? Did we progress this far in this country with blinders pulled two notches too tight! Chapter three of this book deals with taking advice from stupid people. The purpose of chapter five is to point out the importance of using your own head in the world of entrepreneurship. Do your own research, be your own person, don't let anyone think for you.

In the past few years I have listened patiently to the different experts that have been paraded before me on TV, radio and on the internet. There are experts to tell me how to fix my car, handle my finances, vote correctly, buy insurance, maintain my home and correct my sexual shortcomings. Occasionally, these experts will cover a subject about which I am somewhat knowledgeable (this is not necessarily the sexual part above). What is amazing is how many times that they are absolutely wrong in their advice. If they are so wrong about the few things that I know a lot about, how wrong are they about the things about which I know nothing!

Someone once said that "blind acceptance breeds a deadly type of conformity." If you go through this life blindly accepting the advice that is so freely thrown at you, then, without a doubt, you will be a failure. Challenge everything in this life. Challenge everything in this book. Don't take my word for it! Learn to be a free thinker.

Christian religion is a great example of this. There is only one Bible, yet, at last count, there were over six thousand Christian denominations. All of the doctrines cannot be right. Without a question, there are many who polish the pews with the seat of their pants each week who do not know why they believe what they believe. Many are there because of tradition. Many are there because of convenience. Many are there for business reasons. All should be there for one reason, to worship their God. All should know why they are sitting there.

As an entrepreneur, you must develop the ability to think for yourself. If you are to survive, you must become an independent thinker. This does not mean that you should not take advice or listen to experts. Read everything that you can get your hands on that pertains to your business. Attend all the seminars that you can attend. Hire the best advisors that you can hire. Heed their counsel then make your own decisions.

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it - even if I have said it - unless it agrees with your own reasoning and your own common sense.

Guatama Buddha

* * *

Chapter Six

Attorneys, Bankers, Accountants and other Bloodsuckers

Attorneys, bankers, accountants and other legal advisors are absolutely necessary to any business. Surround yourself with the best legal advisors that money can buy. We found out years ago that there is a direct correlation between the money that you pay for legal advisors and the quality of the advice that you get. Get the best advisors that you can get, pull them close to you but keep one hand on your wallet. There is the old Amos 'n Andy joke that was taken from one of their radio shows that goes like this:

Andy was testifying before a judge as to the honesty of Kingfish when he was asked how they first met. Without hesitation, Andy replied, "One day I reached in to my back pocket for my wallet and shook hands with him!"

As I recall, that was the way that I met my first banker. I was fresh out of college, ambitious and eagerly wanting to start building my empire. This banker enticed me into a "sure thing" deal that made the bank a lot of money and from which it took me five years to recover. I learned very early to be suspect of those who would profit from my business decisions. I don't mean to imply that all lawyers, bankers and accountants are crooked. I do mean to imply that you must watch any and all advisors who will profit from your business decisions.

Once the word gets out that you are running a successful business, you will draw more flies than the garbage truck after an open house at the fish market. Every bank in town will want your business. Every accountant, attorney, stockbroker, insurance agent and financial advisor will want to take you to lunch. They will want to give you special discounts and services. You will be invited to free seminars on every subject from free love to Free Willy. Everybody will have a special deal for you. They all will want to be your friend. They will want to take you fishing and become your buddy. What they really want is a portion of your success. They want to get their fair share of your money.

Be prepared to say no. As my old high school principal told me just before he introduced me to his "board of education", the hardest word in the English language is "NO". As an entrepreneur you have to become good at saying no! It is really hard to say no after they have bought you a sixteen ounce t-bone which you devoured in ten minutes and you are now eyeballing the pecan sundae on the desert tray. Be careful not to place yourself in a position where you cannot say the magic word... NO!

* * *

Chapter Seven

Let's Rob the Bank...Legally

One of the biggest hurdles to starting your own business is MONEY. It is expensive to start your own business. You need operating capital, furniture, equipment, computers, an office, a pretty secretary and all the other amenities. Since you live from paycheck to paycheck, you also will need money to pay your bills and feed your family until your business makes a profit and can support you. Some of the above is true but most of the above is hogwash!

A perceptive person can almost always tell which new businesses will make it and which ones will not make it. A person can do this by watching the way the new business owner selects their office and the way that the office is furnished. A new business with nice, expensive furniture and an office next to the country club has a slim chance of surviving unless the owner's dad is president of the bank and his customers are in debt to the bank. The best way to start a company is to start it and keep it debt-free. Why, that can't be done! Every business has debt. There are no businesses that can be started debt-free! Everybody borrows money! Wanna Bet?

The OccuDent Dental Plan, the subject of Chapter Four, was started and run for the life of the company with absolutely no debt. From start to finish, not one dime was borrowed at any time for any reason. We had a motto that we often joked about. It was simply: ..

"If it costs money, then we don't do it!"...

You can't grow a business like that! Sure you can. OccuDent made money from the day that it was started and grew to be the largest dental benefit provider in Alabama -- with no debt. You have to have a fancy office if you have a company that requires visibility. False, again! Our insurance agency, OccuDent Dental Plans, and Bama Jammer Promotions were all three run (for a total of sixteen years) out of the basement of our home. It was much more practical to do this with small children and, better yet, there was no expensive rent payment each month. Why, everyone knows that you have to have an impressive office to prove to your customers that you are successful. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! For many years, we ran our administrative office out of our home and our sales office out of the trunk of our car. We went to our customers. Almost no one ever came to our home, but when they did, most were envious that we could attain the level of success that we had reached with no overhead. Here is a key point to remember:

The thing that should be the most important to business owners is not the amount of money that you make, but rather, the amount of money that you keep.

You don't get to keep a lot of money if you are spending it all on fancy offices and furnishings.

Money will soothe a lot of aches and pains. Whenever I made a sales call and visited a company that appeared to look down at my operation or give me the cold shoulder, there was comfort in the fact that I, working out of my car and basement, made more money each year than the highest paid executive in their whole operation! They did not know that, but I did! It is a fact that entrepreneurs on the average make much more than those climbing the corporate ladder.

Now, let me tell you how to legally rob the bank. On those talk radio shows that were mentioned in Chapter Five, there is one host that really is amazing. Many people that are on the brink of bankruptcy call that show every day. They hate their job and the people with whom they work. Their finances are in a mess. They have great potential and marketable skills but just cannot get themselves out of the rut in which they find themselves. Occasionally, someone who has no debt and great credit will call the show. They would like to start their own business but have no capital. They are seeking the advice of this financial guru. His advice without exception is to first and foremost. .. "Cut up those credit cards!" That is great advice for fools and mental midgets, but for everyone else, this borders on radio malpractice! There is no question that credit cards have gotten many people into serious trouble. There are thousands who use poor judgment; living beyond their means; going to college when they should have been working; financing weddings when they should have gotten married at a court house; buying junk instead of investing; and driving cars that cost more than they earn annually. These people will go through life and fail at everything. Oh, they might eventually find some kind of stability, but most will die head over heals in debt, with faded tattoos, a few pierced body parts, no insurance and nothing to leave their children. These people will go through life making one poor decision after another. This book is not for them. This book is for those with moderate intelligence, a hunger to succeed and a willingness to sacrifice. You do not have to be a genius to succeed in the business world, but you have to use restraint and, (here are those words again)...Common sense.

Now, back to cutting up those credit cards. There is no better time than today to go into business. We have the greatest tools ever with our fax machines, the internet, copiers, computers, data bases, phone systems...and free money! No, you read it right Free Money. As stated earlier, it is better to go into business completely debt-free, but option number two is to start a business with free money. It is better to start a business with free money than to never start it at all and continue in the rut in which you find yourself.

Today and everyday I get credit card offers in the mail. On some days I get four or five offers. .. Low interest, no interest, high limits, just take our card and use it.... And, guess what? There is no interest for thirty days if you pay your bill in full. What? That is free money!

Here is a story for that radio talk show host telling those desperate people to cut up those cards. When we first started Bama Jammer Promotions we struggled for a year trying to get our first federal government contract. Finally, there it was! We had in our hands a couple of contracts for over a million dollars. This was too good to be true! Our hard work had finally paid off! These were contracts with the federal government to provide screen printed t-shirts and baseball caps to the Department of the Army. With contracts in hand, I proudly marched into our bank expecting to load my car down with the money to finance these contracts. Ten minutes later, I was back in my car looking for another bank. I could not believe it. These were federal contracts with the U.S. government, and, although our personal and corporate credit was more than excellent, they refused to give me the money. Four more banks and three days later I realized that it was not going to happen. Even though I finally had resorted to falling on my knees and begging, we were not going to get the money! I was beginning to contact local venture capitalists to try that avenue when I went to the mailbox to get our mail. In the mailbox were four credit card letters saying that I had already been approved for a new credit card. Two of the four were at no interest. I began to think about the possibilities. Our credit was perfect. Some of the limits were in the thirty thousand dollar range. Could I get enough of these credit cards to finance these contracts? My heart beat fast and I was breathing in a syncopated rhythm as I picked up the phone and started calling each of the credit card companies. All four instantly approved me. I started applying on the internet for every credit card that I could find. At some point, they will have to stop issuing the cards, I thought. When that happens, we will start applying in Sharon's name. That is exactly what we did!

The cards started rolling in. Within a month, between Sharon and me, we had over four hundred thousand dollars of money available to us. I know that that sounds like a fib, but it was true! We started files on each of the cards so that we knew exactly how much credit we could charge without going over the limit. Within six months, we completed the government contracts which we financed completely on credit cards. We did not pay one nickel of interest and made several hundred thousand dollars of profit using this free money!

Today, I chuckle each time that I hear this radio talk show host advise another caller to cut up their credit cards. Some of these people churn the cards in blenders; some cut them with scissors; some shoot them with rifles; some burn them with acetylene torches. They call each day trying to be cute by devising new ways to destroy their cards. The problem is not with the cards. The problem is with the people. By destroying their cards, they are admitting to the world that they do not have the strength and intestinal fortitude to succeed in this world. Most are destroying the only chance that they will ever have in this world to change their position in life. It is laughable that a talk show host can make a living by giving such poor advice to such weak people. Weakness cannot be one of the personality traits of an entrepreneur. The cave man did not survive by breaking his club into small pieces. It was his sole source for providing food for his family. Today, like then, the strong, the smart, the cunning and the persistent will achieve when others fail.

Today, we do not use credit cards in the same manner described above. Although we now have plenty of cash for operating capital, we routinely use this "Free Money" so that we get free air miles, free incentives and discounts on furnishings, supplies and many other things. To this day, we have never paid one cent in interest to any of the credit card companies. We used the credit cards in the manner above for two years as operating capital. That move changed our whole position in life. That move changed our family tree! Now the banks come to us begging to give us money. Although we now operate a multi-million dollar company, we have never borrowed any money from a bank. We have established several lines of credit at different banks, but so far, we have never had to use one. Today, we operate completely debt-free. We own all of our equipment; we own our buildings; we own our company vehicles; we own everything connected to our business and personal lives. Except for our payroll and taxes, we have no overhead. Sometimes we shudder as we think of where our company would be today if we had not robbed the banks...Legally!

* * *

Chapter Eight

Practice Does Not Make Perfect

Several years ago at the National Spelling Bee, one of the young ladies really excelled among the others in the competition. With a bright smile, she confidently spelled each word without hesitation. After she had won the contest, she was being interviewed by the television network and was asked how she became just an outstanding speller. She looked directly into the camera and stated, "My success is due to two things, God and Practice!"

I spent the first sixteen and one-half years of my working life as an educator. Two particular coaches really stand out in my mind. One fellow would practice his football team hour upon hour, day upon day, week upon week. He would practice his team on weekends and holidays. His practice time ran for hours with disgruntled parents waiting in the parking lot to pick up their kids. He was known far and near as being a tough and demanding coach, a reputation which he treasured. His players seemed to always suffer from burnout and bad attitudes. This coach was known throughout the state as being a tough coach. The problem was he could never produce a championship team. In fact, he often struggled just to have a winning season! Then there was coach number two.

Coach number two had a whole different philosophy. His practice times were short but compact. The attitudes among his players were great. Every drill had a purpose. His practice time was filled with fun things that developed skills and motivated his athletes. The parents of his athletes loved him; the school board loved him; the Booster Club loved him; and his players loved him. He was always in demand as a public speaker at civic clubs and coaching clinics. Guess what? He also always produced the best teams, winning seasons, and led the conference in athletic scholarships for his players.

What was the difference in these two coaches? Coach number two had learned the secret of success. Contrary to Ben Franklin or whoever gets credit for the old saying... practice does not make perfect. Only "good" practice makes perfect! If a person does the same thing over and ever and over, but does it the wrong way, it is still wrong. That person is wasting his time, spinning his wheels and reinforcing the negative. A person has to determine the things that work and concentrate on strengthening and improving the little things that will enhance their success ratio. Doing the same thing over and over will produce the same results. If something is not working, then evaluate it (Remember the principals of management?), and make adjustments so that the results will be different. In the world in which we live, the winners have learned to do this whether it is in one's personal life, business life, hobbies or in coaching!

A person can find true peace and self actualization through accomplishment. On the other hand, continuous failure leads to a very sad and unfulfilling life. There are so many people who continue to live their lives in a rut that leads to nowhere. They work in jobs that they do not like, with people that they cannot tolerate and in positions that are unrewarding. This is so sad since life is full of opportunity, excitement and adventure. Why would anyone stay in a situation in which they merely exist instead of flourish? Life has too much to offer for one to waste away his precious years and trade each day of his life for a paycheck! That is why entrepreneurs are different from other people. There is something in their inner being that will not allow them to merely survive.

Zig Ziglar has inspired thousands upon thousands with his books and public appearances. I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Ziglar several years ago and found him to be even more dynamic in person as he is in his books and on his tapes. Zig believes, as I do, that a good attitude is the most important personal asset that a person possesses. One's outlook on life determines how far he will go. One's attitude determines how one reacts to the inevitable failures that even the most successful people have to overcome. As Zig states, "It's not what happens to you that is important, but rather how you react to what happens to you." How true this statement is! When things don't go right, do you fall apart? Do you lash out and blame others? Do you wallow in your failure or do you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and continue to plunge forward? We have all heard the stories of Thomas Edison and the number of times that he suffered defeat and setbacks in his endeavor to invent the light bulb and some of his other inventions. We have all heard the stories of Col. Harland Sanders and how he only found success with his Kentucky Fried Chicken idea after he retired from what he really did for a living. We have heard the story of Garth Brooks who was rejected time and time again by the major record labels in Nashville before a chance appearance at the Bluebird Café turned his life around. Garth went on to be the biggest single country act in history! These type stories go on and on. Zig states that, "One's attitude, not his aptitude, will determine his altitude." How true this statement is for the aspiring entrepreneur.

Over the years, I have discovered that entrepreneurs have a different outlook on life. There is the story about the young clerk in the department store who was approached by a customer who asked him if he was the manager. The young man looked up at the customer and quickly replied, "No sir! Not yet!" What a great answer! Just imagine if the young man had hanged his head and replied, "Oh no sir. Not me. I'm just a clerk." What a different image that would have projected. There is another story about the two men who were both working side by side digging a ditch that was to be the foundation for a huge new palace. A passerby stopped and asked the first man what he was doing. Belligerently, he replied, "Can't you see that I'm digging a ditch?" The passerby continued over to the second man and stated, "Well, I see that you are digging a ditch also." "No sir", replied the second man. "I'm building a palace!" Attitude! Attitude! Attitude!

Once, several years ago, I was watching one of the local television stations in my home town of Huntsville, Alabama. The local news had had a contest among the regional junior high school students and had selected one of the students to co-host the weather forecast. The young man that won the contest gave his weather report along with the station's meteorologist. After the report, the meteorologist conducted a quick interview with the young man. He asked him about his education and future ambitions. The meteorologist concluded his interview by asking him if one day he wanted to be the weatherman at the station. The young man paused, and with a perplexed look on his face replied, "No sir! One day I want to own this station!" I could not help but get a lump in my throat when I heard his answer. That is the attitude that this country desperately needs! Why work at the station when you can own the station? That is the mindset of the entrepreneur.

* * *

Chapter Nine

Davy Crockett ...The Perfect Businessman

If you ever visit Davy Crockett's grave in Greene County, Tennessee, his tombstone will read "Davy Crockett, Pioneer, Soldier, Trapper, Explorer, State Legislator, Congressman, martyred at The Alamo 1786-1836." What the tombstone does not tell you is that Davy Crockett was also a farmer, wagon maker, hat maker, clerk, marksman, Indian fighter, laborer and inn keeper. Talk about versatility. Davy was really a self-made man. Until he was fifteen years old, he only attended school a total of four days. After age fifteen, he only sporadically visited the local schools between harvesting his crops. Try to find a Congressman today with that kind of background! In the true sense of the word, Davy was an entrepreneur.

History credits Davy with the saying "Be sure that you are right and then go ahead." This is great advice for today's businessman. When Davy was in Texas in 1836, he wrote a letter to his daughter back in Tennessee and stated, "I had rather be in my present situation here in Texas than to be elected to a seat in Congress for life." Less than a month later he was killed at the Alamo.

For most of my life, I have had at least three jobs at one time. In my early years, there were very few times when I had only one job. These experiences were tremendous character builders and provided the work ethic and skills that has served me so well during the rest of my life. One year, while I was in college at Middle Tennessee State University, the only job that I could find was riding the garbage truck on the school campus. Most of the garbage cans that I had to pick up and dump in the truck weighed more than I weighed. This was a tough and physically demanding job. The truck smelled terrible and was constantly followed by hundreds of flies that constantly flew in my face and nipped at my ears. As it turns out, this was one of the best experiences of my life. Today, when things go wrong and the bee stings, as the old song goes, I remember my experiences on the garbage truck. Would I do it again? If I had to, you bet I would. Do I want to return to that job? No sir! That experience was a great motivator. I often boast today that I am a former garbage man. A person, especially an entrepreneur, cannot be afraid of work. In fact, an entrepreneur has to love to work. It is just one of those personality traits deep within the entrepreneur's soul that has to be there! It is the grit in the gut that forces him to forge ahead, work long hours, live on the edge and enjoy the experience. I think Davy Crockett had that same spirit.

To be successful today you need to develop the tough pioneer spirit of Davy Crockett. Ben Franklin once said, "Variety is the spice of life." I say that versatility is the ingredient for survival. Like Davy, we have to be skilled in many areas and evolve with the situation in which we find ourselves. I am often asked what I do at our business. I reply that I am the head custodian, marketing director, public relations department, board member, maintenance man and CEO. Someday, that may be on my tombstone!

Our country's most wasted asset.

In the 1992 movie Gladiator, Tommy Riley (played by the actor James Marshall), had just moved to Chicago with his Dad. In a street fight, Tommy discovered that he had a real skill. That skill happened to be fighting. He was tough and quick with his feet and hands. Inspired by an eventual friendship with Abraham Lincoln Haines, a fellow boxer (played by Cuba Gooding, Jr.), he was soon drawn into the world of underground boxing. He initially resisted becoming a boxer, until he was forced into the ring. He had to make enough money to repay a debt that his father owed to the underworld.

During the process of inner turmoil, Tommy was called aside by one of his teachers. She had recognized the talents that Tommy possessed in the classroom. In her conversation with Tommy, she made the statement that "there is no shortage of talent... There are talented people everywhere. However, the thing that is important is not the talent that a person has, but rather what that person does with the talent that he possesses."

* * *

Chapter Ten

Why do I Attract Parasites?

When an entrepreneur's business starts to grow, he will find himself much like the cave man. The cave man must have been miserable at times with the parasites that surely plagued him. In prehistoric times, the cave man could not run to the Wal-Mart pharmacy for the tonics and salves that would repel the ticks, flies, mosquitoes and other parasitic creatures and funguses that must have made his life miserable. Then there were the worms. If you ever want to feel that you are truly close to nature, get a case of the worms. If you have ever had worms, then, without further explanation, you know exactly what I mean.

Webster's New World Dictionary defines a parasite as "one who lives at the expense of another." It is defined further as something "that derives sustenance from another." In the business world today, we have our own kind of parasites. They will suck your blood in ways that you cannot imagine. They always disguise themselves so as not to be detected by the ordinary eye of the unsuspecting. They mostly arrive when the budding businessperson begins to appear in the newspaper, wins a contract or the company wins the Small Business of the Year award.

There is an old blues song that sprang up out of the depression of 1929 titled "Nobody Knows You When You Are Down and Out." This blues tune is said to have been written by Ida Cox and B. Feldman. One of the earliest recordings was done by Bessie Smith in 1929. Over the years, it has been recorded by many top artists including Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Jimmy Witherspoon and numerous others. It was popularized most recently by Eric Clapton when he included the song in his 1992 album Unplugged.. The popularity of the song is attributed to its lyrics, which really apply to the life of the entrepreneur. Here are the lyrics.

Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out

Once I lived the life of a millionaire

Spending my money, I didn't care.

I carried my friends out for a mighty good time,

Buying bootleg whiskey, champagne and wine.

Then I began to fall so low.

I didn't have a friend, and had no place to go.

So, if I ever get my hand on a dollar again

I'm gonna hold on to it till the eagle grins. 'Cause,

Nobody knows you when you down and out.

When, in my pocket not even one penny.

As far as my friends I don't have any.

When I get back up on my feet again, Then

Everybody will want to be my long lost friend.

It's mighty strange, without a doubt, That,

Nobody knows you when you down and out.

I mean when you down and out.

When you're down and out,

And don't have a penny.

And your friends, you don't have any.

Well when I slipped and fell so low,

Nobody wanted me hanging 'round their door.

Without a question, without a doubt,

No man can use you when you down and out.

I mean when you down and out.

Wow! What great lyrics!... And, how true they are. Just the opposite is true when you are successful. As the song states, "Everybody wants to be your long lost friend." The more successful that you are, the more friends that you will have and the more careful you will have to become. It is really a shame that human nature requires the successful business person be forced into near isolation. The more successful that you become, the more isolated you will have to be. Just like the cave man, the parasites will find you.

Let us go back and look at Webster's definition of a parasite. A parasite is defined as something "that derives sustenance from another." In the business world, these can be anything from professional advisors and bankers to your old algebra teacher. There are those who look for successful people and will latch on tighter than Dick's hatband. The only way that these people can survive is to ride the coat tails of the successful. Your brother-in-law will want to go to work for you. Your old high school sweetheart's husband will assure you that he can make your company's bottom line skyrocket. Then there is your old high school basketball coach who just retired and is ready to start a second career. How can you tell him no? Probably the worst offenders are the professionals. Stock brokers and insurance agents will come out of the wood work. Every bank in town will want your accounts. Accountants and attorneys will seem to always pop up when you go out to eat, go to the men's room or attend PTA meetings. They all want your business. These characters do not survive off of the unsuccessful. Their whole livelihood depends upon identifying those who can offer them sustenance!

Are accountants, attorneys and other professionals a necessity? Sure they are. But just like the cave man, too many parasites will kill you. Not only that, but they soon become pests that waste your time, clutter your schedule and disrupt the order that is necessary for you to continue to grow your business. It is best to delegate these people to a third party such as a comptroller, human resources or business manager. Once you remove yourself from the mix, most of these parasites will die a slow death. Any budding entrepreneur should be prepared for the onslaught. Once you know what to expect, then you can prepare a plan of action to remedy the situation.

* * *

Chapter 11

Your Best Friend and Worst Enemy...Uncle Sam

We live in the best country in the world. Let me state that from the very beginning. Sacrifices made by thousands today and those who came before us make it possible for us thrive, grow and flourish in this great country. Business is better here than any place on the planet. Opportunity here in the United States is everywhere. It hangs before us like grapes on a vine. Our government has made it possible for each of us to have the opportunity to elevate our lives and mold our futures. It is up to us. Our government protects us and sustains us. But for the entrepreneur, our government is also the worst enemy that we have!

Will Rogers, the great American philosopher, said that the only things in life that are certain are death and taxes. A truer statement was never spoken through falser teeth! (Yes, I do know that there is no such word as falser.) Let me tell you a fairy tail.

Once upon a time there was a poor widower cobbler who lived with his three children in a tiny valley far, far away. The poor cobbler sacrificed all that he had to make his tiny cobbler business grow. He spent his meager life savings to buy a new hammer and a supply of leather and nails with which he could repair a hundred pair of shoes. For months, the poor cobbler visited the neighboring village and went from house to house advertising his services and collecting shoes that needed mending. Each night, he would rise early in the morning and walk to the village and placed the mended shoes on the doorsteps of the villagers so that they would have shoes to wear to work that day. He then expanded his services to several of the other villages that were in the fertile valley that surrounded his tiny cobbler shop.

Soon he had exhausted his materials and took most of his profits to replenish his supplies so that he could repair more shoes. Each time that his supplies were gone, he would use his small profits to buy more supplies. Any profits that were left over were carefully placed under his mattress. After many years of working all night and getting up early to return the shoes, he began to feel a small lump protruding from under his mattress. His hard work had paid off. He was beginning to realize the rewards of his ingenuity and persistency. His success was being notice by his customers in the village and the inhabitants of the small valley in which the poor cobbler lived. All was good with the world.

One day, he was working in his cobbler's shop when there was a knock on his door. The poor cobbler opened the door to see a representative of the King who demanded to look under the cobbler's mattress. Upon looking under the mattress, the King's representative took one half of the cobbler's money. The King's representative informed the cobbler that he would return each month to collect his half of the money. The cobbler was further informed that not only did the King require a portion of his money but the local village and the inhabitants of the valley also demanded a portion of the poor cobbler's earnings. It was explained to the poor cobbler that if he was found to be dishonest in not placing all of his profits under the mattress, he would be thrown into prison. The King's representative explained to the cobbler that an annual levy was being placed against the poor cobbler's work shop and cottage. The cobbler no longer had the free right to own property. If he failed to pay the levy, his cottage would be seized by the King. Things were no longer good in the tiny cobbler shop. The poor cobbler was very sad and discouraged. Soon after, the poor cobbler became very depressed and was found dead in his tiny work shop.

Upon hearing of the poor cobbler's death, the representative of the King returned. He seized the poor cobbler's home and work shop and all of his personal belongings. All the villagers and the inhabitants of the valley were told that the cobbler's possessions would be sold to the highest bidders at public auction. Soon after, the poor cobbler's simple possessions were sold as promised. The King's representative collected the money from the sale and put half of it in a bag to take to the King. The King's representative gave the other half to the poor cobbler's children.

One of the young men in the village bought the poor cobbler's hammer, a few nails and a few pieces of leather. A few days later the young man began to visit the neighboring village and went from house to house advertising his services and collecting shoes that needed mending.

What a sad story. Who would live under such a cruel king? How could the poor cobbler's rights be so openly violated? What incentive did the poor cobbler have to continue to work under such unfair circumstances?

Does the above story sound familiar? It happens absolutely everyday here in the USA! It is happening to you, and it is happening to me! Our federal and local governments have slowly and methodically taken away our rights to own property. If you don't believe it, then stopping paying your property taxes and see what happens. Our governments have taken away our right to pass our property and possessions to our heirs by implementing estate, inheritance and probate taxes. Our governments have taken away much of our incentive to achieve by confiscating an unfair portion of our earnings. If you are successful as an entrepreneur, expect to have up to fifty percent or more of your company and personal earnings confiscated each year by the governments. This is done through taxes placed on incomes at the state, local and federal levels, privilege taxes, franchise taxes, FICA, FUTA, business licenses, personal property taxes, sales taxes, special use taxes, real estate taxes, excise taxes, utility taxes, fuel taxes, capital gain taxes, investment taxes, asset assessments, school taxes and so on. Much of the purpose of this horrendous tax burden is to redistribute the wealth. To coin a familiar phrase, these taxes are for the purpose of "taking from the haves and giving to the have-nots". We heard a lot about this "redistribution of wealth" during the presidential election in 2008. Just like in the story of the poor cobbler, the villagers and the inhabitants of the valley believe that they deserve a portion of the poor cobbler's wealth. How did this all start? Who allowed this to happen?

When this country was formed, the colonists were very suspicious of politicians and a strong central government. The federal government was initially structured to be a voluntary federation for the purpose of looking out after problems that were common to all. Thomas Paine in his pamphlet, Common Sense, made it very plain that the colonists did not want to end up with the same problem that brought on the war with England. The colonists understood that a strong central government was a potential threat to the personal freedom of all of the citizens. The Revolutionary War was started for the purpose of protecting the freedom of the individual. The colonists were afraid, not only of intruders from the outside but also from the threat of the politicians on the inside. Because of this, it was explicit in the Constitution and its amendments that the United States was to have a weak federal government. The Bill of Rights was passed to protect the rights and freedom of the individual. The real purpose of the Bill of Rights was to protect the individual from a strong and powerful central government. From the beginning, the rights of the individual states were to take precedence over the rights of the central government. However, less than eighty four years later, the federal government had grown so strong and powerful that a state that felt threatened by the encroachment of this federal power could not secede from this voluntary union!

The rest is history. The War Between the States established firmly that the state governments were subservient to the powerful central federal government. As the government grew, so grew its need for money to finance the services that it provided and the people that it employed. In order to help finance the Civil War, the country's first income tax was passed. Even then, the instructions were four pages long and taxed all incomes between $600 and $10,000 at a flat rate of three percent. Incomes over $10,000 were taxed at a rate of five percent after deductions. For a real eye opener and an interesting look at our tax history, go to www.taxhistory.org. Here is a brief tax history Written by K Sprang and found on the internet at the following web site http://tx.essortment.com/unitedstatesin_rmhj.htm.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue Act of 1862 was also the beginning of the Internal Revenue Service as we know it today. It started out as being called the office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, but the Commissioner's powers were pretty much in line with the powers that the IRS has today.

A couple years later, the tax rates were changed when the Government instituted the Internal Revenue Act of June 30, 1864. The people who earned between six hundred and five thousand dollars now paid five percent, while the people who earned over five thousand dollars paid ten percent of their incomes. This tax change was needed in order to generate additional revenue to fund the Civil War. Now, every taxpayer had to submit a list of their income as well as a list of any taxable property they might have to the tax assessor before the first Monday in May. And, fines were imposed on people who failed to abide by the tax laws.

The Civil War ended in 1865, but it took seven years for the additional taxes to be eliminated. And, in 1872, Congress did away with the imposed income tax once again. Instead of taxing people's incomes, Congress once again looked towards the taxation of tobacco and alcohol for revenue.

Many people questioned the validity of the taxes imposed during the Civil War times, and the United States Supreme Court finally handed down a ruling in the year of 1895, that said that the income tax was unconstitutional because the taxes were not collected proportionately among the states.

To correct this situation, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on February 25, 1913. Now, income taxes were a permanent part of the United States economy, and Congress could tax incomes however they saw fit.

In later years, the withholding tax was instituted, and with the increased employment during World War II, tax collections rose to forty-three billion dollars by 1945.

Interestingly enough, over the years, there have been several grass roots efforts by Americans who still believe that the idea of a mandatory income tax, as well as the Sixteenth Amendment, are unconstitutional. At least one group claims to have proof that the amendment was not even ratified because at least eleven states did not vote on it. The main goal of these groups is to get the amendment declared legally null and void.

The Income Tax Form of 1862 began as shown below:

INCOME TAX OF 1862

The Income Tax is imposed upon a certain proportion of the income of these two classes, viz:

1st. Every person residing in the United States; and every citizen residing abroad who is in the employment of the government of the United States.

2nd. Every citizen of the United States residing abroad, and not in the employment of the government of the United States.

Every person in the first class will be taxed at the rate of three percent when his or her annual gains, profits, or income exceed $600, and do not exceed $10,000.

Every person in the first class will be taxed at the rate of five percent when the annual gains, profits, or income exceed $10,000, after the following deductions are made from the gross amounts returned, (as per table, page 2,) Viz:

Every person in the second class will be taxed at the rate of five percent whatever may be his or her annual gains, profits, or income from property securities and stocks owned without other deductions.

And we were off and running!

Shortly after, the income tax was suspended only to reemerge in 1913 as stated by K. Sprang above. A new constitutional amendment was ratified establishing the right of the federal government to place a lien on all incomes until each citizen paid his allotted income tax. That lien still exists today on your income. If you do not pay your allotted taxes, the lien is applied not only to your income but to everything that you own! It is not subject to bankruptcy and never ever goes away! You may pay all of your bills and have absolutely no debt, but you are not debt free. You have a debt that you owe each and every year to the Internal Revenue Service. A portion of your income does not belong to you, but rather to the federal and state governments. The federal rate today is not three percent but rather as high as 38.6% of your total income. That is only the tax on your income. That does not include personal property taxes, real estate taxes, sales taxes, use taxes, excise taxes and so on. And, just like the poor cobbler in our story above, when you die, the state and federal government (along with our probate courts) get over half of what is left. Just like the parasites, vultures and predators that plagued the cave man, here they come. What a crime on humanity and the citizens of this great country!

Tax laws and tax tables change from year to year. Listed below are our major taxes that we paid in a recent year as entrepreneurs in Alabama:

TAX RATE

Corporate income taxes

Alabama 6.5%

Federal 34% (This is not a typo!)

Alabama Privilege Tax $0.25 to $1.75 per $1,000 of Company's Net Worth

Individual Income Taxes

Alabama 5%

Federal 38.6%

FICA

Social Security 6.2% Capped at $87,000

Medicare1. 45% No Cap

SUB TOTAL 7.65%

Employer Match 7.65%

TOTAL 15.30%

FUTA

Alabama 2.7% Cap $8,000

Federal 6.2% Cap $7,000

Business Licenses Percent of sales (varies)

Sales Tax 8% of Total Sales and Shipping to our location

Of the total profits that you as an entrepreneur earn, you can expect to be taxed at the approximate rates above. Of course, state rates will vary and federal rates will depend upon the level of success that you achieve as an entrepreneur. The better that you do, the more that you are taxed. The government has made it very difficult to pull yourself up by your own boot straps. You have to earn twice as much to get half as far!

Recently, I was listening to a business radio show when a lady phoned in with a question about her tax return. An accountant responded to her question with an answer that reinforces the very problem expressed in this chapter. The lady stated that she was married and had one child. She had earned $30,000 dollars this past year and had paid $900 in income tax during the year. Although she had paid only $900 in federal income taxes she had received a tax return check from the government for $2,100. She thought that a mistake had been made and she had been over paid. Not so, stated the accountant! Since the lady had a job, she qualified for the Earned Income Credit. The accountant stated further that if she wanted a larger check, she should have more children! How outrageous! How warped our system had become. That money was not a gift from the federal government, but rather it was a gift from the taxpayers who actually paid their taxes! Not only are our income taxes used to finance the government, it is now also used as a vehicle to redistribute the wealth.

Currently, many religious denominations still practice the Old Testament Jewish law of tithing. This practice has stirred much controversy among modern day Christians. The practice of tithing requires a Church member to donate one tenth of his or her earnings (Under the Jewish law it was actually on tenth of his possessions.) to the Church. I once overheard an interesting conversation regarding the custom of tithing. Two men were discussing the issue. One stated that the practice was begun because in ancient times the tithes were used to support the poor, the widows and the orphans. There were no formal welfare programs, social security, aid to dependent children or other organized governmental programs for the poor and helpless. He stated further, that today he pays thirty eight percent of his income to the federal and state government. He had recently discovered that out of his thirty eight percent nearly half (19%) goes to social programs for the poor, disabled or simply to redistribute his wealth to those less fortunate. Because he was supporting the poor, widowed and orphaned through organized governmental programs, he felt no obligation to give another tenth to the Church. Although it would be difficult to convince many to agree with his views pertaining to tithing, he certainly had a point.

Are some taxes necessary? Sure they are. Are they necessary at the levels outlined in this chapter? Should they be used to seize money from some citizens and give it to others? I don't think so! Here is what the Libertarian Party Says:

How do we avoid high taxation rates? Americans already obtain a host of services from private providers. There is every reason to think that other services, from postal delivery to education to road building and maintenance, could be provided more efficiently and at lower cost by the private sector.

We should support all moves to reduce and repeal taxes because taxes are obtained immorally, by force. The income tax is particularly evil, since it penalizes productivity and forces all of us to expose our private affairs to government snoopers.

We had no income tax before 1914 and America prospered. Replacing the income tax with voluntary methods for financing services should be our goal, and we should begin right now.

Think of government as a conglomerate of service businesses. The providers of those services do not have to be government employees, and the services do not have to be paid for with tax dollars. Whether it is education, security, transportation, charity, energy, or whatever, the private sector is already doing it for less. To cut taxes, we must allow private service providers to replace inefficient bureaucracy. Market competition will give us better service at lower cost, and put the consumers in control.

Here's a little joke: Once upon a time, two income tax collectors died and went to heaven. At the exact same moment, two fine Baptist preachers did the same. As all four stood outside the Pearly Gates, St. Peter rushed out, put his arms around the tax collectors, and ushered them directly into heaven. The two preachers were alarmed. "St. Peter!" they shouted. "We have saved thousands of souls, baptized as many, and have done countless good deeds while we were alive. Why were these tax collectors allowed to go into heaven before us?" St. Peter replied. "It's simple. Those two men scared the Hell out of many, many more than both of you!"

We have all heard of Tax Freedom Day. Tax Freedom Day, for those of you who have been stranded on an island for the last twenty years, is the day when the money that we earn actually belongs to us and not the federal government. That day for federal purpose is around the first of June of each year. (It is actually much later if you factor in state taxes.). Only a few years ago, Tax Freedom Day was the middle of May. Each year it gets later and later in the year. As you can see, half the time you are working for the government! Can these taxes be lowered? Not anymore. We have all heard about the tax loopholes. With all the recent tax reform, these loopholes have all but been eliminated. Even with the advantages afforded the business owners, tax loopholes are simply "Old Wives' Tales."...I apologize to any Old Wives who may be reading this.

A dear friend of mine, Dr. Waymon E. Burke, a political science professor at Calhoun State Community College in Huntsville, Alabama, once said that "In America, a tax is the price that we pay for the opportunities that we have." I guess that is an accurate statement.

Here are a couple of pertinent jokes:

Question: How is the Internal revenue Service different from your wife?

Answer: You can cheat on the IRS and they still want you!

Statement: The Internal Revenue Service is so deep into my pockets that I don't know whether to tell them that I'm not that kind of guy or to turn my head and cough!

We have to maintain our sense of humor.

* * *

Chapter 12

Am I Lucky or What?

There are some things that you just do not do in life. You should never ask a barber if you need a haircut. You should never squat with your spurs on. Never walk behind the elephants in a parade. Never pass up a good business opportunity. Someone once said that opportunity only knocks on the door of those who deserve it. A person deserves it by placing themselves in position so that opportunity sometimes finds them instead of the opposite.

In 1970, I was fresh out of college and had just landed a job teaching and coaching baseball and football at Huntland High School in Tennessee. To hone my coaching skills, I decided to attend a coaching clinic at the University of Tennessee. Bill Battle had just been appointed the head coach at the University of Tennessee. He was only twenty eight years old and the youngest head football coach in the nation at a major university. While speaking at one of the clinic sessions, he was asked by one of the attendees how he lucked into such a good job at such a young age. Without hesitation, he replied with the old adage, "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." He was absolutely right. Have you ever noticed how some people have all the good luck. They are always in the right place at the right time. Things seem to always go their way. They always get the big contract. They always get the best jobs. They always meet the right people that help doors open for them. Is that just plain old luck?

A better term for luck would be positioning. In business, you will see that the old saying is true - "The harder I work, the luckier I get." Positioning is seeing that you are in the right place at the right time. As a businessperson, you must position your company so that good things happen to it. The motto of the Boy Scouts is to "Always be prepared." Your company has to always be prepared. Be in position so that when an opportunity presents itself, your company is prepared to take advantage of it. A sleeping fox will never catch any poultry. Here is an article by Pamela Lancaster that is a simple illustration of this point:

The wind is howling outside our little rental house on the side of a Virginia mountain. It has been snowing hard all afternoon, and, since 5:00 PM, our electricity has been out. This was a surprise storm even to the meteorologists.

But we are snug and cozy, having lit the wood-burning stove in the basement (the first time since being here as we have only used the oil furnace). We have several oil lamps burning in various rooms, and a variety of activities are going on from reading, writing, watercolor painting, and listening to the new CD that arrived just today on our battery-powered CD player. We had a delicious dinner of fettuccine with Alfredo sauce, fresh steamed broccoli, and Italian bread, followed by Sarah's Black Forest birthday cake left over from yesterday. Dinner was cooked on our Coleman camp stove since my electric stove is out. We had enough hot water in the hot water heater to last through the dishes and one bath.

We are able to be comfortable tonight because we had made some preparations ahead of time. After moving here in the beginning of December and learning that bad storms were possible (in fact, last year the electricity was off for two weeks.) it didn't take us too long to realize we needed to take an inventory of what we would need in an emergency situation.

Like in the story above, it is imperative that a prudent business person think and plan ahead. Plan for Y2K...just in case. Plan for the UPS strike...just in case. Plan for stock shortages; power failures; changes in technology; downturns in the stock market; changes in demand for your product; changes in your market direction; changes in legislation that will affect your company; and so on. Establish strategies that will take advantages of weaknesses of your competitors. To survive, you must be versatile. Be prepared to embrace change like a hug from an old girlfriend. There are plenty of people out there who are trying to beat you. You don't have to beat yourself. Position your company so that you get lucky and good things start happening. In the 1996 golfing movie, Tin Cup, Kevin Costner, as the character Roy "Tin Cup" McElroy, was a shiftless and aimless fellow trying to get in the U. S. Open tournament. In the movie, when the pros failed to reach the green from the rough, Costner's character, while a caddy for David Simms (played by Don Johnson) stunned the crowd. Although only a caddy, he pulled a seven iron from a pro's golf bag and drilled a 240 yard shot onto the green. This was something that the professionals had failed to do. He then made the statement that when opportunity presents itself "you either define the moment or the moment defines you." How true!

How do you position a company so that good things happen?

Being a businessperson is just like playing chess or monopoly. You have to constantly network, maneuver, plan, plot and strategize to be sure that if opportunity presents itself, then your company is sitting in the right spot at the right time. Be sure you have the physical and financial capabilities to deliver the product or service. Don't wait until a contract comes along to get your capital and equipment in order. By then it is probably too late. You have to pack your quiver; load your guns; get your ducks in a row. In short, you have to properly position your company.

One way to position your company is to obtain every certification that you can get. Today, the marketplace has become so crowed, and competition so fierce, that the client has many choices from which to select. The market has become so politically correct that, many times, you cannot even register as a vendor with a company unless you are properly certified. The larger that your customer is, the more that this is likely to be true. Many Fortune 500 companies will not even let you register as a vendor unless you are minority-owned, woman-owned or disadvantaged in some way. Many companies and the federal government in particular, have goals (not quotas) that they strive to meet each year with certified businesses. As a result, they are looking for properly certified companies to whom to give their business. The pressure from special interest groups, and/or the public in general, demands that they do so. In fact, government subcontractors (which is about everyone who is anyone) are penalized if they do not meet their quotas with properly certified small businesses. I know this sounds unfair, but the truth of the matter is – that's the way business is conducted in the good old USA, whether you like it or not. Now, you can fret, write letters to the editor, call your favorite radio talk show and complain, whine and pout, or you can take steps to see that your company is properly positioned to get your share of the business. Listed below are some certifications that you need to obtain if possible.

1. 8(a) – Under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, the 8(a) Program, allows the Small Business Administration to supervise, direct, advise, coordinate and control the growth and development of properly certified small businesses. This program helps small disadvantaged businesses compete in the American economy and access the federal procurement market. Requirements are as follows:

1.Must be a small minority-owned business

2.Must be unconditionally owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who are of good character and citizens of the United States

3.Must demonstrate potential for success

2. Hubzone Certification – A business that is located in a historically underutilized business zone (as designated by the federal government) receives preferences on government contracts. These preferences are allowed through the Hubzone Empowerment Contracting Program.

3. Small Disadvantaged Business – A business that is certified by the SBA as a Small Disadvantaged Business receives (1) price evaluation adjustments (10% advantages on bids) and (2) evaluation factors on competitively negotiated acquisitions.

4. Female-owned – Businesses that are more than 51% owned by one or more women receive preference on many government and private sector contracts. The certifying agencies are:

• US Small Business Administration

• Women's Business Enterprise National Council

• National Women Business Owners Corporation

5. Minority-owned – Businesses that are certified as being more than 51% owned by minority stockholders receive preferences on many government and private sector contracts.

6. National Supplier Development Council – Minority certification which allows preference in private sector contracting.

7. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concerns -Established by the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 and made effective May 5, 2004, this act gives contracting preferences to service disabled veteran-owned businesses (must be 51% owned by a disabled veteran).

In many cases, the above certifications may qualify a company for "sole source" or "set aside" contracts. This means that contracts may be awarded to the certified business without competitive bidding from other vendors or contractors. Do you understand what you just read? This means that you can be handed a contract with absolutely no competition! Now that is what I call luck!

Can you make it without any of the above certifications? Of course you can. Is it going to be tough? Yes sir! To get to the big money the certifications open a lot of doors that normally you would never have a shot. How do you get certifications in areas where you have no qualifications? If possible, you might restructure your company so that it qualifies under one or more of the certification areas. Here is a quick story.

Ten years ago, Sharon and I had written a couple of books pertaining to playing the harmonica. We were trying to get those books into the Wal-Mart stores. I had had conversation after conversation with the Wal-Mart home office in Bentonville, Arkansas but could get nowhere. We decided to obtain certifications that should help with Wal-Mart and others. After a year or so of struggling through the certification processes, we had several certifications in hand. I again contacted Wal-Mart and, within two months, our books were placed in Wal-Mart stores across the country! Shortly thereafter the books were also in Books–A- Million, Barnes and Noble, Baker and Taylor, Amazon.com and others. Book stores that would not give us the time of day a few months earlier now wanted our merchandise. The only reason that we were able to get this accomplished was because we properly positioned our business so that we provided the certifications that opened the right doors for us. That is what is meant by positioning your company.

Here are the certifications that Bama Jammer Promotions holds. We are:

• 8(a) • Hubzone • Small Disadvantaged Business • SBA Woman-Owned •

• Alabama Woman-Owned • Alabama Minority –Owned • WBENC •

• WBOC • FTA Section 18 Certified • MBE with the NMSDC • WBCGC •

• MBE with the NWVOC •

LUCK

"Luck means the hardships and privations which you have not hesitated to endure: the long nights you have devoted to work. Luck means the appointments you have never failed to keep, the airplanes you never failed to catch."

\- Margaret L. Clement

* * *

Chapter 13

Change is in the Wind

Someone once said that change is the only thing that offers new opportunity. George Bernard Shaw once stated that "Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." You must learn as an entrepreneur that you must be able to embrace change. In fact, you must be able to predict when a change is in the wind. You have to be prepared to change your marketing, your staff, your service or product, and even yourself. You may have to acquire new skills and completely retrain in order to stay ahead of your competitors or maybe even to exist.

I remember the first personal computer and the first fax machine that I ever saw. Both of those events happened only a few years ago and in the middle of my working years. I remember that it was not long until people were talking about bits, hard drives, networking, zip drives, servers and so on. Pretty soon I found that I could no longer communicate with the people with whom I worked. They were speaking a different language. My kids in kindergarten were taking computer training. Everyone was leaving me behind. Once that realization hit me, I knew that I either had to retrain or take my position at the end of the line. I immediately enrolled in every computer class that I could find. For the next year or so every night, on the week ends, any spare time that I had I was in class learning about computers. Did I become an expert? No, the story did not end that well. Did I learn the basics at a functional level? You bet I did! Every day I now sit before a computer clicking away with my two fingers; checking my e-mail; monitoring the company's financials, building our marketing materials, refining our web site, and looking for business opportunities. In today's business climate, I cannot imagine not having a working knowledge of computers. It is not a luxury. It is a necessity! What if I had not retrained? Where would I be today? Could I even function in the business climate that surrounds me? Probably not!

Here is the rest of the story pertaining to my computer skills. Once I decided to get serious about learning about the computer, I enrolled in several classes to learn how to build our company's web site. A few months later, I was a web master, at least in Front Page. In the first few weeks, I built five web sites for different business ventures in which we were involved. I was excited about my newly discovered talent. Although we had had a web site for several years, it was designed, built and maintained by someone else... Someone who was smarter than me as far as web sites and computers were concerned. However, I was now in complete control. No longer did I have to wait weeks for a third party to make changes to our web site. No longer did I have to wait for someone else whenever I wanted to run an on-line sale or post a special deal. Now I could be sure that our web site was submitted to the search engines in a timely manner. I now had the power because I now had the knowledge, or at least enough knowledge to get me by.

When others were in control of our Bama Jammer web site, it had been moderately successful. We had been able to sell our products across the United States and in a few foreign countries. But we never had really generated substantial sales on the internet. Oh, we had a pretty web site. There were lots of colors and flashing lights and things that turned and lots of animation. But it had had no success about which we could really brag. Once I took over the web site, we made several immediate changes. First of all, we simplified the site substantially. We did away with the flashing lights, the animation, the sizzle. It now downloaded much faster. Like clock work, we started routinely submitting the site to all major search engines every third week. We expanded the pages to include lots of information pertaining to our products, our company, our people and our business philosophy. Our web site now included a photo of our products, our buildings and our personnel. We listed our address, phone and fax numbers. We registered our site on every vendor data base that we could find. We continually changed and published our site nearly every day. We ran specials and sales and contests. Guess what happened? We started almost immediately to see increases in our on-line sales. The third month after I took over control of the web site, we had internet sales of $750,000. I know that that is hard to believe, but it really happened! Our Bama Jammer site only cost us the small amount that we spent on training, but, it generated three quarters of a million dollars of sales in the third month for previously unknown and unsolicited customers! That is what I mean by embracing change. What would have happened if I had not taken control of the web site? What would have happened if I had not taken those courses and learned to build web sites? Well, one thing is for certain, we would have been $750,000 poorer! Was I smarter than the fellow who previously controlled our site? No way! Did I understand the intricate part of our business and the needs our customers better than he did? Yes, I did. Did I have an emotional connection to our business and the Bama Jammer web site? Yes, I did, and that made all the difference!

Change is something that everyone in any field must face. While working with Jamie Cooper on the Cooper and Company show (details about this in Chapter 14), we traveled to Nashville to interview Max D. Barnes, one of Nashville's best songwriters. Max had written many big hits over the years and, had twice won the Country Music Association "Song of the Year Award." Max was also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He had written hit songs for Vince Gill, Conway Twitty, Vern Gosdin, George Jones, The Kendalls, Waylon Jennings, Pam Tillis, John Anderson, Randy Travis, Reba McIntire almost anyone that was anybody in Nashville. We met in the basement of Max's home on Old Hickory Lake, just outside of Nashville. The basement was a huge wide open room, full of Nashville memorabilia and had a great view of the lake. Every inch of the walls of his basement was covered with Gold Records. Being a harmonica musician and having some exposure to the music industry, I was certainly impressed. When I made a comment about the number of Gold Records on his wall, he showed us to his closet which was filled with boxes of Gold Records. He laughed and stated that he was going to have to build a bigger basement to hold all of the records.

Max was a very personable guy in his mid sixties, with a dark tan, broad smile and quick wit. He looked like he would be right at home behind the wheel of a pick up truck or John Deere. Max had done everything that a songwriter could do in Nashville. He had come to town with nothing and was now one of the best known songwriters in the Music City. The interview went well, and he invited us to sit a while and enjoy the view of Old Hickory Lake. Our conversation eventually wandered to the new Nashville sound and the evolution that was slowly changing the artists and the music migrating from Sixteenth Avenue. Max told us that the music business was changing in Nashville. A new bred was taking over. Things were not the same as they were when he first came to town. He told us to look around the room at all of his Gold Records. Then he told us that, because of the changes, even with everything that he had accomplished, he could no longer get anyone interested in his new material. "Nobody wants real country (music) anymore," he stated. "Songs are written that offer good material for videos and marketing. Kids are now buying country music records. Some are not even old enough to shave," he continued. "Our market has changed. There is no room or demand for old songwriters," he added.

Here is a real lesson. Max had done it all. He certainly had the contacts. Max knew what it took to write a hit but, suddenly, the market had changed. The demand was for a different kind of artist and a different kind of music. It demanded a different kind of songwriter. The customer, which drove the market, had changed. The delivery system was different. Songs had to be marketable through videos, television and by visual means. Live performances were now real productions, not just some cowboy with a guitar, boots and a four piece band. The public wanted more. Frequently I have thought about that conversation and about Max. I certainly hope that he learned to adapt.

A few years ago, one of the oldest businessmen in our hometown visited our office. The conversation eventually got around to our financial accounting procedures. We were explaining our accounting software when we were abruptly interrupted. "I don't believe in computers and all of that stuff," he interjected. "A good old yellow legal pad is all that I need," he boasted. It was easy to see, that, like a speeding locomotive, the poor fellow had been passed up by technology. There is no way that by using a yellow legal pad a person can generate the mounds of detailed financial information that our software placed at our fingertips. This information was available to us instantaneously....at the touch of a computer key! We could instantly generate any financial information that we needed to see exactly where we always stood; to forecast; to recognize trends; and dangers; to review our margins; our accounts receivable; accounts payable; aging reports; and so on. His thinking was equivalent to the caveman seeing fire created for the first time and saying, "That will never work. No, I'm going to stay away from that new fire thing!"... "and wheels...that will never catch on!" There is no difference in their thinking. A few months after his visit to our office, I noticed that the old businessman closed his business forever.

As stated earlier, Will Rogers once stated that the there are only two things in life that are certain...death and taxes. He was wrong. He should have said death, taxes and change. As an entrepreneur, change has to be accepted and embraced. It should be approached as cautiously as a lion in its den but it should certainly be approached. There is another old saying that you should "be not the first by whom the new is tried nor last to lay the old aside." How true that statement happens to be. Don't ride your horse until it drops dead. Change horses!

Here is a story taken from the March 2009 issue of Flying Magazine page 29.

"Lawrence Gonzales wrote a fascinating book called Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why. While the emphasis is on survival in extreme situations in the wilderness, or on the ocean, much of it applies to a pilot's thought process. In the story, Gonzales says, "One of the biggest problems that get people into trouble in survival situations is that they do not face reality. They want to believe that they can still proceed according to their original plan, and this blocks an accurate assessment of their real situation." Gonzales learned through survival training that, "To see and know the world was the key to surviving in it. Each person has to accept the world in which he finds himself."

Gonzales applies this to flying when he says, "Plan your flight, and fly the plan.... But don't fall in love with the plan. Be open to a changing world and let go of the plan when necessary so that you can make a new plan."

There is a great talent in recognizing and implementing change. There are times to pitch your tent and dig in and there are times to pack your bags and make a new plan. Always remember this: As an entrepreneur, when you are through changing, you are through!

Some things never seem to change:

A young lady ran into the room and told her father that her boyfriend had just proposed to her.

Father: "How much money does he have?'

Daughter: "All men are just alike. That is exactly what he asked me about you!"

* * *

Chapter 14

Seat of Your Pants Marketing

Like the tastiest blend of coffee in the finest of gourmet restaurants, there are many ingredients that must come together under at the proper time and under exact conditions for a business to survive. One of the most important of these is marketing. Marketing is more important than advertising, location and, in some cases, personnel. If a company, product or service is properly marketed, then sales will result and advertising will not be necessary. The old "build it and they will come" is true only if there is a need for what you are selling, and the customer knows where to find you, and is willing to pay the price that you are demanding. Marketing blends these factors together. It is the oil that runs the machine. It is the vehicle that creates a demand for your product.

An entrepreneur has to market two things: (1.) his / her company, (2.) the products or service that his / her company is selling. If the company is properly marketed, then the sale of the product or service will take care of itself. Marketing, however, is not inexpensive. When many businesses get into a slump, oftentimes marketing is the first place that is cut. This is absolutely the worst thing that a business can do. Marketing is the element that drives a business's success. Marketing is more of a business attitude than a department. Marketing is what ultimately drives a demand for a company's product.

Over the years, I have sat quietly in the back of the room at many business meetings and seminars as business people discussed problems that they were encountering. Not long ago, I did so in Las Vegas at a meeting of The Advertising Specialty Institute where promotional products distributors were discussing methods to increase sales. Each of these distributors had thousands of products to sell... products that were exactly like the products of the competitor that sat next to them. For the most part, the products were not only identical to those of their competitors, but they were also priced exactly the same. In this situation how do you out-fox your competitors sitting across the room?

As I listened to the discussions, it was very obvious that these people were marketing the wrong thing. They were beating down doors trying to sell products when they should have been marketing their companies! All of the products were identical and the prices were identical. There was no differentiation at all. They should have been marketing the differences in what they as a company had to offer over what their competitors had to offer. They should market differences in the level of service, extra value that their company added, special expertise, experience, distribution differences, processing, etc. How could they not see a fact that was so simple?

Years ago, when I took those English classes and wrote all of those papers, I was told to keep papers and books like this impersonal, to always write in third person, and to refrain from personal examples. What do they know? The best way to explain how critical marketing is to an entrepreneur is to tell the reader what worked for us. That is what I intend to do.

When Sharon and I started Bama Jammer Promotions, we experimented with various ways to make our company stand out over our competitors. Our goal was to create a marketing niche that gave us an advantage over others who did what we did. When people needed embroidery, screen printing or custom advertising products, we wanted them to think first of Bama Jammer. We wanted our marketing program to create a demand for our products even if no demand was immediately present from our customer. We wanted our marketing program to bring the customer to us instead of us having to find the customer, create a demand and convince them to buy from us. Because we had no money to devote to elaborate marketing programs, we had to meet the above goals with little or no cash flow. Is this impossible? No sir! Just like the prettiest girl that every boy wanted to take to the prom, we had to smell better than the rest, we had to smile a brighter smile, we had to be a better dancer, have a better personality and a better good night kisser than the rest!

When we started Bama Jammer, one of the first things that we did was approach the local television NBC affiliate in our hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. We were in an immediate metropolitan area with a population of over 300,000 people. The TV station reached throughout all of north Alabama, into south Tennessee, western Georgia, and eastern Mississippi. The station had the potential to reach approximately 500,000 households each day (probably a couple of million viewers or more). Because of the cost, advertising on this station was out of the question for us. However, maybe a barter was in order. I approached the station about swapping my time in exchange for free advertising. Believe it or not, my timing was perfect and my offer was accepted. The co-host of the early morning wake up show, Cooper and Company, had just quit. Although I had no previous television experience, I got the co-host job! For the next four years I was the co-host of Cooper and Company. I became an immediate regional celebrity and Bama Jammer became a regional household name. Our products and services were advertised each day on Cooper and Company, and, before long, everyone knew about Bama Jammer!

Cooper and Company was a great move for us. Suddenly, my cold calling got much easier. Everyone likes to buy from people whom they feel that they know and everyone knew the new Cooper and Company co-host. The show was very popular and featured the antics of Jamie Cooper, a regional self-proclaimed forty-three-year-old teenager and patented redneck. Jamie had achieved success earlier in his career on other regional stations as "The Country Rover," a wandering good old boy who interviewed every strange character, celebrity, hillbilly band and two-headed cow in the Tennessee Valley. He was the comic, outspoken "No Hope" boy from New Hope, Alabama and I was the straight guy. Just like Martin and Lewis, we knew how to play to our audience. We had everyone tuning in each morning, before work to see what freaks of nature we had discovered or what local country band was on its way to the top. Our presence was requested at donkey ball games, chittlin' (Look that up in the dictionary.) suppers, rodeos, snake-handling church services, PTA fund raisers, dunking booths, county fairs, arm wrestling contests, beauty walks, ugly walks, bar-be-cue cook offs, tobacco spitting contests and other weird and out-of-the-ordinary events within a radius of one hundred miles or so. We filmed these events and aired them the next day or two on the show. We also had national celebrities on the show like Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins, George "Goober" Lindsey, Dave Ramsey, T "Bubba" Bectol, the country group Alabama and every country act and wann-a-be that came through our town. Suddenly, I was signing autographs at Wal-Mart and the Waffle House. This was great! For four years straight, the alarm clock woke me at 3:00 AM, five days a week. I then showered and drove 25 miles to the station and Jamie and I were on the air by 5:00 each morning. After four years, Jamie left the show for greener pastures. I became the show host for a few months. It just was not the same after Jamie left. It was like Cracker Jacks without the peanuts. It was like a bluegrass band without a fiddle. It was like Abbot without Costello. I finally decided that the station had served its purpose and Bama Jammer needed me more than the station needed me. When I left the program, it went off the NBC affiliate for good. Jamie, however, continued the show thirty miles away on a TV station in Athens, Alabama. He eventually expanded to cable TV and catapulted the station into a real serious player in the north Alabama market. He later purchased the station and became very successful, expanding his popularity into business magazines and other publications. That story in itself illustrates the true spirit of the entrepreneur.

In the story above, the bottom line is this: Our ingenuity made Bama Jammer well- known throughout four states and, other than losing a little sleep, it did not cost us a dime! Suddenly, customers started coming to us. Suddenly, people wanted to do business with us instead of our competitors. Why? Because they felt that they knew us. They were comfortable with us. Suddenly, everyone knew what we did, where we were located, what we sold and who we were. We had created name recognition and separated ourselves from others who had the same products, at the same prices and did exactly what we did!

One of the next moves that we made was to locate our office within view of Interstate 565, the only interstate highway that ran through Huntsville. The building that became the new Bama Jammer office was the old Martin Industries building that, for nearly one hundred years, had built wood-burning stoves. The building was five acres under one roof. The part that we occupied was a two story brick veneer structure that stood facing Governors Drive, one of the main thoroughfares that ran through the heart of the city. So that everyone could find us, we got the idea of putting a flag pole on top of the building and placing a huge ten foot by twenty foot flag bearing only our logo (a bright yellow Chinese smiley face). We hired a crane to set the forty feet high pole, and, before you knew it, everyone who traveled the interstate into Huntsville and the 40,000 cars that traveled up and down Governors Drive each day saw our logo! Everyone knew where we were located. Everyone knew Bama Jammer. When each person saw our flag, what did they think about? They thought about Bama Jammer! Everyone knew that we were the company with the big flag bearing the Chinese Smiley face. Total cost for this venture was under $1,000. What a great and inexpensive way to create name recognition!

By now Bama Jammer was getting really well-known; then we came up with another idea. We had considered leasing billboards for advertising but found they were too expensive. In our third year of operation, we had purchased a used Air Force 1992 Dodge Ram delivery van. We had placed magnetic signs on the van and had found them to be fairly productive for generating business. What would happen if we turned the van into a 360 degree rolling billboard? We decided to explore the possibilities.

We approached a local company that made swimming pool liners. They were beginning to experiment with vehicle vinyl wraps. This was swimming pool vinyl that could be permanently glued to vehicles and would display four color process advertising messages and pictures of products. These were eye catching, colorful wraps that begged for your attention. It would be difficult not to look at a vehicle with one of these colorful messages. We went to work to come up with a message and design that was sure to catch a potential customer's attention.

After a couple of weeks and several modifications, we had a design that was sure to work. The company printed the material and, like a giant jig saw puzzle, carefully pieced it together on our delivery van. The van was wrapped from top to bottom and from side to side. The top was the only part of the van that did not carry our message. It looked absolutely great. The van was completely wrapped in the classy-looking bright colors that told our message and showed many of our products. Heads turned everywhere that the van traveled. When we met strangers and told them what we did, their first response was, "You are the company with the van." Everywhere the van went, people learned about Bama Jammer. Several times, people would call, stating they were in traffic behind our van and could not do without our products. On some occasions, we would visit local businesses and stores, always parking our van where it got the best visibility. Many times, upon returning to the van, there would be a note on the windshield or someone waiting for us. Our van was doing our prospecting and telling our message!

The wrap was still on the van and was still telling our message years later when it burped, shook violently, as the engine locked up. It now is parked in a local salvage yard where it continues to advertise for Bama Jammer. It touched our hearts as we watched our old friend travel out of sight behind the wrecker. The wrap had been on the van for over six years and proven to be one of our best ideas. The cost of the vinyl wrap was under $2,000, which was the cost of one billboard for one month.

The above stories are examples of what can be done to separate you from your competitors. These ideas worked for us and helped make us the fastest growing promotional products distribution company in America two years in a row (2003 and 2004). We called this "seat of the pants" marketing. That is marketing your company with little or no investment, only lots of guts and creative ideas. To succeed in business you have to secure your fair market share. To do this, it is imperative that you deliberately place your company in a favorable position in the marketplace.

To be successful, you must beat your competition. Here is an old joke that illustrates that point:

Two hikers were rounding a curve on a trail deep in the woods when they came face to face with a snarling grizzly bear. The bear began to claw the dirt and prepare to charge. One hiker dropped to the ground and began putting on his running shoes. The other hiker laughed and stated, "You are crazy. You can't out run that bear." The other hiker remarked, "I don't have to. I just need to out run you!"

Here is a great idea to help the accounts receivable:

A taxpayer received a strongly worded tax notice in the mail that was labeled "SECOND NOTICE." He immediately rushed to the tax collector's office and apologetically wrote a check for the taxes that were due. "I'm so sorry." he stated. "I must have overlooked the first notice.' "Oh, no," stated the tax collector. "We found that it was much more effective to start with the second notice."

* * *

Chapter 15

All Cavemen Must Carry A Big Stick

Booker T. Washington is credited with the statement, "Success is measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he had to overcome while trying to succeed." Once, I was a guest on a talk radio show along with Michael McDonald, one of my students who had pulled himself out of the ghetto to become an attorney and a respected politician. Michael had done this despite seemingly overwhelming odds that were stacked against him. Mike was asked by the host why others also do not likewise pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. He replied that it was really tough to pull yourself up by your bootstraps when you had no boots. What a great answer. No matter what the Preamble to our Constitution states, all men (and women) are not created equal. We each are born into different environments, with different talents, financial means, intelligence levels and other distinct advantages... or disadvantages. Why do some, like Mike, despite the odds, manage to succeed? Why do some have different drives, ambition, attitudes and determination? When is all this determined? Is it in the womb or the first few years of life? The great speaker, Zig Ziglar says, "Great people are just ordinary people with extraordinary determination." Over the years, I have found this to be true.

I taught high school for sixteen and one-half years. As I reflect back on the kids that I taught, the ones that accomplished the most in life were the ones that I would never have selected to do so. They were the ones that were average kids with little opportunity and lots of drive, grit and determination. When our caveman friend went out to go hunting, he soon learned that to bring the game home, he had to carry a big stick and learn how to use it. They too had to learn to carry a big stick and lots of arrows in their quiver. Here are their stories.

Story One:

Bob graduated from high school with less than average grades. Never did he, or anyone else, expect him to go to college. He met their expectations by starting to work immediately after high school. Although he did not like school, he was really good working with his hands. He liked the immediate gratification of seeing his projects come to fruition. He enjoyed construction work and began his first job as a carpenter's helper. In a few years, he borrowed money from a local bank and built his first house. Then, he built another...then another. Fifteen years after graduation, he built his first condominium and found that he could quadruple his return by building and reselling multiple units. Bob is now a millionaire but continues to build condominiums and commercial properties.

Story Two:

Eric, like Bob in the first story, barely graduated from high school. If a vote was taken, he would have been selected as the most likely not to succeed. Also, like Bob, he enjoyed working with his hands. His first few jobs were working as a helper for an auto mechanic. He started working part time in construction and learned fast. He enjoyed the challenge and satisfaction of seeing a project completed. Before long, Eric quit his job as a mechanic's helper and built his first house. Eric moved into the house an immediately began his second house.... then a third.... then a fourth. Before long, he was developing subdivisions in his hometown. He negotiated and signed a contract to build grocery stores all across the country for a regional food store chain. The rest is history. Eric is now a multi-millionaire and travels the world expanding his investments and counting his money.

Story Three:

Tom graduated from high school in the middle of his class. He was average at best and never attempted to go to college. Instead, he started to work selling televisions at a retail store in a strip mall not far from home. Tom enjoyed sales and got very good at it. While others were in college classes, Tom was learning from the school of hard knocks. He eventually left his job selling televisions and started to work as a salesman for an electronic company that supplied components to the company that manufactured the television sets. By the time that Tom's classmates graduated from college and began to join the workforce, Tom had managed to buy the troubled electronics company. Before long, through Tom's diligence, determination and perseverance, the company had recovered, and Tom sold it to his biggest competitor. He immediately reinvested his profits into other ventures, which included several radio stations, a restaurant chain and a regional health club chain. Tom now lives in one of the biggest houses in town and spends most of his time playing with his diversified portfolio.

Story Four:

John graduated from high school as the class favorite. He was always well-liked and popular. Most were surprised when John did not go to college. He, instead, started to work with his brother-in-law building commercial properties. They soon discovered that they could build high-rise apartments for government housing at hefty profits. One thing followed another and soon their company had grabbed the attention of others who wanted to purchase the company. Not long after, John and his brother-in-law sold the business and both retired. Since he was forty-years-old, John has done exactly what he wants to do each day. He has not worked in many years.

Story Five:

Our fifth story is the story of Mike McDonald, the young man mentioned earlier in this chapter. I take special pride in Mike's story since I did play a small part in opening a door to get Mike started. Mike was a great kid in high school. Mike lived in the government housing projects and had witnessed many of the personal tragedies of others growing up there. He was exposed at an early age to gangs, drugs, violence and crime. Mike was smart enough to remove himself from those who were bad influences on him. Mike was active in his church, played on the high school football team and made good grades. Upon graduation, he knew that the likelihood of a college education was not good. This is where I enter the picture.

Mike had a job working at one of the Taco Bells in Huntsville. As fate would have it, one day I got a craving for a spicy bean burrito. When I entered the Taco Bell I saw Mike sweeping the floors. I asked him why he was not in college. After a short conversation and three burritos, I promised Mike that I would see if I could help him get into college. A few phone calls to Middle Tennessee State University and to State Farm Insurance in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, things were beginning to fall into place. I had worked my way through school at MTSU by working in the mail room at State Farm Insurance's South Central Office. It was mere luck (Remember what I said about luck.) that the personnel manager remembered me (Although it had been nearly ten years.) and agreed to give Mike a job. A few weeks later, Mike was enrolled in MTSU and had a steady job at State Farm Insurance. He caught a greyhound bus to Murfreesboro with only ten dollars in his pocket. Four years later, he graduated with honors from MTSU and entered law school. While at MTSU, Mike earned a position as a split receiver on the football team and was the first black President of the student body. Since graduating, Mike has been named the Most Outstanding Alumni and earned many post-graduate honors. One of his first jobs was as the legal counsel to the Governor of the state of Tennessee. He was later Registrar of Davidson County (Nashville), Tennessee where he served for many years. At this writing, Mike is an attorney in Nashville and a law professor at two universities, MTSU and Tennessee State University. Mike's success truly touches my heart since he had the least opportunity of any student that I encountered yet, he accomplished the most.

All of the above stories are true. Of those mentioned, only Mike McDonald had a college education. What did all the people in the stories above have in common? They all had determination, an overwhelming desire to achieve and great work ethic. They each overcame the odds to attain the things that each accomplished. As stated earlier in this book, work ethic is more important than a stack of college degrees. In the stories above, each learned to carry a big stick, to fill their quiver, and they each had a passion for what they did.

Here is a short story about determination:

A young guard was placed on guard duty for the first time. He was instructed that no vehicle was allowed to enter the compound unless it had a certain identification number on it. As luck would have it, the first unmarked vehicle to approach the gate was that of a general. The General had total disregard for the young guard and instructed his driver to drive on through the gate. The young guard leaned inside the vehicle and politely stated, "I'm new at this, sir, and I really don't know what to do. Who do I shoot first, you or the driver?"

* * *

Chapter 16

Leaders, Bosses and Bossy Leaders

There is an old saying that if you are not the lead dog in a dog sled, then the view never changes. Successful entrepreneurs must run up front. By nature, they can not be content to bring up the rear (pardon the pun). They have to be on the front float in the idea parade. They have to be proactive, not reactive. They have to be leaders by nature and winners by heart. Entrepreneurs have to lead the pack. Have you ever thought about the first person to eat an egg? It had to be an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are winners by definition and leaders by instinct. They are competitors by nature and action-oriented.

At this writing, the world record in the 100-meter dash is 9.77 seconds. The record was set by Asafa Powell, the Jamaican sprinter, in 2005. As strange as it may sound, I'm convinced that I could beat him. I know what you are thinking. You think that I am crazy. You are wrong. You see, I know that I could beat him if I have a 50-meter head start. This is not just idle speculation; it is something that I have actually mathematically calculated. I know exactly how fast that I can run and I know how fast Mr. Powell can run. My calculations tell me I need a 50-meter head start. Not 60 meters. Not 65 meters. Not 49 meters. I need a minimum of 50 meters and I can beat the best in the world. The pressure is now upon Mr. Powell to beat me since he has no idea of by capabilities in Speedos and a pair of Nikes.

It only makes sense that, given a big enough lead, or the right advantage, in any endeavor, I, or you, can beat anyone at any thing. The advantage is that leaders have always made the rules and they always will. Why do you think that state and local legislation favor the wealthy and the attorneys? It is because the rich and the attorneys compose the majority of these legislative bodies and, therefore, determine the rules. Leaders have the opportunity to choose. Leaders get to control, to create, to cause things to happen, to be winners. Leaders take the greatest advantage of their opportunities and they get to write the rule book. They are the ones who get the quickest start against the competition. They are the ones who get the fifty meter head starts!

As a business owner and entrepreneur, you should learn very quickly to be a leader. You should also learn that there is a difference in being a leader and a boss. I always hate it when someone introduces me as their boss. That is not a good reflection on me. A boss drives people, often by intimidation. A leader coaches and mentors them. A boss uses the word "I" while the leader uses the words, "us", "we", and "our". A boss depends upon his authority while a leader depends upon admiration, goodwill and respect. A boss places blame when things go wrong. A leader fixes things when they go wrong. A boss tells people how to do things. A leader shows people how to do things. A boss says, "Go get it done". A leader says, "Let's go get it done." Remember that, in combat, the officers eat last! We have seen time and time again that good leaders can do the impossible. Coach Darrell Royal once said, "The coach is sometimes a reflection of the team, but the team is always a reflection of the coach." How true!

On January 20, 2007, I heard Colin Powell address a crowd of 4,000 advertising specialty business people at the Orlando Convention Center. He stated that he had always had a difficult time motivating people. He just could not figure out a way to motivate others to do what he wanted them to do. He stated that age has its benefits. Throughout his life, he learned the secret by watching those who were great leaders.. That secret was to stop trying to motivate others, and, instead inspire them to motivate themselves. He explained that a true leader inspires others through his or her leadership, dedication, work ethic, courage, actions, morals and high standards. As a true leader, a person should set an example that inspires others to motivate themselves.

It always irritates me when I am listening to a public speaker, news reporter, politician, teacher or anyone who constantly uses "I", "me", "mine" or "my". A person should remove these words completely from his or her vocabulary. To be effective as a leader, egotism must be obliterated. Anything resembling an elevated self worth must be eliminated. These words need to be completely removed from one's speech, from one's letters, from one's memos, and from one's thinking. A person may not even realize the image that is being projected, but, others will notice it immediately, especially as an individual become more successful.

Here is some food for thought:

The six most powerful words in the English language are:

"We truly appreciate your continued efforts."

The five most important words are:

"You did a great job."

The four most important words are:

"What is your opinion?"

The three most important words are:

"If you please"

The two most important words are:

"Thank you."

The least important words are:

"I", "me", "my", "mine"

Once we were interviewing a young man for a position with one of our businesses. He had a great resume, super references and perfect job experience for the position that we had available. During the interview, he kept telling us what "he" had done. He told us what "he" had accomplished and what "he" could bring to our company. He constantly used "I", "my", "me" and "mine". As soon as he left, his resume went into the trash can. We were looking for team players, not egotistical solo artists. His attitude would have destroyed the team spirit that we had carefully developed and which was so necessary in our business survival.

Here are a few traits of good leaders:

1. Good leaders inspire confidence in others.

2. Good leaders must be visionaries.

3. Good leaders must have direction and desire.

4. Good leaders are always team players.

5. Good leaders are poor followers.

6. Good leaders lead by example.

7. Good leaders have empathy for others.

8. Good leaders must turn failure into success.

9. Good leaders are strongest in emergencies.

10. Good leaders are always poor bosses.

Bear Bryant, the legendary head football coach at the University of Alabama, was once asked to explain his coaching philosophy. He explained it this way.

"If anything goes wrong, it was my fault.

If anything goes semi-good then we did it.

If anything goes real good, then you did it."

He continued to explain, "I am just an old plowboy from Arkansas, but I've learned how to hold a team together. I've learned how to lift some men up and how to calm others down. I do so until they have one heart beat. That's when we have a football team."

Here is something to think about:

Many will remember years ago when Chrysler was tittering on the brink of bankruptcy. Lee Iacocca turned the company around and made it profitable. What factors changed when he took over? Nothing! When he took control, Chrysler still faced the same competition, the same environmental issues, the same taxes, the same government regulations and the same unions.

The thing that was different was one man's leadership and commitment. He saved eighty thousand jobs and saved a $14 billion dollar company from bankruptcy.

That is what good leaders do!

* * *

Chapter 17

The Best Mousetrap...and No One's at My Door

You have the best product and the best price and you can not give the thing away. What's wrong?

Sometimes the best thing to do in business is not give up too soon. Perseverance is imperative for any entrepreneur. Calvin Coolidge once said, "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence." Persistence is the seed of success and the element that pays off in the long run.

I remember years ago attending a national sales meeting for Lincoln National Life Insurance agents. During the meeting, the top agent in the company was recognized and interviewed. He was a Hispanic gentleman who spoke with an accent and somewhat broken English. He was a late middle aged fellow, not particularly handsome or even impressive, yet each year, he sold more insurance than the thousands of other agents in the company. When asked how he managed to be the top agent each year, he explained. After closing time each day, after everyone else had gone home, he made thirty extra prospecting calls by phone or in person. That is 7,800 extra prospecting calls each year after the close of the regular work day! He explained that his closing ratio was only five percent of the calls. However, that is 390 extra sales per year. That was more sales than most of the agents closed during regular working hours in a year. That is perseverance!

Sometimes you simply have to hang in there. Here is another true story:

Once, there was a man who had no formal education. He grew up backward, shy and intimidated by others. He was once described as being the ugliest man north of Tennessee.

Here is his resume:

At age 22: Failed in business.

At age 23: Ran for state legislature and was defeated.

At age 24: Failed again in business.

At age 25: Elected to state legislature.

At age 26: His sweetheart died.

At age 27: He had a nervous breakdown.

At age 29: Defeated for state Speaker of the House.

At age 31: Defeated for elector.

At age 34: Defeated for Congress.

At age 37: Elected to Congress.

At age 39: Defeated for Congress.

At age 46: Defeated for Senate.

At age 47: Defeated for Vice President.

Would you hire this guy? He certainly lost more battles than he won. He definitely was a loser most of his life. Let's continue the story.

At age 51: He was elected President of the United States.

As you probably have figured out by now, this is the resume of Abraham Lincoln. During his life, he suffered many defeats, but, because he never gave up, he finally won the highest office in the United States. I guess we could continue this story and say that in the end, he was assassinated. But, the point is, life is rarely smooth. We all suffer ups and downs. Most of the time, the average person probably loses more battles than he wins. What is important is that, generally, we should be heading in the right direction. The will to persist will eventually create victory.

In any endeavor there are three things that can happen to you. The first is that you might actually succeed. Sometimes that really happens. The second thing is that you might fall flat on your face and become the laughing stock of your peers. You might spend all of your money and fail! That would be terrible. But the third, and worst thing, is to never try!

Here is the Phil Niekro Story with some the facts and statistics taken from the Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and from Hemispheres Magazine, March issue, 2009 pages 77-78.... (The inspiration for this story is taken from this author's heart while watching Phil pitch for the Atlanta Braves for twenty years. I also met Phil Niekro (while writing this book) in July, 2011 at the Gwinnett Braves baseball stadium in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He was just as I expected; cordial, humble, friendly.. a really nice guy! A photo of the two of us now rests on my bookshelf along side an autographed baseball.)

Have you ever tried to hit a knuckleball? The knuckleball is hard to hit because the ball has no rotation, only a floating, flat trajectory, which, when thrown properly and fast, builds friction on the ball's surface. This friction causes the ball to dive and dart up, down and side ways. Even the pitcher is not sure of where the ball is going. It has been called a voodoo pitch because it has a possessed, haunting and mysterious character about it. The word voodoo comes from the Dahomean word for "spirit", an invisible mysterious force that can intervene in human affairs. The knuckleball has certainly intervened in lots of people's batting averages.

This is the story of the knuckleball pitcher Philip Henry Niekro:

Phil was born on April Fools Day in 1939 in Balaine, Ohio, a fitting time since his knuckleball played tricks on batters for two and one half decades. With 318 career victories, Niekro won more games than any other knuckleball pitcher in history. Among Neikro's accomplishments was the fact that he won the National League Gold Glove Award five times. The Gold Glove Award is the award given annually to the major league baseball player judged to have the most "superior individual performance" at each position (in each league). This honor is awarded by the managers and coaches.

Together with his brother Joe, the Niekro brothers became the biggest winning brother combination in baseball history, with 539 wins combined. One of Niekro's accomplishments was his 121 career victories after the age of 40. At this writing, this is a major league baseball record. His longevity is attributed to his only real pitch, the knuckleball. The knuckleball, while a difficult pitch for pitchers to master, is easy on the arm and nearly impossible for batters to hit. In fact, there were few catchers that could even catch Phil's knuckleball. Those catchers wore over-sized catcher's mitts so, if they could not catch the ball, at least they might knock the ball down.

Niekro pitched for twenty seasons for the Atlanta Braves (Two of those seasons were when the team was still in Milwaukee.). Phil was very popular in the city of Atlanta for remaining loyal to a team that often had a losing record (known as the bad years), as well as for his contributions to Atlanta area charities. On August 5, 1973, Niekro pitched a no hitter against the San Diego Padres. The no-hitter was the first no-hitter for the Braves since they had relocated to Atlanta. He was often the only star on the Braves teams and was by far the most popular player with the Braves fans. In 1979, Phil tied his brother for the league lead with twenty one wins. This happened while playing for an Atlanta team that only won 66 games. During his tenure in Atlanta, Niekro was selected to five All Star Teams, won five gold gloves, led the league in victories twice and in ERAs (earned run average) once.

Niekro was also a key to the only two division titles Atlanta won before 1991. In 1969, he had a 23-13 season with a 2.56 ERA and finished second in Cy Young balloting behind New York Mets sensation Tom Seaver. He lost his only appearance in the NLCS, as he and his Braves were swept by the Mets. In 1982, at the age of 43, Niekro led the Braves' pitching staff with a 17-4 season. On October 1, with the Braves clinging to a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Niekro beat the San Diego Padres almost single-handedly by throwing a complete game shutout and hitting a two run home run.

How long could the old guy go? Against popular opinion among the fans, the Braves released Niekro in 1985. That did not stop Phil! After being released by the Braves, he signed with the New York Yankees and went on to win sixteen games. It was while he was with the Yankees that he made the last of his five All-Star appearances. It was also while pitching for the Yankees, that Niekro gained entry into the 300 win club with a shutout win over the Toronto Blues Jays on October 6, 1985. At age 46, Niekro became the oldest pitcher to pitch a shutout in the major leagues, and became the only pitcher to throw a complete game shutout for his 300th win. He did not throw his trademark knuckleball until the final hitter.

After two seasons in New York, he still did not stop. Niekro pitched for the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays in 1986 and 1987 respectively. The Blue Jays released him after he pitched ineffectively. Late in the 1987 season the Braves, out of loyalty, brought him back for one last start to wrap up his career. At the age of 48, Phil Niekro was the oldest player in major league history to play regularly until the record was later broken by Julio Franco (also an Atlanta Brave). Phil Neikro's twenty four seasons in the major leagues without a World Series appearance is currently a major league record. In his career, Niekro pitched a total of 5,404? innings. This is the most innings pitched by any pitcher in the post-1920 live ball era. He only appeared in the post season twice, making a playoff start in 1969 and again in 1982, both for Braves teams that would go on to lose the series.

Phil Neikro was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

What a story! Now, as the late commentator Paul Harvey would have said, "Stay tuned for the rest of the story."

Phil and his brother, Joe, learned their famous knuckleball pitch from their father, Phil Niekro, Sr. The senior Neikro was a coal miner who pitched for a local amateur team in the Coal Miner League. Phil and Joe took that pitch and used it effectively while pitching at Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio. Although Phil had a good high school record, he was not recruited as a college player. No one wanted the poor boy from Ohio with that weird knuckleball. After all, he only had that one pitch and he pitched it every time.

When Phil graduated from high school in 1957 he joined his Dad working in the coal mines. He also joined the company baseball team and figured that the rest of his days would be spent pitching in that amateur league and working in the coal mines. Then an event occurred that changed Phil's life. One day, a major league scout saw Phil pitch and invited himself to dinner at the Niekro home. The scout offered Phil a contract to play in the minor leagues (at the D league level) for $275 a month and a $500 signing bonus. That was not much money for a baseball player even in those days. It was, however, much better that the coal mines and gave Phil the opportunity to play baseball, the game that he loved. Soon after, Phil caught the train and was on his way to Waycross, Georgia for spring training.

Phil was somewhat intimidated by the major league golden boys and their huge salaries and signing bonuses. His tiny $275 was laughable compared to their earnings. Because of the huge investments that the team had in the high interest recruits, those recruits naturally got more attention. Phil struggled through his first year in the D league.

His first season was not good and he was called into the office by the team manager. Phil knew what this meant. He was going to be released and sent back to the mines. As Phil tells the story, "I could not help it. I broke down and began to cry. I cried so hard when I got the news that I was being released, that it touched the manager's heart. He felt sorry for me." Reluctantly, it was agreed that Phil's release would be delayed and he would temporarily be sent to another D League team.

That was Phil's last chance and he knew it. Phil was devastated by the fact that if he failed, he was destined to spend his life in the coal mines. That was great motivation. He became totally dedicated to baseball and his knuckleball. His dedication worked. The next season he advanced to the A League. In 1964, Phil got his first big break. The Milwaukee Braves called him up to test his abilities as a relief pitcher. During his first appearance on the mound, Niekro faced one batter. He got him out. That was his first big victory and an important milestone for the kid from Ohio. In 1967 he started his first game for the relocated Atlanta Braves. The rest is history!

As was stated at the beginning of this chapter, persistence is the seed of success and the element that pays off in the long run.

Here is another inspirational story:

The Boston, Massachusetts based Vic Firth Company manufactures American-made drum sticks and drum mallets. According to its founder Vic Firth, the company was founded completely by accident in 1963. Vic was a well-known drummer and percussionist, who, at the time, had been performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 12 years. Vic was dissatisfied with drum sticks that he bought through retail music stores and decided to make his own sticks. In his basement he set up a shop. Firth hand-whittled the first sticks himself from thicker, heavier sticks making a special effort for balance and tone quality. After dropping several retail sticks on the floor, he noticed all the different tones created by the sticks. He determined that drum sticks should all have the same balance and tonal quality so he went to work.

Vic sent his first prototypes to a wood crafter in Montreal, Canada. These sticks were balanced and turned on precision wood lathes until they were just right. The two prototypes that he sent would become the well-known models SD1 and SD2. These are well known to every serious drummer. These were the first two models of drum sticks ever made by Vic Firth. As Vic Firth himself states, "It came out of necessity not of imagination or my ability to start a company." Although the sticks were initially intended for Firth's personal use, the sticks gained popularity among his students, and were eventually carried by retailers.

Today, Vic Firth has gone from the SD1 and SD2 to having around 300 products in its catalog. The Company and manufactures over twelve million sticks a year. The company takes pride in itself as the world's largest manufacturer of drum sticks and mallets. The Vic Firth Company produces over 60% of the drumsticks manufactured today. Ask any drummer and they will quickly tell you about the quality of Firth drum sticks.

The company's current product line has been expanded to include practice pads, headphones, a line of pepper mills, salt grinders, and rolling pins manufactured in Newport, Maine under the Vic Firth Gourmet brand.

On March 29, 2009, in an interview on Sunday Morning, the long running CBS television show, the seventy seven year old Vic Firth attributed his success to hard work, determination and most of all persistence. He stated:

"From a business standpoint, the secret to a company's success is quality, innovation and new products. From a personal perspective the key word for me is persistence. Whatever you set out to do, you have to have a magnum passion for it, and you've got to work beyond what you ever dreamed you're going to work to succeed at the level that you want to succeed. Persistence... persistence...persistence.. That is the key!"

That is a good lesson in stick-to-it-tive-ness.

Good advice:

One of the shortest graduation speeches in history was delivered by Winston Churchill to the graduates at Oxford University. Although he had suffered through many political defeats in his life, he ultimately became Great Britain's Prime Minister. He did so at a time when the country desperately needed leadership. He rallied the country during the darkest hours of World War II and positioned himself as one of the world's greatest leaders.

When it became time for him to address the Oxford graduates, he walked to the podium, looked the graduates in their eyes and said, "Never, never, never give up." He then sat down.

"The battles in life are almost always fought uphill. To win without a struggle is almost like winning without honor. If there were no difficulties, there would be no success; if there was nothing to struggle for, there would be nothing to be achieved. Difficulties may intimidate the weak, but they act only as a wholesome stimulus to men of resolution and valor. All experiences of life, indeed, serve to prove that the impediments thrown in the way of human achievement may, for the most part, be overcome by steady good conduct, honest zeal, activity, perseverance, and by a determination to overcome all difficulties."

\- Edmond Burke

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Chapter 18

Squeeze a Dollar 'Til The Eagle Grins

In Chapter ten, the lyrics were listed to the old song Nobody Knows You when You're Down and Out. This song tells the story of a fellow who pilfered his wealth and in the process lost his popularity and fair weather friends. One line in the song states, "If I get my hand on a dollar again, I'm gonna hold on to it 'til the eagle grins."

The importance of frugality in any business can not be expressed enough. The difference between failure and success is often razor thin. There is a poem that you need to memorize. It goes like this:

To run your business

In the ground,

Keep your overhead high

And revenues down.

To keep your business

Safe and sound,

Keep your revenues up

And overhead down.

There is the story about the businessman who opened a corner grocery store. After twenty years, he was asked to explain his success. "Well," he stated. "Twenty years ago I saved $100 and started this business. As you know, I have been extremely successful. I now owe $500,000!"

Once when I mentioned the word frugal, a fellow business person stated that that was just a nice word for tightwad. I guess that he was right. Here are several definitions of frugal:

• Avoiding waste; Practicing or marked by economy, as in the expenditure of money or the use of material resources. "an economical meal"; "an economical shopper"; "a frugal farmer"; "a frugal lunch"; "a sparing father and a spending son"; "sparing in their use of heat and light"; "stinting in bestowing gifts"; "thrifty because they remember the great Depression"; "`scotch' is used only informally"

• Frugal:

According to Dictionary.com, a frugal person is "economical in use or expenditure". Frugality involves spending less, using less, and finding multiple (unique) uses for products. A frugal person not only shops for bargains, but considers the necessity, or lack thereof, of certain products and services. A person may be frugal because he: has to be or chooses to be. (One might refer to two types of frugality: Involuntary Frugality (born of absolute necessity) and Voluntary Frugality (born of a desire, belief, or choice). (Synonym: Thrifty)

Resource: Frugal For Life (NCN Top 20 Blog!)

Here is the definition for Cheap:

One who likes to save money; Cheap is one of the most "difficult" terms to define. Does it mean the same thing as "frugal?" Or, does it mean "stingy" (one who hates to or refuses to spend money, even for friends and family). If you call someone cheap, are you paying them a compliment or putting them down? Synonym: Tightwad

One of my high school buddies retired at a very early age after spending his working years in New York City in the grocery business. He owned several grocery supermarkets in the city and made it his life's work to study and to completely understand the retail grocery markets. For years, he carefully analyzed the grocery retail market and had figured out how and when a person should make a trip to the grocery store. He studied the sales, the coupon programs, the lost leaders, and the discount programs. At any time, you can stop him on the street and ask him the price of just about anything in any grocery store and he can tell you within a couple of cents.

Not long ago, I saw him. He told me that he had just bought one hundred dollars worth of groceries for less than ten dollars. I asked him how he did this. He told me that he has developed a system. He keeps a detailed coupon file and always buys during "double (or sometimes triple) coupon" day. He looks for "buy one, get one free" items or other discounted products. He goes to the internet and prints manufacturer's coupons in addition to store coupons. He shops only at stores that match the coupons of their competitors. He shops at stores that offer senior discounts (for which he qualified). He said that he buys the discounted items and strictly adheres to a budget. He is very careful to avoid compulsive, on the spot purchases. He said that he applies the same principle to his trips to Wal-Mart and the other discount stores. He stated further that his records indicate that he buys groceries at ten cents to twenty five cents on the dollar and other non-grocery products at fifty to sixty percent discounts. Now, that is a good definition of frugality.

Would you define frugality defined as being cheap or a tightwad? A better definition is that frugality is the art of wise buying, stretching a dollar, being smart with your money. Could that mean the difference in the survival of a small business? Sure it could! Use your capital wisely and you will not need as much of it.

Follow this one carefully:

The men who manage men manage the men who mange things, but the men who mange money mange the men who mange men. John Paul Getty.

The trouble with a budget is that at the end of the money there is too much month left.

A. James Grant

There is an old story about Jack Benny, the old-time radio and television personality. Jack was the world's best-known tightwad. In one of Jack's skits, a robber can up behind Jack on the street and stuck a gun in his back. The robber said, "Give me your money, or it's your life." Jack gave no response. The robber repeated himself, "Your money or your life." "Hurry up!" shouted the robber, Jack replied, "I'm trying to decide, I'm thinking!"

Here is a web site that you should visit. Get on the internet and type in www.FrugalMarketing.com. Here you will find over 700 articles to help you run your business better. You will find everything from how to prevent credit card fraud, to how to run a successful business on- or off-line, to trend articles about the future of business featuring some of the best thinkers of the Digital Age. At that web site you will have access to Down to Business magazine. Down To Business is a magazine to help you run your business more profitably—as part of their site-wide commitment to help you do better with less in both business and pleasure. The magazine features articles from some of the leading lights in the entrepreneurial niche, including John Audette, Sharon Tucci, Jeffrey Lant, Paulette Ensign, Azriela Jaffe, Paul Krupin, Rick Beneteau, and many others. You need to check this web site quite frequently for new content.

Here is a good book. To learn more about the power of frugality, you need to purchase Frugal Living for Dummies by Deborah Taylor-Hough. This book is an introduction to frugality. Getting started is always the toughest. This book will get you started on the first step. It is a great middle range book whose concepts are not as radical as some of the other texts on this subject. It has a friendly introduction and is organized to very well. It is an alternative to some of the other frugality concepts. This book will help the small business be more conscious of its spending habits and to be budget wise. Frugal Living for Dummies is great for a beginner, but not for advanced frugal zealots (the el–cheapos).

* * *

Chapter 19

Let's Plant A Money Tree

Have you ever had one of those realistic dreams that seemed like it really happened? To show you where my mind is, one night I dreamed that I had a money tree. What a dream come true! If I wanted money, all I had to do was pick money off the tree and fill my pockets! No more working. No more long hours at the office. No more debt. No more waiting for pay day! With both hands I was stuffing money in a pillowcase when, suddenly; I woke up and reluctantly came back to reality. For days I thought about the dream. Then it occurred to me that I really did have a money tree!

If you want to have a money tree, simply plant one. That is all you have to do. Create a business that, week after week, month after month, year after year, puts money in your pocket. Just like the money tree, you can fill your pillowcase full of money each day. Here is the trick. You have to keep the tree alive. If you pick the leaves bare it will die. If you fail to fertilize and water the tree in just the right proportions, it will wither away. You have to prune it at just the right time of the year. You have to spray it to prevent parasites, disease and rot. There is a delicate balancing act to keep the tree alive and productive. With common sense, hard work and planning, yes, Virginia, you too can have a money tree.

Your business is just like the growth cycle of a fruit tree. If a tree is placed in a dark and overgrown area, then given minimal water nourishment, it will be smothered out and may eventually die. If it does live, it will be a dwarf and not grow or bear fruit. If it is given too much water and nourishment, the roots may rot or the tree may be distorted and grow upward, downward and outward. It will have a weak foundation to support it during the storms that certainly will come. If it is given just the right water and nourishment, it will be healthy and grow tall and straight. It will then produce fruit that will satisfy generations to come.

* * *

Chapter 20

Thank God I Was Bad at Math

"Math and science...If you want to get anywhere in this world, then you have to be excellent at math and science." I was told this by everyone from the time I was big enough to sit up until I received my AARP card. I was pretty good at science but that logarithm thing knocked me to my knees. Then there were those algebraic equations, calculus and that modern math stuff. And slide rules... I never really figured that out with confidence. I have often thought that I must have chewed on too many window sills as a child and that lead poisoning did something that distorted my mathematical reasoning (I'm not joking about this.). I just could not get it! I lost my talent for math sometime in the third grade right after the multiplication tables. I still dread the day each month when I get my bank statement. For some reason math was tough on me.

When I entered college, I had to take all of those advanced math courses to satisfy the requirements of my major. Late at night, my light would be the only light shining in the dorm. I would be studying those equations, cramming for exams, and solving those algebraic formulas. There was geometry, integral identities, derivative tables, statistics and probability, matrices and determinants and other weird things destined to drive me crazy. I promised that if God would just get me through this, I would never to do anything bad again! My prayers must have been answered because, somehow, I did get through it all. Over the years, I have tried not to do too many bad things.

Although math was really hard for me, other things came quite easily. Anything requiring imagination, creativity, planning, or strategizing was a breeze for me. I loved immediate gratification and a challenge. I loved to build things with my hands and stand back and admire my accomplishment. I was drawn to business classes like flies to three- day-old baloney. Mechanical drawing classes, shop classes, marketing and advertising classes and English composition classes were a sure "A" for me. I guess it is really true that the mind and body compensate for a person's deficiencies in one area by strengthening that person in other areas.

I have often wondered what my life would have been like if I had been good at math. I probably would have been an engineer or mathematician and spent my days swapping my life for a pay check. If so, I would have missed the adventure! I would have missed possessing the spirit of the cave man. I would have missed watching my creations emerge, sprout, grow and blossom. I would have missed the excitement of the hunt. I would have missed the opportunity to seize the moment!

Here is a story that I heard during my seventeen-year teaching experience. It was told to be the truth, although I have my doubts. In one of the schools in which I taught, there was a football coach who would pressure the teachers to give his football players good grades so that they would remain eligible to play football. He was having a tough time with one mathematics professor who was digging his heels in and refusing to budge. The student in question was his prize running back, the star of the team. The coach finally convinced the professor to give the boy a special makeup test. When the student exited the room, the coach was standing outside awaiting the results. The coach rushed in the room and shouted "How did he do?" The professor shook his head. "This guy is hopeless," the professor said. "Just look at this... 6 x 8 = 45." The coach said, "Come on professor. Give him a break. He only missed it by one."

Once one of our customers came by the office and chatted a while. She was a fine southern lady who was heavily involved in southern history, especially the history of the north Alabama Cherokee Indians. As we talked, she mentioned that she was an officer in an association which promoted Indian education in the elementary and secondary schools. "We have even set up a nice college scholarship program for children that are descendants of the Cherokee Indians," she bragged. "These are great scholarships open to all schools of study except business. You know, those business degrees are just gimmees," she continued. "We really want to steer them toward engineering, math or science." I really had to bite my tongue. Only a few months before, Bama Jammer had established an annual endowed scholarship program at the University of Alabama in Huntsville for business and marketing majors. Our scholarship program was for those wanting to become entrepreneurs. This fine lady meant well. She just did not understand that those engineers, science and math majors end up working for the business majors!

I realize that not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. Not everyone has the disposition to live their life on the edge...to exist by the sweat of their brow and their own wit and cunning. Not everyone can live by getting up each morning, killing something and dragging it home, by outrunning the fastest tiger, by setting the strongest snares. But, if you are one of those who can, then there is nothing like it!

* * *

Chapter 21

College Degrees and other Worthless Pedigrees

The only way that civilization has advanced is by educating the masses. David T. Kerns, while Chairman at Xerox, once said, "Education is the transmission of civilization. Civilization is not inherited; it has to be learned again by each new generation." How true! The first great bondage of mankind is ignorance. The last thing that I would want to do is make a mockery of education. After all, I spent the first part of my life as a high school teacher, coach and administrator. I have spent all of my life educating myself. I know first hand the value of education. I have seen how it transforms lives and advances individuals. However, I have also seen how it can hamper a person, stagnates a career and stifles opportunity.

As stated earlier in this book, education most always takes a back seat to work ethic. I had much rather hire a person who is willing to work than one who is lazy with a stack of degrees. It is always much easier to slow a person down than to try to build a fire under him. Many people fail to realize that education does not end when you have a "sheep skin" in your hand instead it is an ongoing process which a person never really quite attains. The object of an education is to prepare a person mentally to understand that he has to educate himself throughout his life. Things change. Educational requirements change as technology changes, the marketplace changes, products evolve, and manufacturing techniques improve. The workplace is constantly in a turmoil of new laws, new taxes and new mandates. All these changes require on-going education, training and new skill levels. Looking back on my own life, I have had to completely retrain myself at least four times since I graduated from college and thought that I knew everything.

So, you have three college degrees. So what! Many people have the misconception that a college degree guarantees them an executive position, a big office, a secretary on their knee and a successful career. A college degree guarantees a person nothing except that they are one step above those who do not have a degree. Hold it! That statement itself is actually not true today since there is so much technical training available that technical training may actually be much more valuable than a degree. A person is paid for what he or she knows, what they can do or what that person can get accomplished through others. That's it!

Here is an excellent article by best seller author and business motivational speaker, Harvey Mackay.

What They Didn't Teach You in Business School

A college education is valuable, and I salute all the graduates who are heading out into the wonderful world of work. A degree is an important step toward career achievement.

But a sheepskin doesn't guarantee success. Without taking anything away from the value of higher education, some pretty famous "dropouts" have made the grade in business. For example:

• Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc., had no college education at all.

• Sir Richard Branson, owner of the Virgin Brand of 360 companies, dropped out of school at age 16.

• Simon Cowell, American Idol host and music executive, left college early and eventually landed in the mailroom of a music publishing company.

• Barry Diller, chairman and CEO of IAC/InterActiveCorp, which owns Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster, Match.com, and other companies, dropped out of UCLA after one semester.

• Kirk Kerkorian, real estate investor worth approximately $15 billion, left school in eighth grade.

• Ralph Lauren, fashion designer, dropped out of business school after two years.

• Rachael Ray, celebrity chef and TV personality, started her adult career working at Macy's candy counter.

• And the most famous Harvard dropout of all is Bill Gates, Microsoft mogul and philanthropist extraordinaire.

What common trait do they all share? The #1 attribute that employers look for: initiative. They all took ideas and put them into action. Some had a little experience that they translated into big business. Others trusted their gut instincts and went out on a limb. The best education money can buy won't necessarily include a class on initiative. So, dear graduates, hone this skill, because you will be competing against people whose formal education can't match yours -- but their go-getter attitude will propel them to the top.

As my friend, the late Jim Rohn said: "A Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune."

One of the best compliments I can give when writing a reference letter is that the person takes initiative. Translation: the willingness to at least try, to take a risk, to give it their absolute best shot. When I recommend someone in those terms, a light goes on for the prospective employer.

Initiative is not a promise of perfect results. Sometimes it results in failure. Sometimes, a satisfactory, but not remarkable, outcome. Other times, the effort ends in a smashing success. An employee who can step up to the plate three runs down in the bottom of the ninth with bases loaded and two batters out, and envision a grand slam instead of a pop fly is the kind of player I want on my team. That employee will wait for just the right pitch and send it over the fence.

Don't worry if you weren't born knowing how to take initiative -- it can be learned. In fact, a lot of us learn it the hard way, getting stuck in a rut and trying to dig our way out. At some point, frustration sets in and we decide to take charge of the situation.

If that sounds like a challenge you are ready for, prepare yourself to:

• Be creative. Consider different ways to approach the work you do. Brainstorm with your team, or lacking a large group, brainstorm by yourself. Write down even the most unconventional and seemingly impossible solutions. Always, always be open to new ideas.

• Learn new skills. Identify what you want or need to learn to improve your worth. Set a goal to master a new skill with every project. It doesn't matter if that means learning another language or understanding a computer application. Just get yourself in the habit of adapting to the situation so you can be ready to contribute.

• Do the legwork. You want to convince people your idea will work? Hit them with facts. Do your homework. Find supporting research. Talk to co-workers.

• Don't sit on your ideas. Speak up if you have the idea and the supporting facts to back it up. Volunteer to lead the team or do the project yourself. Let your supervisors and co-workers know you are willing to take responsibility and evaluate progress, changing course if necessary.

• Try, try again. If your one idea didn't get an ok, don't be discouraged. Keep looking for other ideas, or reinvent your idea to overcome objections. Demonstrate your willingness to adapt.

Mackay's Moral: When you take initiative, there's no telling where it will take you.

I once saw a young man interviewed on television. When he was asked what he did for a living, he stated that he had been unemployed for eight years. When asked why he had been unemployed so long, he replied that he had been unable to find a job in his field of study. When asked what that field was, he replied, "sales and marketing." Wow! It is virtually impossible to be unemployed in sales and marketing for eight years. There are sales jobs on every corner! In fact, a person can find a job in sales in any town in the country on any given day of the week! Intelligence plus arrogance equals ignorance. This young man did not have the very ingredient necessary for success...work ethic. You have to paddle your own boat!

Donald M. Kendall, former chief executive of PepsiCo said, "Start at the bottom. My biggest problem with business school graduates is that too many don't want to start where you learn the business. They expect, as a right of passage, to get into planning, a desk job, more money and a big office, instead of getting into a Pepsi plant or riding on a truck route. When they are forty or so, they should be heading for top management, but at that point others pass them by. One example was a brilliant marketing man who didn't make it all the way to the top because he had never worked at, or understood, the nature of the factory jobs that were basic to the business."

The above is not illustrated any better than in Robert T. Kiyosaki in his New York Times Best Seller, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Chapter one of the book starts out as follows:

"I had two fathers, a rich one and a poor one. One was highly educated and intelligent; he had a Ph.D. and completed four years of undergraduate work in less than two years. He then went on to Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University to do his advanced studies, all on financial scholarships. The other father never finished the eighth grade.... Both men were strong, charismatic and influential. Both men offered advice to me, but they did not advise the same thing. Both men believed strongly in education but did not recommend the same course of study.... Both men were successful in their careers, working hard all of their lives..... Yet one struggled financially all of his life. The other was one of the richest men in Hawaii. One died leaving tens of millions of dollars to his family, charities and his church. The other left bills to be paid."

This is a great book and I strongly suggest it to anyone who would like to be an entrepreneur. Guess which dad was the poor dad? It was the highly educated dad. He put so much emphasis on being educated that he missed out completely on the finer details of life. The dad with the eighth grade education was self taught, disciplined, hard working and street smart....Oh! One other thing, the dad with the eighth grade education became a multi-millionaire.

"Education comes from within. It is a man's own doing, or rather it happens to him ---sometimes because of the teaching that he had, and sometimes in spite of it."

Jacques Barzun

Education is cumulative. It accumulates with time and distance like a tumblebug in a ten acre cow pasture. It is an ongoing journey that never stops. There is always something else to learn, bigger things to accomplish, taller mountains to climb, higher hurdles to jump. Learning is truly the spice of life. Learning is a passion and it is addictive. I remember deciding in the fall of one year, that I would not spend the upcoming winter in front of the television. I decided instead to develop some kind of skill or new talent by springtime. That is the winter that I learned to play the banjo. The next winter I learned to juggle. Since I began writing this book, I have become an aircraft pilot. Next, I earned additional pilot ratings that enabled me to fly high performance and complex airplanes. Following that, I earned the rating that enabled me to fly the big iron, multi-engine airplanes and to fly inside the clouds.

One winter, many years ago, I decided to learn all that I could about music. I spent that winter learning to play the harmonica and the next three or four winters (and summers) honing my skills and becoming an expert. During several winters, I wrote four books. What a huge difference these things have made in my life. Because of the things listed above, I have had the opportunity to travel all over, meet some of the greatest people in the world, make a lot of friends, make a little money and get a lot of attention. The things listed above have opened doors and avenues to me that I never dreamed about or even knew about before. You see, education is an ongoing hunger. It is a desire to see what is next. It is an open-ended challenge to see what you can become! An effective education is one which demonstrates to the student how little he does know. It should excite the student and inspire and motivate him to keep on learning. This is a lifetime process.

There are those who earn a college degree and expect success to fall into their lap. Many are hampered by waiting for that special job, in their special field, with that special salary. Donald Kendall, mentioned above, is credited with the statement that, "The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary." Success does not simply come to you... You have to get off of the couch and go out and find it! As Sugar Ray Leonard the prize fighter once told a group of Harvard students, "I consider myself blessed. I consider you blessed. We've all been blessed with God-given talents. Mine just happened to be beating people up!" You must explore life and discover your talent. Then it is imperative that you develop, cultivate and perfect that talent. But, no matter what your talent is, use it.

"The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find it, they make it".

George Bernard Shaw

Here is a great poem that you, as an entrepreneur, should commit to memory.

The tree that never had to fight

For sun and sky and air and light,

But stood out in the open plain

And always got its share of rain,

Never became a forest king

But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil

To gain and farm his patch of soil,

Who never had to win his share

Of sun and sky and light and air,

Never became a manly man

But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease,

The stronger wind... the stronger trees.

The further sky,

The greater length.

The more the storm, the more the strength.

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

In trees and men good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth,

We find the patriarchs of both.

And they hold counsel with the stars

Whose broken branches show the scars

Of many winds and much of strife

This is the common law of life.

Douglas Malloch

* * *

Chapter 22

Stealing Third Base

After graduating from college, my first teaching and coaching job was at Huntland High School, a small Middle Tennessee School on the Alabama border. Baseball had been discontinued there for a few years and it was my job to rebuild the program. I was really excited since I had played a lot of baseball as I grew up, and was actively playing sand lot ball when I got the coaching job. I, naturally, believed in aggressive baseball. Base running was my specialty, therefore, I spent a lot of time teaching the fine art of base running, more specifically, base stealing. If they played for me they had to stretch their lead off of each base to the maximum. If the pitcher tried to pick them off, then my players had to come back to the base head first. Otherwise, their lead was not long enough. Each player had to be an expert at sliding... preferably head first. There was no excuse for poor, sloppy or non-aggressive base running!

There are lots of philosophies pertaining to baseball strategies. One has to do with stealing third base. There are coaches who say that you should never steal third base. It is no secret that the throw from the catcher is much closer to third base. There are philosophies about the speed of the ball from the pitcher to the catcher and the catcher to the third baseman that makes the probability of successfully stealing unlikely. Others say that since the runner is already in scoring position (at second base), stealing third base is immaterial. These theories go on and on. As you have probably guessed by now, I loved to steal third base. It is only common sense! There are a lot more ways to score from third than there are from second base. Here they are:

• A balk

• An infield hit

• A wild pitch

• A passed ball

• A one-base infield error

• A fielder's choice (where the hitter and any other base runners are safe)

• Base running interference

• Catcher's interference

• A steal of home

As you can see, there are a lot more reasons to get to third than to remain safely at second. In fact, I actually think that sometimes it is easy to steal third base. You can get a much bigger lead off of second base than you can any other base. If there is a right handed batter at the plate, then it is harder for the catcher to make an accurate throw to third base. Many times, you can actually steal off of the pitcher if he is too slow or habitual in his delivery. Yes, it is risky, but if you properly train and prepare yourself... yes, you, too, can steal third!

I am telling you this because the same principles apply in the business arena. There are times when you must steal third. The reason that you steal third is because your competition does not have the guts to do it!

Now, how does this apply to the business world? Well, it is simple. There are times when you have to be aggressive. There are times when you must evaluate the risks verses the rewards. There are times when you must surprise the competition. This does not mean to take foolish risks or throw caution to the wind. It does mean that there are times when you must take that extra long lead, watch the second baseman and short stop, and brake toward third with passion the minute that the pitcher starts his delivery. Yes, and, in the business world, there also are times when you must steal home!

Not failure, but low aim, is a crime.

Lowell

Larry Bird, the great basketball player, once said, "A winner is someone who recognizes his God given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals."

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Chapter 23

NAFTA the Job Termination Act of 1993

We, as entrepreneurs, need to be very careful about the people that we allow to get elected to public office and the legislation that we allow them to pass. Sometimes we get so involved in our work, slapping mortar on the blocks that comprise our empire, that we do not see the erosion slowly occurring around our very foundations. If we would take time to glance over our shoulders, we would see the predators inching ever so closely on our blind side. We should be careful to be sure that those in positions of public trust can truly be trusted by the public!

The North American Free Trade Agreement was a piece of legislation that cost so many American jobs that it should have been called "The Job Termination Act of 1993." There were thousands of private American businesses that closed within months of the passing of NAFDA. If you are not familiar with NAFDA, here is a short history:

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), established the gradual removal of tariffs and other trade barriers on most goods produced and sold in North America. NAFTA became effective in Canada, Mexico, and the United States on January 1, 1994. NAFTA formed the world's second largest free-trade zone, bringing together 365 million consumers in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in an open market. The largest free-trade zone was the European Economic Area (which includes the members of the European Union and the European Free Trade Association), which also became effective in 1994.

NAFTA was built upon a 1989 trade agreement between the United States and Canada that eliminated or reduced many tariffs between the two countries. NAFTA called for immediately eliminating duties on half of all U.S. goods shipped to Mexico and gradually phasing out other tariffs over a period of about 14 years. Restrictions were to be removed from many categories, including motor vehicles and automotive parts, computers, textiles, and agriculture. The treaty also protected intellectual property rights (patents, copyrights, and trademarks) and outlined the removal of restrictions on investment among the three countries. Provisions regarding worker and environmental protection were added later as a result of supplemental agreements signed in 1993.

In December 1992 NAFTA was signed by the leaders of the three countries—Brian Mulroney of Canada, Carlos Salinas de Gortari of Mexico, and George H. W. Bush of the United States. After a lengthy debate, the legislatures in all three countries approved NAFTA in 1993. In the United States, the debate over NAFTA divided members of both the Democratic and Republican parties and ignited fierce opposition from environmental and labor groups. Many feared that jobs would be lost because the agreement would facilitate the movement of U.S. production plants to Mexico, where plants could take advantage of cheaper labor and lax enforcement of environmental and workers' rights laws. Regardless, The Congress of the United States approved NAFTA in November 1993.

Guess what happened? American jobs were immediately lost because, as stated above, the agreement facilitated the movement of U.S. production plants to Mexico, where plants took advantage of cheaper labor and lax enforcement of environmental and workers' rights laws. Remember the election of 1992? Ross Perot talked about that "sucking sound" that we would all hear if NAFDA passed? He was referring to the sounds of jobs going to Mexico and Canada...Crazy as he may have seemed, he was the only one that had it right! That is exactly what happened! Plants immediately shut down in the US. Small businesses could no longer compete against the cheap labor in Mexico and eventually closed.

Here is a portion of an article by Robert E. Scott entitled "The High Price of Free Trade."

"Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed in 1993, the rise in the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico through 2002 has caused the displacement of production that supported 879,280 U.S. jobs. Most of those lost jobs were high-wage positions in manufacturing industries. The loss of these jobs is just the most visible tip of NAFTA's impact on the U.S. economy. In fact, NAFTA has also contributed to rising income inequality, suppressed real wages for production workers, weakened workers' collective bargaining powers and ability to organize unions, and reduced fringe benefits.

NAFTA is a free trade and investment agreement that provided investors with a unique set of guarantees designed to stimulate foreign direct investment and the movement of factories within the hemisphere, especially from the United States to Canada and Mexico. Furthermore, no protections were contained in the core of the agreement to maintain labor or environmental standards. As a result, NAFTA tilted the economic playing field in favor of investors, and against workers and the environment, resulting in a hemispheric "race to the bottom" in wages and environmental quality."

It was amazing that one of our Alabama Senators voted for NAFDA and, soon after, retired and wrote a book about his memoirs. He held book signings all over the state and people flocked to get his autograph on their $20 souvenir. This man, by signing NAFDA into law, had helped to put more Alabamians out of work than any person in the history of the State! They should have been "tar and feathering" the rascal. The sad thing about it was that most of his constituents did not even know how he voted or the impact of the legislation!

As a businessperson and entrepreneur, you must be conscious of the things that are going on around you. You must have eyes in the back of your head. You must have an ear to the ground like the cave man listening for rumblings and foot steps coming in your direction. You must know when to stand your ground and fight and when to run. Many times, by the time that you see the culprit it is often too late.

* * *

Chapter 24

The American Dream is Sometimes a Nightmare

T. "Bubba" Bectol, a friend of mine and a nationally known country comic, once told me that "success is getting what you want and happiness is wanting what you got." If we were to get half of our wishes we would probably all double our troubles. That is true in business and life in general. Sometimes a company's rapid growth can be as devastating as growing too slowly.

Sharon and I have twice experienced almost uncontrollable growth with two of our companies. In Chapter four above you read about the OccuDent experience. That business grew very rapidly from the very first day that we began marketing the products. It grew to the point that Sharon and I could barely control it. Although composed of mostly 1099 contract labor, we ended up with over 270 people that had to be paid by the end of each month. There were many nights when Sharon worked all night long just to get the payroll completed and the checks mailed. I know what you are thinking. Why not just hire more people to help? There were several reasons that we could not do that. There was training involved and no time to do it, inadequate office accommodations, inadequate equipment, a limited budget, and several other factors. You must remember, that OccuDent was a home-based basement operation that was built on the premise and promise of having no debt. As a result, there were limitations that invariably meant that we had to absorb those shortcomings with our own sweat and hard work. As the company began to grow faster and faster, we were forced to make a decision. Do we borrow money, hire more people, move into outside office space, and buy more furniture and equipment? Do we sell the company? We both realized that the company had grown to the point that we could no longer continue to operate as we had been operating. We made a decision. We decided to sell OccuDent.

Once we decided to sell OccuDent, we found a buyer within a month. A month after that, we were sitting around a thirty feet long cherry conference table in the office of the Alabama Commissioner of Insurance in Montgomery. On one side of the table sat Sharon and I. On the other side of the table sat the officials of the corporation buying our company. These officials included the corporate president, comptroller, marketing director, one vice-president and a couple of their attorneys. Somewhere between us sat the Commissioner of Insurance, two state attorneys and a couple of other officials from the Department of Insurance. An hour later, Sharon and I were on our way to Florida with two kids in the car, a pocket full of money, a glimmer in our eyes and a smile on our faces. That is when we discovered the real rewards of being entrepreneurs!

Our second experience with rapid growth was Bama Jammer Promotions. As of this writing, Bama Jammer is still booming, so at this point, we do not have an ending to the story. I can, however, give you a brief history.... Sharon and I started Bama Jammer out of the trunk of our car where it remained for at least two years. We were very careful to build the company on a strong foundation of fair pricing, superb service and great products. The company always operated completely debt free. Without exception, the needs of the company were always met out of the cash flow of the business. Bama Jammer was initially started on a part-time basis with virtually no capital or equipment. We knew that debt would strangle our new business, so we vowed to each other not to borrow any money. In fact, we had a standing joke that, "if it costs money, then we don't do it." Over the years, we never borrowed from any source for the establishment and operation of Bama Jammer Promotions for equipment, expansion or capital outlay. Lines of credit and short-term thirty-day notes did rarely become necessary as the company moved into the multi-million dollar markets. As we began to expand, we even saved our money and paid cash for our buildings. Sharon and I learned that hard work, determination and clever and frugal business practices were the elements that determined a business' long-term survival. Today the company operates out of several company-owned buildings offering a total of 58,000 square feet. We use cutting-edge technology and the latest in high-tech equipment and products. Even so, we continue to operate on a debt-free basis.

The most rapid growth of Bama Jammer occurred over a four year period of time. After we laid the foundation of our new business, created a customer base, and worked twelve and fourteen hours a day for several years, things began to take off! We went from a modest operation to a multi-million dollar company in two years. Our persistence had paid off! With that growth came many problems. We continued to work the long hours each day. An office staff was a necessity. With more staff came the need for more computers, more furniture, and more office space. Employee benefits became a necessity. We had to build a sales team.

Remember our philosophy? We were still doing all of the things above without borrowing money. That made it even tougher! Suddenly, we had the satisfaction of seeing our tiny company take off like the roadrunner from the coyote. Our rewards were great, but so were our headaches. We had to learn to let go, to delegate, and to assign. Were we losing control? Were we growing too fast? Could we handle this rapid growth? These were questions that were going through our minds. We knew that growing faster than we could control was flirting with disaster.

We began to question our "no debt" policy. Was it really possible to grow a large company with no debt? One day I stumbled upon the following Story:

F.W. Woolworth, founder of the Woolworth store chain, stated that he learned how to become successful by studying Dutch businessmen. "They ran their businesses by using the same policy for over 100 years. They grew very slowly, but they always grew. They never went into debt for anything. They always paid cash for all that they bought. They always negotiated for the best price and never bought more than they needed. When they deposited money in the bank....it stayed there. There were never any liens on their properties, businesses or inventories." Mr. Woolworth stated, "From the Dutch I learned to manage my business and never let my business manage me."

We decided to stick by our guns.... No debt for any reason!

There is no question the growth that we experienced in both businesses above were blessings. Our dreams had come true. You as an entrepreneur must be prepared for the things that inevitably will happen if things go right and you are successful. Growth consumes cash and cash is needed to purchase inventory, meet payroll, buy equipment and pay for overhead. Cash flow is the most important part of your business development. Be careful not to let your dream become your nightmare.

There was a hardware store owner that was complaining to a customer about his terrible bad luck. "I was doing quite well. I started working as a grocery clerk and stuck away every penny that I could save. I built it into a sizable sum when I decided to go to Las Vegas and try my hand at gambling." "Oh, so you lost it all?" asked the customer. "Heck no," he replied. "I tripled my savings and bought this hardware store!" he replied.

* * *

Chapter 25

How to Flop at Business

Bama Jammer operated with outside commissioned-based independent salespeople. Each salesperson was a tiny business just like our company. Bama Jammer simply provided the support, financing and products that they did not have. For Bama Jammer's compensation, we got 50% of their profits. All these salespeople had to do was sell. We did everything else. This kept them from being bogged down with debt, paperwork, accounts receivable, collections and administrative headaches. They could do exactly what they did best...SELL. Each time that we contracted with an independent sales representative we gave them the following advice.

Eight Pitfalls

(Things to avoid if you want to succeed in this business.)

1. High Overhead - Keep your overhead at ZERO! We don't mean low...we mean ZERO! You don't need a plush office, big car, high-priced copy machines, stationery (print your letterhead from your computer. No one knows the difference.), fancy furniture, high-priced advertising, big phone systems, etc.

2. Debt - You do not need DEBT! If you can't pay cash for it, you can do without it! Operate your business strictly from your cash flow and you will succeed long-term. This takes the pressure off of you and let's you control your business instead of letting the business control you! If you create debt, then that is your first step toward failure.

3. High Pressure Sales - Don't try to force people to buy from you. You should rather assist them in making a decision. This way you build relationships that result in clients rather than customers. Don't be too pushy. People sense this as desperation rather than confidence.

4. Advertising - This is the real world and no matter what they tell you in those Business 101 classes, advertising is an expense that you don't need. Personal contact and word of mouth is the best way for people to learn about your business. A modest presence in the Yellow Pages is okay, but a single line listing is all that you need. Put your money in direct mail...not advertising!

5. Get to work late and leave early - Have you ever wondered why so many people fail at business? It takes tremendous self discipline to be an entrepreneur. Most people are simply not willing to devote the time and effort that it takes to succeed. The world of the self-employed is not for those who are faint-hearted or lazy. You'll find that the harder you work, the luckier you will get!

6. Be careless allowing credit - No matter how innocent the client may appear, be careful about extending credit. They may look like "Aunt Bea" but that's no guarantee that they are credit worthy. You are in no position to finance the purchases of someone else. Let the banks do that. Your cash flow is critical, so be sure that your cash is used to grow your business, not someone else's business.

7. Be sloppy with your service - Don't deliver on time. Get the Artwork wrong. Order the wrong sizes. Get the colors wrong. No matter how good your products are, poor service will destroy your business. Most businesses have the same product sources. It is the service that makes the difference in success and failure.

8. Fail to cross sell - Don't just sell the customer one product one time. Cross market to them with additional ideas and suggestions. It is a lot easier to retain a current customer than to try to obtain a new one.

Failure:

Two hobos sat in a rail car as it rolled down the tracks. One hobo turned to the other and said, "You know, Fred, this hoboing thing is not at all what it is said to be. We spend a lot of our time running from the law. We are often sleeping outside in the cold and rain. Sometimes it is really hard to get a square meal. Look at us. Our clothes are tattered and torn and we haven't shaved in a week." Fred answered, "Well, if you don't like it you can always go out and get a job." "What!" The first hobo answered. "..And admit that I'm a failure!"

Success:

"You've got to pay the price for anything that's worthwhile. The price for this is success. You have to pay the price to win. You've got to pay the price to stay on top, and you have to pay the price to get there. In other words, you don't do what's right once in a while, but all the time. Success is a habit, just like winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. The man who succeeds above his fellow man is the man who early in life clearly decides his objective and toward that objective directs all of his powers.... The difference between men is the energy, the singleness of purpose and strong will. But the greatest difference is sacrifice, in self denial, in love and loyalty, in fearlessness, in humility, in pursuit of excellence and in the perfectly disciplined will. I believe that man's greatest hour, in fact, his greatest and finest fulfillment is that moment when he has worked his heart out and for a good cause, and lies exhausted but victorious on the field of battle ... whenever and wherever that field of battle might be."

Vince Lombardi

The University of Alabama's National Championship

of the 2009 Season

On January 7th, 2010, the University of Alabama won the collegiate Division One national championship in football. They did so by defeating the Texas Longhorns in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. This was Alabama's thirteenth National Championship, and the first under the direction of Head Coach Nick Sabin. It had been a long hard season, which, in the end, found Alabama to be undefeated. Alabama's prize running back, Mark Ingram, had walked away with the Heisman Trophy, football's greatest honor. This was the only time in Alabama history that the school had produced a Heisman Trophy winner. The 2009 season had certainly been a history making season for the Crimson Tide.

After the Rose Bowl interviews and accolades finally subsided, the team returned to the airport to begin the long journey home. After boarding the plane, some noticed Coach Sabin had isolated himself and was intently studying, making notes and thumbing through his notebooks. One of the players wandered over and asked him if he was reviewing the team statistics of the championship game. Without looking up Coach Sabin replied, "No, I am planning Spring Training!"

Success is hard to grasp. The minute that you have it, it is gone. Success can leave you as fast as you get it. It is like an elusive butterfly which darts and dances about in front of your eyes. You can capture it today, and just as easily lose it tomorrow. A successful entrepreneur has to constantly be planning his next move.

* * *

Chapter 26

You're Fat, Ugly and Overweight...

and Those are Your Good Points!

There are always good excuses for inaction and procrastination. Pessimism is the easiest way out. How can this possibly be done? I don't have enough capital to pull this off! The competition is just too great for me to succeed. I don't have enough experience. This project is just too risky. What if the sky falls! I'm fat, ugly and overweight. The economy is taking a downturn.

There are always good reasons for inaction.

Sometimes in business, you just have to take a leap of faith. That does not mean that you take unnecessary risks or foolish steps. You have to make a calculated and educated move, and cross your fingers. There is a lot of truth to the Murphy's Law, but, more times than not, things will go right. I have seen businessmen who absolutely plan themselves to death! They are not ready to make a strategic move because the conditions are not exactly right. They always need to think about it. They always need to do more planning. While they are planning, the competition is getting the business.

We once hired a sales person to sell insurance. He was a bright fellow with lots of contacts and plenty of prospects. He started planning. He planned who he was going to see and made a long list. When the list was completed, he would not make a sales call until he understood every product, every form and every procedure. A month into his new job he had not made a sales call or a single sale. He always found something else to organize, brochures to print, business cards to design. He had to get things just right. He was out of business in six weeks.

In contrast, we had another sales person in the promotional products business that called us from Atlanta and wanted to sell for us. We had not even met him. We knew nothing about him other than the eagerness in his voice. We agreed to a trial program to see how he would do. Before we could even get our catalogs to him, the sales started rolling in! He hardly knew what we were selling but he sold it any way. He did not wait until he had business cards, samples or brochures. He went to work immediately. He is still one of our best salespeople today.

This reminds me of a story. When I was in my early twenties I played a lot of sandlot baseball. Most of the time, I played baseball for the Huntland, Tennessee community team where, as I mentioned earlier, I was teaching school. We played in the Mountain Valley Baseball League. There were ten or twelve regional communities that each produced a baseball team. From April until September, we practiced every Saturday and played at a different location every Sunday. I was the humble center fielder for the Huntland nine. I liked center field because that position allowed me to play aggressive baseball. I could gamble on the shallow hit fly balls since I had the right fielder and the left fielder to back me up just in case the ball got by me. I later often equated our business practices to playing centerfield.

Once we were playing in Tullahoma, Tennessee. The Tullahoma team was a hard- hitting, tough bunch of ex-college and high school all-stars who were always difficult to beat. This particular game had turned into a pitching duel. At the bottom of the ninth inning, the score was two to one in Tullahoma's favor. With one out, our second baseman had managed to get on first base when he sliced a hard grounder between Tullahoma's third baseman and the bag. He then moved to second base on a sacrifice fly. There were then two outs and we had a runner in scoring position on second base. A hit would tie the game. Suddenly, a good thing happened. The catcher let a wild pitch get by him and our runner scurried over to third base. Now things really looked good. We had a runner on third base and our very best batter at the plate. The crowd was loving it. We were biting our nails.

Our batter picked up two bats and began his ritual. He swung the bats around his head. He pounded the dirt. He took a long, hard stare at the pitcher. He spit on his hands and rubbed them together. While the umpire was yelling, "Play ball", he then took one of the bats and slowly knocked the dirt off of his cleats. He stepped into the batter's box then stepped out. He walked toward the third base coach and looked for a signal. He then looked toward the first base coach, got his signal and shook his head in agreement. He then decided to change bats. He got a new bat and took his time wiping it with a rosin bag. Then, he stepped carefully into the batter's box, first with his back foot while pointing his bat at the pitcher, then, he methodically stepped into the box with his front foot. In the blink of an eye, the pitcher surprised everyone, threw a strike to third base and picked off the runner!... The game was over..... Sometimes you need to get to the point, and take immediate and precise action!

* * *

Chapter 27

A Caveman's Obituary

When it is all said and done, the only thing that we leave behind at our death is our legacy and a ring around the bath tub. No matter what we accomplish in this life. No matter how many businesses we build. No matter how much money that we make, it is all to no avail if we fail to touch, inspire and uplift others on our way through life. As a business person, you need to decide what kind of person that you want to be now and in the future. Where do you want to be physically, financially, emotionally, spiritually, mentally and socially? You should evaluate yourself often to see if you are going in the right direction in all of the areas above. It is difficult for each of us to look at our self objectively, but we each need to try to do just that. We need to find good examples to emulate. We need to be good examples for others. I want to tell you about three men who touched my life. Two of the three I never met. I only learned about them after their deaths.

Below are the real obituaries of the two men that I never met. Although I never met either of these men, they both have influenced me immensely. These men lived somewhere in Tennessee. I found their obituaries in Tennessee newspapers. I cut each of the obituaries out of the paper and stuck them away so that I could read them periodically. I still get a lump in my throat when I read about the lives that they each of them lived. You see, I want to be like these two gentlemen. When I die, I want my friends, co-workers and family to speak as highly of me as was spoken of these two men. Without a question, they each inspired countless others during their stay on this earth.

James Harris

After retiring at 103, James Harris died at 110. A man who never smoked or drank proved healthy living can lead to a long, fulfilled life. James S. Harris, who was described by relatives as a man who loved to work, died Thursday at 110 years old. Family members said Harris died of natural causes. Mr. Harris was full of life even after he turned 100. When he was 99 or 100, he paid cash for a new blue Blazer sport utility vehicle. Before retiring at 103, Mr. Harris worked as an independent distributor of magazines and newspapers for Capitol News. He often took his grandchildren and great-grandchildren with him when he made deliveries. He never used a calculator when adding up his customer's total. He was good with numbers. He always said: "You don't work for money; you let money work for you." He believed in having your own business. Practicing what he preached, Mr. Harris owned a grocery store on Whites Creek Pike around 1945. He was the type of person who wanted something of his own. Mr. Harris stressed this to his grandchildren by teaching them how a business worked. Mr. Harris was also very active in his church, Greater Bethel A.M.E., where he worked as a secretary and treasurer. He also worked as a printer for several years at the A.M.E. Church Sunday School Union before working at Capitol News.

Carl Carlton

The world lost an amazing man this week. Upon first glance he looked pretty average. But one little wisecrack or piece of advice or information and he lit up like a Christmas tree. He was the most intelligent person many of us had ever met. He could remember a joke that was 50 years old, and still tell it as if no one had ever heard it. He could fix anything, but even better, he could tell you what was wrong with it just by listening to it. He could recite instructions he had read too many years ago to count, word for word, and he could remind you of something you said, whether you wanted to remember or not. He was the epitome of the word "amazing" because everyone who ever came in contact with him was his friend for life. He never met a stranger and could discuss anything with anyone, and, in most cases, led the conversation because he knew more on the subject than the person who brought it up. He was an amazing husband. He was a wonderful father. He was the grandfather everyone wanted to be like and wished theirs were like. He was the best kind of brother, uncle, cousin, anyone could want in their life. But most of all, he was an amazing friend to anyone who was lucky enough to hang out with him for 5 minutes or fifty years, and we say lucky because we were all truly lucky if we had ever enjoyed Carl's company. He filled our lives with so much. He could have been a world leader had he been given a chance, but he chose to keep his wisdom, love, and wealth of information confined to those of us who were fortunate enough to have him in our lives. We are saying good-bye to the dearest man we will ever know. We wish you a long safe, happy ride, our dear husband, father, and friend, Carl. We think God has taken you so he could ride with the best. We all love and will miss you, dear one.

Wow! I only hope God grants me the years, the wisdom and personality to be loved like these two men were loved. That is God's greatest blessing!

I want to tell you about another man, whom I did know personally, and who was truly remarkable. I use the past tense because he and his wife left this world in a tragic automobile accident while on his way to church a few years ago. His name was T. Euclid Rains, Sr. During his lifetime, he was a colorful character and one of Alabama's best known citizens. Hollywood has really missed an opportunity by not producing a movie about the life and accomplishments of Mr. Rains.

I met Mr. Rains when Jamie Cooper and I were hosting the Cooper and Company TV show on Channel 48 (See Chapter 14) in Huntsville, Alabama. Mr. Rains appeared on the show as a guest several times during my four year stint as co-host. I was immediately fascinated by his down-home nature, rugged honesty and his dynamic personality. Mr. Rains had been elected to the Alabama legislature from District 26 where he served for three terms. He was quite a celebrity, having appeared on the Gary Moore TV Show and had been featured in scores of national publications and magazines. The thing that made Mr. Rains so unique was that he was totally blind. He lost his eyesight at age three in a home accident. Despite that misfortune, Mr. Rains was never handicapped. Here are some of the things that he did during his lifetime:

• Read over 5,000 books

• Could hit a pitched baseball by listening to the sound

• Could play miniature golf

• Could play ping pong by listening to the sound of the ball

• Hitch hiked to college many, many times

• Rode a bicycle on public roads

• Bird hunted with a shotgun from sound

• Washed dishes while in college to pay his room and board

• Frequently used an ax and chain saw

• Did farm labor - pulled corn and picked cotton

• Milked cows

• Hand grabbled for fish

• Rode a galloping horse while standing on its back

• Raised hogs for twenty two years

• Taught Sunday school for twenty years

• Wrote great poetry and songs

• Played the guitar and piano

• Operated a 200 acre farm

• Operated a grocery store

• Operated a broom and mop factory

• Built guitars and banjos

• Authored several books

• Coached baseball

• Coached basketball

• Was a scoutmaster in the Boy Scouts

• Recognized and honored by President Truman

• Made many TV appearances

• Was a good wrestler

• Taught school

• Entertained governors and dignitaries

• Rode a mule to college

• Won a shooting match with the sheriff

• Recovered treasures from 30 feet of water

• From 1930 to 1986, each year jumped into a river from cliffs above Town

Creek Falls, AL

• Castrated pigs

• Served three terms in the Alabama Legislature

As you can see, Mr. Rains was never handicapped. When, in his eighties, he was asked about his life. He replied this way. "Life has been exceedingly good to me. Even if I could, I would not change a thing in my life. I am pleased with it just like it is. The only true test of any good experience is whether or not we would do it again. In the case of my life, I would gladly live it over again exactly as it was."

Mr. Rains showed strength of character even as a child. He once told me the story about when he was blinded at age three. When he was examined by the doctors, his mother was told that the blindness was irreversible. She immediately began to cry uncontrollably. Mr. Rains said that he took his mother's hand and said, "Momma, don't cry. I'm not afraid of the dark." This statement later became the title of one of his books that was published in 1996. Two of his books, I'm Not Afraid of the Dark and Count me In are truly heart-wrenching and inspirational works.

Here are Mr. Rains' own words.... words from a man who would not accept defeat!

"Ignorance, poverty and total blindness couldn't keep me locked out of life, for I have been motivated and driven, as far back as I can remember, by a fierce philosophy that: if I want a thing, though it be barricaded behind a snow-capped mountain range, I will walk to it and take it – if I had no feet, I would crawl to it and get it – if I had no knees, I would talk my way to it and possess it—and if I had no tongue, I would think my way through to that thing and make it mine.

I came out of the Roaring 20's; I was hammered and shaped in the thread-bare 30's; I was tempered and matured in the Fiery 40's;

I walked straight into my future for I was not afraid of the dark."

In my personal trip through life, this man has inspired me the most. You, as an entrepreneur, should take his attitude and drive and apply it to your business efforts and you cannot help but succeed. Do not let anything discourage you. Do not let the gifts that God gave you be a hindrance to your success. Mr. Rains once told me that he could not understand why sighted people could not at least foul off every baseball that was pitched to them. He reasoned that a baseball was three inches in diameter. So, to hit or foul, the ball, if a person would swing within three inches above the ball or within three inches below the ball (a total of nine inches), the batter would at least touch every pitch. He could not understand how, if he could hit a ball by listening to the sound that it made while whirling through the air, why could sighted people not hit or foul every pitch? Each of us should challenge ourselves to hone and develop our talents and not become complacent with our God-given skills and blessings.

On my bookshelf, at my home, are Mr. Rains' books, Count Me In and I'm Not Afraid of the Dark. The inside covers are autographed in Mr. Rains' handwriting. It states:

"To my good friend, Ray Steelman, a man of understanding, good judgment and excellence" T. Euclid Rains

I pray to God each night that I can live up to Mr. Rains' evaluation of me.

"He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it , whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and given the best that he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction".

Bessie Anderson Stanley

Life is precious. Make the most of it at every age. Life is not over until it's over. I'll tell you when it's over.

-God

* * *

Chapter 28

More Bad Advice from an Expert

Hi! ... My name is Ray Steelman and I am a talk radio-holic! I guess that it is time for me to admit the fact that I am addicted to talk radio. I have tried to avoid it.... I have tried not to turn my radio to those talk stations.... I have tried to listen to those rock and rap stations. I even considered dying my hair orange and getting a tongue ring and tattoo, but, in spite of my best efforts, I can not do it! I find myself back sliding and sneaking a listen to see who is complaining about what and which politician has put his foot in his mouth this time.

I have mentioned talk radio in an earlier chapter of this book and expressed my dissatisfaction with some of the advice that I hear the hosts give. Recently, I was driving down the road when a young entrepreneur called one of those financial experts to ask his opinion pertaining to incorporation. The entrepreneur had been fairly successful and taxes were killing him. There were several reasons that his accountant had advised him to form a Subchapter S corporation. This radio wizard told him to find another accountant...that his accountant was an idiot, stupid and incompetent. After I ran off the road and completely wiped out two road signs, I finally regained my composure and two hub caps! What bad advice! Surely, I did not hear what I thought that I heard. This guy has his own radio show and does not know the advantages that incorporation offers to a small business. Let's take a look at the facts and see who was stupid and incompetent.

Here are some of the reasons to incorporate:

Perpetuity – Sharon and I formed our first corporation so that our company would have perpetual life. By law, a corporation is a separate and distinct entity that can endure forever regardless of what happens to the shareholders, directors, or officers. Why is that important? If something happens to those in control, the income stream will continue to the corporation as if nothing happened at all. That is not the case with sole proprietorships, partnerships or even limited liability companies. For example, in non-incorporated businesses, if an owner, partner, or member dies, the business automatically ends or gets wrapped up in all kind of legal entanglements. The income stream in many cases stops immediately! Corporations, on the other hand, have unlimited life. When we first incorporated, Sharon and I were in the insurance industry. We had spent years accumulating renewal income. In the insurance business, renewal income is an income that is paid in future years for each piece of business that is on the books. Had we not incorporated, that future income would have been lost upon our deaths. That alone is enough reason to incorporate!

Privacy – There is a lot to be said pertaining to privacy. Do you want everyone to know about your business affairs? Would you like to be a silent partner in a business venture? Forming a corporation is a great way to keep your identity and business affairs confidential and private. Many states offer even more privacy protection for corporations and their shareholders. You have probably heard of Nevada corporations. Corporations domiciled in Nevada offer more privacy than most other states.

Asset Protection – Many times when people explore incorporating, they are doing so for liability purposes. If a company operates as a sole proprietor or partnership, there is unlimited personal liability from lawsuits and business debts. This means, that in the worst case, all of a business owner's assets are at risk. This includes automobiles, homes, tools, jewelry, cash, savings, etc. They all are up for grabs! Normally, this is not the case when a company incorporates, although most small corporate owners will have to sign personal guaranties on all debt. Typically, corporate stockholders are only responsible for their investment in the stock of the corporation.

Deductible Employee Benefits – Incorporating normally provides tax-deductible benefits for you and your employees. If you are the only shareholder and employee of your business this is still true. Benefits such as health insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, business travel and entertainment expenses are now deductible. Best of all, corporations usually provide an increased tax shelter for qualified pensions plans or retirement plans (e.g. 401K's).

Easier To Sell – A Corporation is almost always much easier to sell and are usually more attractive to buyers than either a sole proprietorship or partnership. There is a reason for this. It is because a new buyer will not be personally liable for any mistakes or wrongdoings on the part of the previous owners. If someone buys a sole proprietorship, the new owner can be held personally liable for any mistakes or illegalities on the part of the prior owner. This is true even if the new owner had nothing to do with the situation! Generally, this is not the case with a corporation. Not only that, but a corporation, being a separate and distinct entity, is typically viewed as being a much more business-like structure than other forms of business. This is not necessarily true, but the general public normally sees it that way.

Easier Transfer of Ownership – Ownership of a corporation is easily transferred, without much disruption of operations or the need for complex legal documentation. This is simply accomplished through the sale of stock. Try this with a sole proprietorship or partnership.

Centralized Management – Since a corporation has centralized management, all decisions are made by you and your board of directors. Your shareholders cannot unilaterally bind your company by their acts simply because of their investment. This is very important! With partnerships, each individual partner may make binding agreements on behalf of the business that could result in serious financial difficulty to you or the partnership as a whole. If you want to get in a lot of trouble, give that arrangement a shot!

Tax Savings – With a corporation, there are tremendous tax advantages at your disposal that are virtually impossible to accomplish with other business entities. When a company incorporates, as stated above, the procedure creates a separate and distinct legal entity. Because of this, there are many transactions that you can structure between the stockholders and the corporation to save a lot of money on taxes. For instance, if you own a building, you can rent office space and production facilities to your corporation and claim depreciation and other deductions. The corporation can then claim the rental expense. A person is prohibited from doing this through a sole proprietor or as a partner in a partnership. All Corporate-owned vehicles may be depreciated, and in some cases accelerated depreciation is available through a corporate form of business structure.

Easier to Raise Capital - When a person is trying to raise money through investment or borrowing, a corporation can actually make finding and getting the money much easier. If a person would like to acquire investors, shares of corporate stock are simply sold. A corporate form of business structure also adds clout when dealing with banks or other lending institutions. Again, as stated above, a corporation, being a separate and distinct entity, is typically viewed as being a much more business-like structure than other forms of business. Like it or not.

Increases Credibility – As a follow-up to the point above, let's be honest about it – most people feel more secure and confident dealing with a corporation as opposed to a sole proprietorship or partnership. Being incorporated adds a touch of professionalism and credibility to your business dealings.

I guess this is the place where I need to advise you to be sure to consult with your tax attorney, and financial and business advisors before undertaking any important legal or financial decision. Incorporation is not for everyone. Once you review all options and decide to incorporate, go for it! It is not as scary or expensive as most people think. Contrary to public opinion, a person may form a corporation without investing a lot in legal expenses. Unless you are a complete idiot or radio talk show host, you can form your own corporation yourself. Our first corporation, with the help of an attorney, cost us a lot of money. Our second corporation cost us seventy five dollars. Most Probate Judges have a "fill in the blank" form that is available to form a corporation. Incorporating is not brain surgery. It is really quite simple. Get the forms from the office of the Probate Judge, or from the internet. We have incorporated several businesses ourselves and they have all worked just fine.

Many inexperienced entrepreneurs don't realize this, but the business form they choose is often the difference between the success and failure of their business. This is true especially in today's highly competitive, cut-throat and litigious marketplace. While many business owners devote a lot of thought to a company name, location, store décor, product lines, customer service, hiring policies and other management issues, choosing the proper business structure does not get the attention it deserves. Most people give more thought to the layout of the company stationery than to the proper business structure. If you are to succeed in your business venture, you will need each and every advantage that you can get. At the top of the list is your business structure.

How about the disadvantages of Incorporating?

The biggest disadvantage (if this is one) is corporate formality. There are certain things that must be done by a corporation. A corporation can be created only by compliance with General Corporation Law within the state in which it is incorporated. This entails reserving the corporate name with the Secretary of State within the state of incorporation. This also requires filing of Articles of Incorporation and Corporate Bylaws with the appropriate state entity (usually the local Probate Judge and/or Secretary of State) and payment of the required state fees (normally not very large) and taxes. A corporation is required to have a board of directors, corporate officer(s), periodic shareholders meetings, and must maintain separate bank accounts, books and records. Failure to observe the above formalities will probably result in "piercing the corporate shield" and result in personal liability of each shareholder for corporate debts and misdeeds. Much of the above is simplified when the corporation has only one shareholder. Most states allow one shareholder to act as the lone director and serve as all officers (President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer). Frankly, it is difficult to call any of the above a disadvantage. All of the above are things that are necessary to make and keep a business successful.

* * *

Chapter 29

Strategies that Make a Preacher Cuss

What would you do if you were lost in a large city and had to be at a certain place by a certain time for an appointment? First you would probably stop someone on the street and ask for directions. That would give you a general idea of the direction in which you should be heading. Then what? If you were lucky, you might find one of those mapped illustrations with a big "X" stating that "You are here." A real street map would be great. You could study the map and trace your steps from where you are now to where you want to be in the future. That is exactly what a person needs to do when starting and running a business. A business person needs a map that outlines the direction, step by step, that he should take to get him to where he wants to be in the future. Otherwise, he might stumble around, wander in the wrong direction, waste a lot of time or get completely lost. A Global Positioning System (GPS) would be even better. Just follow the little pink line and it will take you exactly to your destination.

It is amazing how many business people do not have a good business plan. Many do not even have a written plan at all. A good detailed business plan is imperative. The business plan is a road map, a GPS to success. How does a person find success if they do not have a plan? Even personally, everyone should know exactly where they want to be five years down the road, ten years down the road and at retirement. Think of yourself as "Myself, Inc." The president of the company and the most important person in the world is sitting in your chair right now. Devise a written plan that outlines what you want to do, where you want to be, the time frame required and how you are going to get there. Do the same for your business. We have ten different phases of our Bama Jammer Business Plan along with time tables for attaining each phase. So far, we are exactly on schedule. Get a strategy, just like a basketball coach. Know what you are going to do in the first quarter and each quarter until the game is over. When I was coaching, I did exactly that. Before the game ever started, I knew if I would start the game by pressing. I knew the type of press that I would use. I knew the type of offense and defense that I would run. I knew what to do if we were behind by two points in the fourth quarter and we had ten seconds to go in the game. I did not have to quickly devise a plan under that kind of pressure. I already had a plan, all of my players knew the plan and had practiced it many, many times. We simply called a time out, caught our breath, calmed down and communicated the play that we would run. We called one of the plays "Desperation." All that I had to do was to call time out and say the word "Desperation.' Every one knew exactly what we were going to do and what part that they played in the final outcome. Business is no different. You have to have predetermined strategies.

Here is another great reason to have a business plan. It is a good tool when it comes time to sell your company. Potential buyers want to see an organized ongoing plan of action. They want to see the future of the company more than the history of the company. They want to see the potential of the product line or service. They want to see an organized map of where the company is going, with outlined goals, competitor's positions, profit margins, accolades, name recognition, and market share. In the book, How to Create a Successful Business Plan, by David E Gumpert, on page six he states:

"Here is how I define a Business Plan. It's a document that convincingly demonstrates that your business can sell enough of its product or service so as to make a satisfactory profit and be attractive to potential buyers or backers. In other words, a Business Plan is a selling document. It sells your business and its executives to potential backers or your business from bankers to investors, to partners to employees."

Once, I received a phone call from one of the nation's largest pharmaceutical companies. Bama Jammer had been selected along with four of our competitors to possibly receive a two million dollar contract to supply the company's promotional products and corporate logo apparel. At first I was excited. Then I was given the conditions of the contract. Here they are:

1. We had to supply these products over a two year period of time.

2. We were responsible for storing them until the products were needed.

3. Our profit margins would have to be revealed to the customer.

4. We would be required to identify all of our vendors (sources).

5. The four companies selected would attain the contract through a "Reverse Auction". We would each bid against each other, lowering our bid until only one company was left.

Just like calling the "Desperation" play in basketball, I did not even have to think about it. I had called time out. I had calmed down. I was catching my breath. I calmly replied, "No thanks." We already had a plan for that. I knew that the conditions of the contract did not fall within the parameters of our company game (business) plan. I already knew that in order for us to grow and remain profitable, we had to maintain reasonable margins. I knew that we would never reveal our sources (vendors). I knew that our profit margins were always confidential and we would never reveal those to anybody, much less, one of our customers. I knew that we would utilize many hours preparing our offer. I knew what the preparation of that offer would cost us in time, distraction and money. I knew that this project was not worth our time to consider. I knew that, although the total sale would be large, the profit margin would be tiny. This contract was not a good deal for us, nor was it a good deal for the company that finally won it. Would we have liked to have increased our sales by two million dollars? You bet. Was it easy to walk away from that contract? Yes, because we had already decided prior to the fact what our actions would be in that situation.

A lot of people would react by stating that they would never want to lose two million dollar sale. Rod Machado, public speaker and author of several aviation books and staff writer for AOPA Pilot magazine, answers that question like this:

"What could I lose?" is a strong motivator. It is also one that compels us to engage in greater risk-seeking behaviors. We don't like to lose things. It's the house that usually wins in Las Vegas. People throw good money after bad to stop their loss, but continue losing. Most of the time we act to prevent the loss of something."

A business person must learn the following:

The volume of sales means nothing. In business, the only thing that matters is the amount of money that goes into your pocket at the end of the day.

Ask yourself this question. Had you rather be the sole owner of a company with sales volume of twenty million dollars and no profit, or a company with three million dollars of sales with a 40% profit margin? Unless there is a very good reason, I had rather own the company that is making a profit. After all, making a profit is the purpose of most businesses.

A business should be very careful of reverse auctions and bidding situations. At Bama Jammer, we never bid unless there is a very good reason to do so. We have been told that a business cannot grow without bidding. It has been said, that eventually a company will have to bid in order to get the big sales. At Bama Jammer, we have grown every year and we have always been profitable. We have managed to be profitable because we have kept our margins higher that our industry standards. This is true even on the big sales. Bidding is something that we almost never do.

There are eight factors which we use to determine our willingness to submit bids:

The quantities involved: Since we know that our markup must be very small in order to win any bid, we use a pre-determined mathematical formula based on the quantities involved to determine our gross margin possibilities. Small margins can be absorbed when large quantities are involved, but on small quantities we simply cannot meet our minimum profit margins. When small quantities are involved, many times the transaction is closer to a donation than a purchase.

The expense involved: When margins are very tight and there are other miscellaneous expenses involved, such as pre-award samples, etc., these make it even more difficult to meet our minimum profit margins. This is true especially when the samples are quite expensive, such as jackets, umbrellas, etc..

Minimum profit margins: Our mathematical formula projects our minimum profits based on what we expect to have to bid to get the award. If projections fall below those minimums, then we do not quote.

The Beta Factor: We have to factor in risk on every bid. If things can go wrong, they most likely will when the quantities are low and the margins tight.

Labor factor: We factor into our formula (and final bid price) the cost of labor to research and prepare a competitive bid.

The cost of money: Since we purchase (and pay for up front) all of the items that a customer purchases from us, we have to factor in every quote the cost of the loss of use of the monies involved.

The probability factor: On every bid, we have to weigh our probability of actually winning the bid after we have the initial investments of labor, samples, etc. Each bid costs us money whether we win it or not. This is a cost of doing business and a factor that is critical in helping us determine whether or not we want to invest the time, effort and money involved to compete for a customer's business.

Unbundling of Bid: If a bid request for several items may be unbundled (broken apart) and awarded as separate awards to several vendors, the probability factor above is negatively affected.

Many times, those that win a bid are the real losers. If all of the above factors are accurately calculated, many times, at least in our industry, the winner actually will lose money.

Here is another bad strategy. I have heard people say that they are willing to lose money on a large order so that they will have a shot at the customer's future business. Maybe that will work, maybe not. At Bama Jammer we are not willing to lose money on any order. That is not in our game plan. We do not intend to purposely lose money, we intend to make money. Rarely, have I seen losing money to gain future business actually work to the supplier's advantage. We never want to earn customer's business based on price. We want to earn and keep customers based on the added value of doing business with us. Our quality service, honesty, loyalty, punctuality and peace of mind is what we are selling. Remember, to market your business not your prices. That is what will determine long term growth and stability.

Once upon a time, I a fellow called our office and left several messages for me. I knew that something important was happening. Finally, I returned his call. I could hear the desperation in his voice. He had just been awarded a large contract to supply table cloths to the Army. He stated that the contract was too large for him. He wanted to see if the Army would agree to let Bama Jammer take over on the performance of the contract. He was offering the contract to us. Well, it all sounded good to me until I saw the agreement and the price of the table cloths that he had quoted to the Army. He had actually quoted the table cloths to the Army at a price that was below his (and our) cost. I quizzed him about that small matter and he responded that he was a very patriotic person, loved his country and wanted to give the Army a good deal. I thought for a moment and responded that we were not that patriotic and wished him a lot of luck with the contract. Under his agreement, he was on course to lose many thousands of dollars. These type of individuals are not good business people and make it extremely hard on legitimate businesses. Unfortunately, there are many like this character out there. He had two options. He could default on the contract or lose a lot of money. I never heard from him again.

Another strategy that a new business should avoid is bartering and giving away free goods. Here is the Bama Jammer Bartering and Free Goods Policy.

Bama Jammer™ Bartering and Free Goods Policy

September 2, 2003

On the date above, the Board of Directors of Bama Jammer™ Promotions met and voted to implement the following policies.

Free Goods Policy: Effective on the date above, Bama Jammer™ will only provide free goods to those companies, organizations and individuals that are established and currently active customers of the company. The event that would warrant Free Goods must be a charitable non-profit event. In order to receive Free Goods, Bama Jammer's name must appear on all items and in a prominent position on each product. All Free Goods must be approved personally by Sharon Brown Steelman, President.

Bartering: As of the date above, Bama Jammer™ may not be involved in bartering in any form.

A novice entrepreneur may not be prepared for the onslaught of those wanting to barter products and services or those simply wanting you to give them free goods. At Bama Jammer, we were constantly dealing with these two problems until we put our foot down and passed the guidelines shown above.

The popularity of bartering has increased dramatically over the past few years. Bartering made its first serious appearance in the modern U.S. economy in the late 1970s. Bartering's modest rate of growth suddenly accelerated in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Bartering (or trading) in some situations can be a powerful tool. It represents a solution for some companies, but not for us. For companies that have excess inventory or excess services, maybe it will work. Bartering does offer some advantages to some businesses. By accepting payment in trade dollars instead of cash, a business might maximize their efficiency by increasing inventory turnover or billable hours. Using the trade credits earned, that company can purchase goods or services they want, without paying cash. The problem arises when too many companies want to barter. Also, bartering is often hard to monitor. It is a whole business endeavor within itself. Many times, it is also hard to determine if you are getting a fair trade. You might leave thinking that you got the worst end of the deal. Also, as time passes, unless there are strict contracts, the trading partners have a tendency to forget exactly how the deal was to work. Maybe they had a lot of excess inventory when the trade was made, but now that inventory is gone. Maybe their work load was very slow when the barter was created, but now they are very busy with cash customers. The IRS also watches bartering very carefully. There are no tax advantages or disadvantages to bartering. Trading should be considered a marketing tool, not a tax tool. A business has to maintain very detailed bartering records for themselves as well as the tax folks. Bartering is a great way to get you into trouble with the tax men, and that is not good. There are some advantages to bartering but it can also be a big head ache.

Free goods is pretty easy to understand. There are organizations from "The Head Bangers With the Cracked Skull Association" to "The Women's Oriental Never Was-ers" that want free goods for their cause. A business has to set limits as we have done above and strictly adhere to them.

Sharon and I were once asked to sum up our business plan in as simple terms as possible. Our reply was,

"Buy low...Sell high."

* * *

Chapter 30

Get Your Ducks in a Row

Have you ever walked into a person's office and seen piles of papers, books and files stacked higher than Wilt Chamberlain on stilts? Have you ever wondered how that person ever got anything done? "Oh. I know exactly where everything is on my desk" is most often the reply. Baloney! Time and space management should probably be added to our list of the functions of management. There is too much information overload today to be sloppy and unorganized. If a person's desk is in such a mess, can you imagine the things that have probably slipped through the cracks? Can you imagine the things that have been over looked or things that have been simply forgotten? Can you imagine that person's approach to decision-making, deadlines, punctuality and efficiency? If you are going to be an efficient business owner, whether you like it or not, it is imperative that you force yourself to get organized.

I remember when I was in graduate school at Middle Tennessee State University and the time came for us to write our thesis. There were some in our class that literally took years to finish the thesis, while others had their research completed, arguments prepared, conclusions analyzed, their thesis finished and standing in the graduation line in just a few short weeks. It is all a matter of organization and an orderly approach to decision- making and problem-solving. Remember, this is your company, and time and space costs money. Decisions that are made in an unorganized, haphazard way is a recipe for disaster. These types of decisions cost money. That money does not come from your competitor's coffers, but, instead, right out of your hip pocket! Sound judgment and sound decisions are the result of a systematic, organized, strategic, well-thought-out and well-executed game plan.

Here is a story to which many can relate.

There once was a big, important executive who understood the importance of organization, but just could not discipline himself to stay organized and focused. It was beginning to take its toll on him. As a result, he had developed a bad case of the nerves and king size ulcers. This came about from the pressure and responsibility for the crucial type of decisions that he constantly had to make. It got to the point that he became totally ineffective and could not even make the simplest decisions. He just could not make up his mind. He could not decide whether or not to butter his toast, put cream in his coffee, drive his car or take a taxi, or wear a blue tie or black tie. These were tremendous decisions for him. Finally in desperation, his family and friends had him carted off and sent to a rest home. Removed from the pressures of the work place, he seemed to make considerable improvement. After a few months, the doctors determined that their patient was normal and could return to work. He was packed and ready to go home when his doctor asked him if he felt that he could now take his place in the world and make good sound decisions. The executive brightened up, smiled big and blurted, "Well, yes and no."

A big part of decision-making is plain old organization. Organize your options, weigh the pros and cons and make a good, sound and timely decision. This can not be done if you have half of the facts, outdated financial statements or pages missing from a marketing research report. This reminds me of another story.

The minister at the local Church of Christ was a great guy, an excellent speaker, a super motivator and was always very organized. He left nothing to chance. He often read his sermons which he placed upon the pulpit as soon as he arrived at church each Sunday morning. One Sunday morning, one of the teenage pranksters thought that he would see what would happen to the minister if a page or two were removed from his sermon. The youngster slipped into church, hid behind the pulpit and removed a couple of pages from the morning lesson. The preacher started his morning sermon and was reading it as always. He came to the final words on what he soon found to be his last page. "So they were in the garden and Adam turned to Eve and said, "Wow, there seems to be a leaf missing!"

As an entrepreneur, here are some things that you should remember.

Keep your desk clean and organized. Your desk is an outward proclamation about you. It is a statement about your organization skills, and reflects your approach to your business in general. When others come into your office they immediately form an opinion of you based upon what they see and observe.

Don't be a pack rat. Throw things away when it is time for them to go. Don't clutter your building and offices with old machinery, computers, files, records and things that you will never use again. Remember what is proclaimed in Ecclesiastes? To everything there is a time and season. A time to be born...a time to die....and a time to throw things away (my input).

Learn to make a decision. Don't be a "fence sitter". Don't waffle back and forth when it comes to the tough decisions. Can you imagine a baseball game with an umpire who was undecided? If you have a hard time making decisions, there are a number of great books that deal with the matter. Here are three good books: Decision Making by Sarojini Balachandran; Research for Decision Making by Robert Swisher, Charles McClure; Making the Right Decision by William Delaney, Arthur Anderson. There also are seminars and special training courses that may help you. Whatever you have to do, develop your decision-making skills. A point driven home by David J. Schwartz in his best seller, The Magic of Thinking Big, is as follows:

"Hesitation only enlarges, magnifies the fear (fear of making a decision). Take action promptly. Be decisive." Page 51

As the wise old saying goes, think about it, be sure that you are right, then go ahead.

There is a story about the Indian Agent who went by one day to visit the Indian Chief. The Indian Agent had spent years teaching the Indians to accept the ways of the white man. The Chief took the Agent into his home and showed him the white man's books that he had been reading. The Chief took the agent in his closet where he showed him the white man's clothes that he had begun wearing. The Chief told the agent of the white man's schools that his children were now attending. The Agent said, "Chief why don't you set a real example for your people. You have five squaws that you call your wives. The white man only has one wife. The Chief stopped and thought a moment. "Okay," he said. "I have no problem with that." "I will do that with one condition. You pick the one that I will call my wife and you go tell the other four!"

Don't be a perfectionist. Being a perfectionist is a trait can be as bad as not being able to make a decision. Too much detail, too much preparation, too much planning is a terrible management personality flaw. Things will never be exactly right. The stars will almost never be aligned perfectly. Many times being a perfectionist is not an asset, it is a liability.

Don't be a procrastinator. Another wise old statement that we have all heard since childhood is, "don't put off until tomorrow, the things that can be done today." How true! Get things done as soon as possible then go on to your next situation. Things have a way of piling up. The longer that you wait, the higher, the pile will get. Pretty soon, you are lying awake at night sorting these things out in your mind. Get them out of the way as soon as you can.

Make the toughest decisions first. If you want to really spoil your day, put that tough phone call off until later. Put off that tough meeting with a disgruntled employee until you have to deal with it. This ruins your whole day and leaves the situation always hanging in the back of your mind. Get it out of the way as soon as you can, then you will be relieved as the pressure lifts and will do a better job on the easier things.

Make a daily list and check it twice. Make a list of the things that you are to do each day. As you complete each task, mark it off your list. I have done this for years and have found it a great way to be sure that I do not forget or overlook something. Do it the night before, and, as the night progresses, you will find that you will add to your list as things come to mind. Use a scratch pad and not a computer to build your list. Put the piece of paper in your pocket and carry it with you all day. You will see that you will add to the list as the day progresses. At the end of the day, review your list to be sure that you have done everything. There is some satisfaction to reviewing your day and seeing what you have accomplished.

Don't be a slob. I am sure that somewhere out there, a total slob has become a great business person and has been very successful. I, however, have never witnessed that happening. Personal habits carry over into the business place. It is tough to make it when a person does everything perfectly, but tougher when a person takes a hap-hazard, sloppy approach to business. Be neat, dress well (no flip flops in the office; trim those ear and nose hairs), be courteous to all, always wear a smile, be optimistic and practice the hygiene instructions that we all learned in kindergarten.

Don't neglect or abuse your body. There is an old tongue in cheek saying that goes like this:

Early to bed and early to rise...and your girl will go out with other guys!

Recently, one of the television stations in Huntsville, Alabama randomly approached people as they were entering one of the local malls. They asked them if they would like a free heart diagnostic test. After a while eleven people agreed to the test. These people were taken to the local heart center at Huntsville Hospital. After the tests were conducted, it was found that: Six appeared to be okay although two were suggested to keep a close watch on things; one needed bypass surgery immediately; one had an unknown hole in his heart; one had had a heart attack in his past and did not know it (had heart damage); and one had some blockage in a couple of arteries. Out of the eleven people that were selected, five had problems serious enough to need immediate action. These were people randomly selected, going quietly on their way to the mall. That is scary!

Every day of my life I see people who have abused their bodies in some way. Some do this by using drugs, some my mutilating their body with tattoos, some by mutilating their body by piercing it with all kind of scrap metal, and some by simple neglect. These type of signals are "red flags" as to that person's poor judgment. They might as well hang a sign around their neck and parade down the street shouting, "Look at me! I have poor judgment!" Do you want people on your team that have already demonstrated poor judgment? Not Me! Some would say, "Wait a minute! You can't discriminate like that!" Wanna Bet? Sure I can. If there is any possibility that poor judgment might be used in the daily decisions that surround my business, I can not take that chance. A poor decision could cost me money and threatens my future and the future of my business and family. I assure you that I will eliminate that possibility. Are all of these people bad people? No. Quite the opposite may be true. Many are probably very bright, intelligent and smart individuals. Do I want them on my team and representing me and my company? No. The world is full of bright, intelligent and smart people in whom I could take pride and be proud to represent my company. Those are the people that I will hire. Those are the people with whom I will conduct business as an entrepreneur.

A business person's health is very important. If you do not feel well, you will not perform well. It is so important to keep your weight under control, eat the right foods and exercise every day. Poor diet and exercise is certain to eventually take its toll. Walk, run, jog, pump weights, become a mall walker or eat that apple a day. Do something and do it every day. It may take twenty years, or thirty years, but poor diet and lack of exercise is certain to come back and haunt you. It is inevitable. For those of us who have lived long enough to witness this, we understand. I remember when my friends had their first heart attack, then their second one. I remember the ages at which my school mates began to rapidly decline. Keep your weight where it should be. This is cruel to say, but I have never seen a very successful business person that was obese. In fact, I have been in business all of my life and I cannot think of one! Remember, that your body is your temple and your first million dollars is good health!

Always be punctual. When I was assistant principal at S.R. Butler High School in Huntsville, Alabama, the school grew from a fairly large school to the largest high school in the state of Alabama. There were four assistant principals, one of which was, of course, me. We had our hands full trying to get 3,200 students in and out of school each day. One of our assistant principals was Furman Elmore, a gentleman in his sixties, large, intimidating and a former football coach. Mr. Elmore had a real simple approach to being punctual. To Mr. Elmore, there was never any excuse for being late. It did not matter what happened on the way to school. It did not matter that your car broke down. It did not matter that you had emergency surgery and had just gotten out of the hospital. To him, there was never any excuse for not being "on time". In Mr. Elmore's opinion, a person should always leave early, properly plan the trip and allow for mishaps, traffic jams, flat tires and other unforeseen things that might happen along the way. If a student was unfortunate enough to get to school after the tardy bell had rung, that student might as well just keep his hard luck story to himself. He would not get an understanding ear from Furman Elmore. One case in point comes to mind.

One morning I was in Mr. Elmore's office when a young man came to see him because he was an hour late getting to school. It was obvious that the fellow had had a bad day. He had grease on his face, his hair was a mess, his clothes were tattered and he was soaking wet. "Mr. Elmore,", the young man blurted. "When I got up this morning I could not get out of my room. My bedroom door was locked, my parents were gone and I could not get the door open. Finally, in desperation, I had to climb out on the roof with the intent of sliding down the gutter and coming on to school. When I tried that, the gutter broke and I fell to the ground about ten feet below. The gutter fell on me and water from the gutter soaked my clothes. I ran to my car and hurried toward school. A few miles down the road, my car broke down. I lifted the hood to discover that my serpentine belt had broken. I ran to the auto parts store, bought a new one, and replaced the broken belt. I, then, came straight to school," he stated while studying Mr. Elmore's face for a sign of sympathy. Mr. Elmore leaned toward the student, towered over him, looked him straight in the eye and said, "And that took you an hour?"

Don't neglect the spiritual side of things. Always be strong spiritually. Rick Warren in his top seller, The Purpose Driven Life, states on page 29: "Real security can only be found in that which can never be taken from you. That is your relationship with God."

Max Lucado is one of the greatest spiritual writers of out time. In his book When God Whispers Your Name, on page 151 he states: "When the battle is too great, I ask God to take over. I get the Father to fight for me."

Develop Patience. Good things don't come fast. Not long ago, Sharon was speaking to a women's forum in Birmingham, Alabama. After she finished with her talk, a lady walked up to her and said, "You are really an overnight success." Sharon Replied, "Yes Ma'am. It took us twenty four years to get where we are today."

Develop the ability to control your worrying. As an entrepreneur you will most likely be under a lot of stress and anxiety. This can be a killer unless you learn to control it. Worry will keep you awake at night, spoil your personality, alienate your friends and eventual damage your health. Most of the time, the things that we worry about the most never even happen. If that is the case, we have merely wasted our time and energy and spoiled our day over nothing. South African explorer, extreme adventurer and athlete Mike Horn has accomplished what many have deemed impossible. Even when he was in dangerous life threatening situations he learned to control his thoughts and relax his mind. He has an unusual attitude pertaining to worrying:

If you go through life worrying you will die. If you go through life not worrying, you still will die. .. So, why worry.

This is the same attitude that I heard many years ago by an old school teacher friend of mind. His philosophy was:

Why take life so seriously. You're not going to get out of it alive anyway.

Be an avid reader. There are lots of resources out there. Many are mentioned in this book. There is no reason not to be knowledgeable on reasonable subjects. With the advent of the internet, the whole world is at our disposal. Research is much easier than it once was. A person can now explore the world from in front of a computer. It is out there it is up to you to go and get it.

Practice the Law of Polarity. The Law of Polarity states: Everything can be separated into two opposite parts. It further states, each part has its own essence. This law is the cornerstone of many mystical statements and arguments. Also, it is essential in outlining the characteristics of objects. Examples of these are: long and short, north and south, white and black, male and female, up and down, right and left. Is that clear as mud? Keep reading.

Earlier in this book was mentioned the power of one's attitude. Do you know someone that always has a bad attitude? Of course you do. Do you know anybody that that constantly complains, whines, whimpers, loses their temper or complete control of themselves whenever things don't go their way? Do you know a quitter? Do you know someone who gives up and takes their ball and goes home at the first sign that things are not going their right? Sure you do. Is that person up lifting or a discouragement to you? Does that person bring anything positive into your relationship?

Those types of personalities are losers. I'm sorry, but that is the absolute truth. That is literally what they are. They will never win and they do not live as a success. They lose, that's all they do. Things never work out for them. I once heard this type of personality described as a "beat dog syndrome." They tuck their tails, drop to their bellies and slither away. They quit. That is what they do best. That is their position in life. These people cannot control themselves. They do not make a serious and conscientious effort to control their thoughts, which in turn determine their attitude, which yields a successful and fulfilling life. The Federal Aviation Administration calls this a hazardous attitude. In the FAA training material, this problem is specifically addressed. A pilot's mind-set is very important, therefore a pilot is taught to identify this problem in himself and develop strong practices for attitude management. Hear is the FAA's definition of attitude management:

Attitude Management: The ability to recognize hazardous attitudes in one's self and the willingness to modify those attitudes as necessary through the application of appropriate antidotal thoughts.

You see, the FAA wants your mind in the right place if you are streaking through the skies at 300 knots with 200 lives in your hands.

People that form habits of succeeding, winning, and enjoying life are people that have learned to practice attitude management. They have learned to systematically control their attitude. They make the conscious effort to understand why they are thinking, what they are thinking. These people make the choice to change their mindset if their attitude is not what it should be. These people move ahead by changing their thought patterns. If they are thinking failure then they think success. If they are thinking negatively, then they start thinking positively. If they are thinking pessimistically, then they start thing positively. If they are thinking about bad things, then they start thinking about good things. That is the Law of Polarity. If you want to change anything in your life, then practice attitude management by using the Law of Polarity.

Make a chart like the one below and fill in the blanks.

Problem: I don't like: Solution: I will change it by:

Being Fat Eating a proper diet and eating less

Being Broke Find another job or work two jobs

Being in Debt Plan and stick to a budget, don't borrow

My Job Retrain, find another job

My Friends Find new friends

My House Remodel it or find a new house

My Image Get a new hair style, new clothes, etc.

By outlining the problem and the solution and putting it in writing, you are more likely to be effective in changing your situation.

Choose Your Associates Very Carefully. The people with whom each of us associates have a great deal to do with our attitudes. If you hang around with them long enough you are likely to pick up their speech patterns, habits, their values, their morals and their attitudes.

Here is something to think about: When you meet a new person play this mind game. Get to know that person then evaluate that person. Give them a "plus" or a "minus". Is that person uplifting to you? If so give them a plus. If that person brings you down in any way, then give them a "minus". Rate them on their habits, speech, personality, trust worthiness, honesty, loyalty, attitude, religious views, outlook on life, spirituality and any thing else that you deem to be important to you. If the minuses out weigh the pluses, then that relationship should immediately be terminated. That person is not good for you. Find people who are positive, honest, loyal, trustworthy, and who have good positive outlooks on life. Surround yourself with these type of people and you will grow spiritually, personally and professionally. This should include all of you friends, employees, candidates for a spouse and yes, even family members. .

Here is what it all gets down to: As an entrepreneur, you will be surprised how well your business will perform if you practice these things above. Surround yourself with the right kind of people at work, and your business will flourish. Surround your self with the wrong folks, and your business and your interaction with others will not be a pleasant experience. One thing that Sharon and I have always done in all of our businesses, is hire the very best positive people that we could find. We hire only the people with the dispositions to be an asset, not a liability. If we find that we have slipped up and hired "a minus", then that person will not be on our payroll very long. They will be a memory really fast. That is simply the way that it will always be with us. There is not a more important asset than the people that become a part of our team. Our hiring process may be slow and tedious, but it has made all the difference in our successes.

Become a Super Geek. Where would we be today without computers? As an entrepreneur you must learn everything that you can learn pertaining to computers. Computers have evolved to be the back bone of every business. Computers support all aspects of the operation of a business. Take computer courses. Learn from others or teach yourself. Whatever it takes, you must be knowledgeable about computers, the internet and cyber space.

Once there was a Sunday school teacher who was quizzing the children in her five-year-old class about God. "Do all of you know where God lives?" she asked. One little guy in the back of the class raised his hand and said "Yes, God lives in our bathroom."

"Your bathroom?" asked the teacher in surprise. "Yes, Ma'am," he replied. "Every morning when my mother is in the bathroom, my Dad goes the door and asks, "My God, are you still in there?"

Once upon a time, I had the opportunity to hear Stephen R Covey, the best selling author, speak to a group of business people. During his speech, I took a few notes and the following are his thoughts pertaining to forming habits for success.

Be Proactive. The habit of being proactive, or the habit of personal vision, means taking responsibility for one's actions and control of one's attitude. Take the initiative to make something happen.

Begin with the End in Mind. This is the habit of personal leadership. Start with a clear destination to understand where you are now and where you are going.

Put First Things First. This is the habit of personal management, which involves organizing and managing time and events. Learn to manage yourself. Organize and execute around your priorities.

Think About Winning. Winning is the habit of interpersonal leadership. Win-Win is the attitude of seeking mutual benefit. This thinking begins with a commitment to explore all options until a mutually satisfactory solution is reached, or to make no deal at all.

Seek first to understand, then to be understood. This is the habit of empathic communication. Understanding builds the skills of empathic listening that inspire openness and trust.

Synergize. This is the habit of creative cooperation of teamwork. Synergy results from valuing differences by bringing different perspectives together in the spirit of mutual respect.

Sharpen the Saw. This is the Habit of self-renewal. Preserving and enhancing your greatest asset, yourself, by renewing the physical, spiritual, mental, emotional and social dimensions of your life.

The above may be explored in detail in Mr. Covey's book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Here is something to think about: Little pigs grow up to be big pigs. Little monkeys grow up to be big monkeys. Man has a choice to grow up to be either!

Attitude is how a person looks at things. The following poem was written by an anonymous Civil War soldier:

I asked God for strength that I might achieve;

I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked God for help that I might do greater things:

I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked God for riches that I might be happy;

I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked God for power that I might have the praise of men;

I was given weakness that I might feel the need for God.

I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life;

I was given life so that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I among all men am most richly blessed.

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Chapter 31

Cookie Jar Capital

Wow! You have this great idea! You know that it will work. You know that you can be a success at this, but, you don't have any money to get it off of the ground. You have heard the old saying. It takes money to make money. If you just had that capital, then you would certainly make a fortune!

Money is always a big obstacle to overcome when starting a new business. You have to have money to buy equipment, to manufacture a product or provide a service. You have to have money to buy raw materials, office space, supplies and furniture. You may even have to have money to pay your personal bills and meet your family budget until the new business will support you. That is a tough thing to overcome and is the very reason a lot of people never go into business for themselves.

Recently, I was listening to one of the Saturday morning radio shows on National Public Radio. During the show, a surprising statistic was mentioned. It was stated that 87% of the American public had rather be working in another job. If that is true, nearly 90% of Americans are not happy with the status of their present career. How sad! Why is this true? Why are they content to remain in a job in which they are not happy rather that solving that situation? I understand that many are probably in transitional jobs, or in college or professional training of some kind. Many may be patiently climbing the corporate ladder and waiting to attain that special job that they want. Let us suppose that these people compose half of the 87%, then that still leaves nearly half of Americans discontent with their present position. I know that it is tough to pull yourself up by your own boot straps, especially if you have no boots. However, I find it very sad that so many are so unhappy doing what they do each and every day of their lives.

Now, let us get back to the money problem. There are ways to start a business without going deeply in debt and mortgaging one's future. In my hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, there are many companies that were started on a shoestring. Many of these are now multi-million dollar businesses with hundreds or thousands of employees. Huntsville is a high tech community, which, for five decades, has been instrumental in the space program. There are many tales of businesses which were started in someone's basement or garage and grew to be fortune 500 companies. In order to be frugal, a person can begin this journey in small steps and use the assets that are readily available. In fact, a small business should remain debt-free as long as possible so that the incubating business has time to sustain itself. According to Proverbs 22:7, God warns that "the rich rules over the poor and that the borrower is slave to the lender." A new business has to be very careful not to get trapped by the cycle of debt. When planning a new business, examine your assets, your debt and the amount of money that you have in reserve that can be dedicated to the new business. Always carefully plan your business finances and never intend for them to happen hap-hazardly.

So, you have tons of debt, credit card bills, a pregnant wife and four kids. What a great time to go into business for yourself!

Many people in the situation above jump into business and wonder why things do not work out.

Proverbs 24:3-4 states that "Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts." There it is straight from the Big Guy upstairs. That should be your three-step business plan.

1. Build your business by wise planning

2. Become strong through common sense

3. Keep abreast of the facts

Some of the problem of raising capital may be solved by bartering. As explained earlier in this book, when Sharon and I started Bama Jammer, we had no capital for advertising. Since I was not doing anything between 3:00 AM and 7:00AM in the morning, I traded my time for free advertising on the local NBC TV affiliate. We did this for four years until the business could survive, and I then could sleep late. Get creative! Barter for talent, supplies, advertising and anything that you need.

Save your money. Before you jump head long into business, be sure that you have saved enough money so that your new business has some chance of surviving. Set a goal to live on 75% of your income and save the other 25% until you have enough reserve to get your new business going. Spend less money than you earn, eliminate waste and save the difference. Determine how much money that you need and set a goal to get it. Again, we turn to the scriptures. "Suppose that one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?" Luke 14:28. If you listen carefully, your whole business philosophy can be outlined in Sunday School class. There are numerous examples of preparation and planning that can be learned and are illustrated in the Bible.

Be very careful of your spending. Watch every dime. When we first began our businesses, we adhered to the following statement:

"If it costs money, then we don't do it!"

For years our budgets were very tight. Unless a thing was very critical to our needs, we did not buy it.

Another way to preserve capital is to be sure that you do not extend credit to others and that your customers pay you "up front." This way, you are using someone else's capital. At Bama Jammer, we did this from the beginning and it allowed us to conserve our capital, use our customer's money and to keep the difference.

Your company's capital can be conserved by buying on credit. Negotiate the best terms that you can get, always pay promptly and use your supplier's money, not your money. Here is another true story.

I came to Huntsville, Alabama in the summer of 1972 as the architectural drawing teacher and one of the coaches at S.R. Butler High School. I had graduated four years earlier from Middle Tennessee State University and, at that time, did not have much of a credit history. I did not know anyone in town so I went out exploring. I had taught wood shop classes for the past four years in Tennessee, therefore, one of my first stops was at Wilson Lumber Company. The lumber company was a building supply business and was located on the north side of town near the city limit. I asked to meet with the owner and soon found myself sitting before Mr. Wilson, a nice older gentleman and a seasoned and shrewd businessman. Maybe he felt sorry for me. Maybe he saw the twinkle of an entrepreneur in my eye and liked what he saw. Maybe he enjoyed those Friday night football games. Whatever the reason, somehow, during our conversation, I managed to win his confidence and negotiate ninety day terms with him. I was on my way. He allowed me to buy building materials on credit and not pay a dime for ninety days. Looking back, that was probably not a very wise move on his part, but a really great move for me. In the summer of 1973, I built a house completely from materials from the Wilson Lumber Company lot. Within ninety days, I built the house and sold it without paying Mr. Wilson a dime. I then settled with the lumber company, paid my bill and put the difference in my pocket. Terms like that would probably be difficult to get today but it worked for me then. Over the years, I built several houses out of the Wilson Lumber Company lot. Today, I still have that same credit account at Wilson Lumber Company, although the business is now run by Mr. Wilson's grandson and my terms are now thirty days.

As you can see, there are ways to be creative with capital when starting a new business. You can start a business with little money, grow it deliberately toward a predetermined goal and succeed. Back in the 1970's the Atari company was said to have been started by scraping together a mere $500 of working capital. Like Bama Jammer, they required their customers to pay up front, thus conserving their own capital. They also did not extend credit to their customers but bought all of their supplies on credit. The company sold a short three years later to Warner Communications for twenty eight million dollars.

* * *

Chapter 32

God Watches Over Children and Fools

Sometimes, a person is better off not knowing that he doesn't know. There is an old southern expression that "even a blind hog sometimes finds an acorn." Sometimes the statistics are shouting, "This will never work. The odds are against you. Nobody will accept that idea." Yet, in the end, things work out.

Once, I heard a public speaker tell the following story. Charles Goodyear, out of curiosity, purchased an India rubber life preserver. "This "rubber" may have a lot of potential if I can make it useful for the general public," he thought. Rubber had a lot of drawbacks. Extreme heat turned it to a liquid and cold weather made it as hard as a rock. He set out to solve those problems, modify the product and find a practical use for it. For five years, it seemed that the product was worthless. Everyone encouraged him to give up and many thought that he had lost his mind. Experiment after experiment failed. He had spent most of his money, and lost most of his friends, when, suddenly, there was a break. Things began to work and the rest is history.

Babe Ruth was a pudgy (Let's face it. He was downright fat!), awkward-looking, bird- leg adult that appeared to be anything but an athlete. Sports historians always include him as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He set the major league home run record which lasted for decades. What many people do not know is that, during his time with the Yankees, he not only set the record for home runs, he also held the record for strikeouts!

Here is some food for thought:

• Richard Hooker was the creator and author of M*A*S*H*. For over seven years, he wrote and rewrote the humorous script about a medical unit during the Korean War. He was told by many that his timing was too close to the war. Nobody would find that tragic war to be funny. He was rejected over twenty times before he found a publisher. The novel became a best seller and the movie was a tremendous success. A television series followed that can still be seen as reruns every night throughout the world. Where would we be today without the memories of Radar, Hot Lips and Hawkeye?

• We have all heard the stories of the hundreds, maybe thousands of times that Thomas Edison failed during his lifetime. He was actually a success only about one half of 1% of the time. What a difference those successes made in everyone's life. In his own words he stated:

I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by mistake or accident. They each came by hard work!

• Winston Churchhill qualified for senior discounts before he was appointed Prime Minister of England. In fact, he was 62 years old before he began to find any real success in life. Prior to that, his life had been one defeat after another.

• Horace and John Dodge built an auto manufacturing empire that by 1920 was producing over a thousand cars a day. Both of the men were illiterate.

• In 1926, the Harlem Globetrotters was the brain child of Abe Saperstein. It was formed in Chicago and then (as now) did not even have a home court. He was told that the country and world would not accept an all black basketball team. All critics said that no one would buy tickets to see a black team play basketball. Blacks playing basketball would not work. Does this even need a comment?

• Douglas Bader was one of England's greatest fighter pilots despite the fact that he was a double leg amputee. When finally shot down and captured by the Nazis, he was so persistent in his escape attempts that they had to confiscate his legs.

• Mark McGwire, the first person to break Babe Ruth's home run record, began his professional baseball career in my home town of Huntsville, Alabama. He played for our Double A farm team, the Huntsville Stars. The Stars began playing in 1985 in the Southern League as the farm team for the Oakland Athletics. The Stars' General Manager was Don Mincher, former first baseman of the Washington Senators and other teams, a hometown boy and a former baseball standout of S.R. Butler High School where I coached.

I had the opportunity to watch Mark play as a minor league athlete. He played during the period with Jose Canseco (We called him Parkway Jose' because his home runs were rumored to have bounced off of South Memorial Parkway.), Stan Javier, Tim Hudson, Migel Tejada, Ken Caminiti, Jason Giambi, and others. Mark was a tall, skinny kid with great ability. However, there was nothing that really stood out about Mark's talent or abilities that would indicate that he would go down in history as one of baseball's greatest players. In fact, many of Mark's accomplishments were overshadowed by Jose and the other Huntsville Stars. Mark moved on to the Major leagues and I continued to watch him develop over the years. In 1987, he was the American League Rookie of the Year. During his rookie year, he set the Major League record for home runs by a rookie with 49.

In 1990, he won the American League Golden Glove Award. In 1998, Mark broke Babe Ruth's Home Run Record when he finished the season with 70 home runs (a record that has since been broken by Barry Bonds). In 1999, he was named:

(1) ESPY Male Athlete of the Year (2) Named to the All-Century Team (3) ESPY outstanding Baseball Player (4) ESPY Showstopper of the Year. (5) In 1999, Mark drove in a league-leading 147 runs while only having 145 hits, the highest RBI-per-hit tally in baseball history.

Mark ended his career with a total of 583 home runs. This was then the fifth-most in baseball history. Five times during his career, Mark led Major League Baseball in home runs. From 1996 – 1999, Mark hit 50 or more home runs which lead Major League Baseball in homers all four seasons. Mark averaged one home run every 10.61 times that he walked to the plate. That set the record as the lowest "at bat / home run" ratio in baseball history. The record now places Babe Ruth's "at bat / home run" ratio in second place with 11.76.

Mark was not only known for his number of home runs but also for the distance of his super homers, many landing over 500 feet away. Because of these monster home runs, Mark earned the nick names of "Big Mac", Colossus and "Big Red".

Mark did pretty well for a guy who was just among the crowd in the minors.

• In 1901, the first person to successfully survive the 186 feet plunge over Niagara Falls was Anna Edson Taylor. She could not swim.

These success stories go on and on. I am convinced that a person is better off not knowing his shortcomings and limitations. Lots of things have been accomplished by those who did not know that they did not have a chance to do what they set out to do. Maybe this is God's way of winking at each of us and helping us when we really do not know any better.

My Turn At Bat

(A true story)

By Ray "Bama Jammer" Steelman 01/14/2002

To the wall straight ahead in center field

was four hundred and thirty five feet.

We had no one on our baseball team

that could hit a ball that deep.

"We'll have to punch and place the ball

and steal a base or two.

To homer here in center field

no one on our team can do."

Denny's arms were big as hams,

his grip like a vice's bite.

But even he, on his very best day

Couldn't homer here with his strength and might.

And Big Jim stood at least 6 – 5,

and weighed 300 pounds.

But his longest shot was 405

When the wind was right and the pitching down.

Then there was Fred, Billy Bob and Joe.

They all had great consistence.

Each had homered now and then,

but nothing near that distance.

"We'll have to win this on the mound

With Lester's pitching arm.

Let's get him going and stretch that thing

and get it good and warm."

There are things that dwell inside our hearts,

that are secret, personal, close and deep.

There are things we cherish for all of our lives

that make us laugh, reflect or weep.

They keep us warm on the coldest nights,

and take us to distant places.

They give us tales to tell about.

they are timeless life embraces.

When I think back to that summer day,

and how we had our doubts,

And how we thought that we were beat,

before the first man was out.

It touches me deep within my heart,

gives a memory for me to hold.

I'm once again standing at the plate,

and I'm twenty one years old.

When things are tough and there seems no way,

that you can ever win.

Keep faith in yourself...take careful aim

at the fast ball coming in.

I learned a lesson in the batter's box about lack of confidence.

'Cause I'm the guy... who twice that day

drove a blazing fast ball

over the center field fence!

* * *

Chapter 33

Lots of Flies Follow a Garbage Truck

In 1966, I had one of the best experiences of by life. I learned about humility, hard work, the value of a good education and the toughness of the human spirit. I learned that to survive, a person has to do what is necessary. I learned the value of good, honest work ethic.

I have had to work pretty hard all of my life. I began delivering newspapers when I was only eight years old. I would get up early in the morning, ride my bicycle across town, pick up my papers, and for the next two hours, deliver them to my customers. When I became a teenager, I advanced to doing farm work. I have mowed grass and weeds with a push mower. I have chopped cotton. (This is a long lost term for cutting the weeds out of the cotton crops with a hoe. They now use pre-emerge poison.) I have picked cotton. I have wormed and suckered tobacco plants. I have hung tobacco in barns for drying and seasoning. I have cleaned out long-neglected fence rows. I have hauled hay from the fields and stacked the bales in barn lofts. I have painted barn roofs in the middle of scorching Tennessee summers. I have bush hogged. I have held pigs while others castrated them. I have driven a tractor during corn picking time. I have cleaned manure from barn stalls. But in 1966, I had one of the toughest jobs of my life. I became a garbage man!

Every Wednesday and Saturday morning at 7:00 AM, an automated Garbage truck whizzes around the corner of our cul-de-sac and slides abruptly next to our 50 gallon plastic trash container. A steel robotic arm extends from the side of the truck, grabs our container, lifts it high in the air and shakes the contents into an opening in the top of the truck like pepper from a pepper mill. Then, quicker than a shake of a lamb's tail, the truck is gone. There is no nod from the driver, no personal contact or trash in the streets. Garbage collection is now a fine art. It has been perfected. It is automated to the point that the driver is barely visible through the tinted windows as he sits comfortably inside his air conditioned cabin, listening to Barry Manilow love songs on satellite radio. It was not like that in 1966!

Our oldest readers will recall when only real men could qualify as garbage men. That was not a job for the faint-hearted, lazy or those with weak stomachs. The truck had no air conditioning, radios or automation. Garbage work was hard, smelly, tough and nasty. There was no limit on the weights of the trash cans. There also was no limit on the number of cans a household could have, nor were there restrictions on what could be put inside those trash cans. In fact, a lot of times, the trash was simply placed on the side of the road and had to be picked up by hand and placed into the giant compactor at the back of the truck. Each truck had a driver and at least two individuals who rode on the back of the truck, holding on for dear life! One of the outside workers would handle the trash on the right side of the road and the other would handle the left side. Sometimes, during the holidays and peak seasons, another worker would ride inside the cab with the driver and exit at each stop to help with the heaviest cans or extra trash. Back then, we did not call it trash. It was garbage! Most of the cans dripped from whatever was placed inside and would leave a trail from the curb to the truck and back. It was impossible for a worker to remain clean. After an hour of work, each worker would be wet from the knees down and covered in dirty grease and filth. Many of the cans weighed more than I weighed. Flies were another problem. It was impossible to avoid the flies as they followed the truck from one stop to another. My first day on the job, I did not even eat lunch. I stretched out and rested hoping to regain enough strength to work the rest of the afternoon! If there was any fairness in this world, garbage workers would have been the highest paid jobs in a community.

As you have probably guessed, people were not exactly standing in line to work as a garbage man (I say "man" because I never saw a woman working on any garbage truck.). The job was not exactly a resume builder, although it should have been. My stay on the garbage truck was only temporary. I knew that, after two more years of college, I would move on to better things. I often think of those poor souls that I left behind. I often think of those who were destined to spend their lives hanging from the back of a truck fighting the flies, heat and cold. Today, when I see a garbage truck I feel a sort of sense of brotherhood, because I have been there. I, too, have felt the sting of the cold, the sunburn on the back of my neck and the bite of the house fly.

The purpose of this little story is to illustrate the fact that to succeed in life, sometimes you have to pay the price. Life is one great big adventure. To fully appreciate it, a person has to take, as Roger Miller once said it, "a big ole' sip." How can you as a business owner and entrepreneur understand the plight of the worker bee unless you have been in their shoes? How can you truly have empathy for those with whom you come in contact unless you have shared a common experience? How can you appreciate success unless you have looked into the eyes of the desperate? How can you understand hunger if you have never missed a meal? How can you appreciate clean jeans unless you have worked all day in torn, wet and tattered Levis? To be an effective entrepreneur, business owner, supervisor and fellow worker, a person needs all of life's experiences that he can get. Some of the greatest lessons that a person learns in life are those experiences that are the most painful. Never be afraid to work. Calloused hands are the trophies of the successful. Nobody ever drowned from his own sweat. Here are some thoughts pertaining to hard work:

• He that is afraid of doing too much always does too little.

• "Miracles sometimes do happen, but a person has to work terribly hard for them."

Chaim Weizmann

• "Too many people today only want to work a 40 hour week. I always have told my managers that they cannot be successful unless they tell their spouses not to expect them home for dinner."

C. Kemmons Wilson, founder of Holiday Inns

• Remember this: "If it is to be done, it is up to me to do it."

• "You will never have to want for anything or be out of a job if you learn to work hard."

Mabel Counts, my Mother

My Inheritance

(Taken from Herman the Male Cow by Ray Steelman, 1996)

My granddaddy, Forest R. Bryant, Died on May 3, 1972, at the age of seventy one. He had lived a hard life and had not accumulated any appreciable wealth, so the only thing that I received that could be called an inheritance was his thirty-year-old carpenter's hammer. The handle was worn smooth and the face wore the scars of many long days of hard work, the sum of which composed my grandfather's life. During the first few years following the death of my granddaddy, I built eight houses using that hammer. In retrospect, I understand that what I received in my inheritance was the potential to succeed. The rest was up to me. I learned that it is not what a person has that is important, it is what he does with it. In 1984, I recorded my first harmonica album using a three dollar harmonica. It was then that I recalled that my direction in life had not changed, only my tools were different. God gives us walnuts but it is up to us to crack them. I hope at my passing I can leave to my grandchildren an inheritance as valuable as the one that I received from my granddaddy.

On Empathy

All of my life I have been very handy with tools and using my hands. I can remember always having the ability to build just about anything that my mind could conceive. I also was a pretty good athlete. Although I never was a star, I was always good enough to make the team for any sport which I wanted to play. Although I was small in size, I was quick, agile and could take care of myself. I had been very lucky. Until May 23, 2004, I never suffered any injuries. Even though I played all contact sports, I never had even one stitch or one broken bone. My fingers were all intact despite the years of carpentry work and teaching wood shop in high school. All that changed on that Sunday morning in May.

I have always heard that it is quietest just before the storm. That is the way it was on May 23, 2004. The day was perfect. There was not a cloud in our blue Alabama sky. Birds were singing. Trees were budding and showing their blooms. Lovers were holding hands in the park. Spring was chasing the winter back to the north where it belonged. All was right with the world. It was a great day to do those chores that the cold breath of winter had convinced me to postpone.

There it was! A shingle on our second story roof that the southwest wind had curled up during one of those late night storms. On that Sunday morning the time had come. With my caulking gun and roofing cement in hand, I positioned the twelve foot ladder against the gutter and started up. In a few minutes that problem with the shingle would only be a memory.

Forty minutes later, I was in the emergency room staring at the ceiling. Lucky for me, Bethany, our daughter, had heard the commotion and found me near shock, lying on my back on the deck at the back of the house. From the very top step of the ladder, I had fallen and shattered my left leg and ankle. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, my life had changed and would never be the same. At least my outlook on life would never be the same. Never again would I take good friends for granted. Never again would I take for granted God's great blessing of a good family. Never again would I overlook the anguish of the suffering. Never again would I take for granted the blessing of mobility, trips to the mall, the ability to drive a car and freedom from pain.

On May 24, the orthopedic surgeons put my leg back together. With screws and drills, like I had done thousands of times with wood, they repaired what was left of my leg and ankle. My stay in the hospital initially lasted for six days. I was dismissed from the hospital but had to be readmitted a day later when I was suspected to have a blood clot on my lung. This was a tough ordeal for a person who had never had been sick a day in his life. It was tough for a person who had always refused to take even an aspirin. Now I was on Morphine! It was really difficult to lie flat on my back with my leg in the air all twenty four hours of each day. I was accustomed to being constantly on the go. My days all started early and lasted late. I was constantly running all day to new challenges, solving new problems, making music, building things, jogging, lifting weights, supervising businesses and driving sports cars. Now, I could not move. I had to have help going to the bathroom. My foot was black. My appetite was gone. I was in pain.

For twelve weeks during the summer of 2004, I could walk only with the help of a walker. After that, I graduated to a walking cane which was my companion for a few weeks. Finally, in the kitchen of our home, I took my first step sometime in the fall of the year. That was quite an accomplishment. I did something that I never did before, I got emotional. Six months after that first step, even though my ankle still hurt, I jogged for the first time since the accident.

Today, when I see someone using a walker, I hold the door for them. I rarely walk through the doors of Wal-Mart without realizing the blessing of being able to do so. I am much more conscious of the pain and suffering of those around me. I make a serious effort to visit and call the sick. I understand the plight of the bereaved, suffering, sick, lonely and elderly.

That was an ordeal that I certainly would not like to repeat. However, I do realize that I am a much better person today than I was before the accident. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, defines Empathy as follows:

Empathy (from the Greek meaning, "to suffer with") is commonly defined as one's ability to recognize, perceive and directly experientially feel the emotion of another. As the states of mind, beliefs, and desires of others are intertwined with their emotions, one with empathy for another may often be able to more effectively define another's modes of thought and mood. Empathy is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes", or experiencing the outlook or emotions of another being within oneself, a sort of emotional resonance.

To be effective, a good entrepreneur must develop empathy and emotional resonance toward all others.

* * *

Chapter 34

Cutting Your Losses

There is an old saying that goes like this:

"If at first, you don't succeed... give up. Why make a complete fool out of yourself!"

Tough as it is to swallow, there are times when a person has to "cut and run." Failure is never an easy thing to accept, but the ultimate failure is to magnify your problems by holding on to a dream that simply is not going to work. Part of being a savvy business owner is recognizing that fact and minimizing your damage. Does that mean that you are a total flop in life? Does that mean that you will never win at anything again? Does that mean that you should hide from the public, hang your head and wallow in your pity? Of course the answer to that is "No." It means that you were smart enough to understand that things were not adding up. You will remember that one of the functions of management mentioned earlier in this book is "evaluating." To be an effective manager, business owner and entrepreneur you cannot ignore one of the most important things that you do. You have to openly and honestly evaluate the results of your efforts.

There seems to be a mindset in this country that a person should never, ever give up. Naturally, you should not give up easily. You should always give it your best shot. You should hang in as long as possible, but when things are not working, it is idiotic and suicidal to continue to dig a hole that is going deeper and deeper.

Here are some ventures that just did not work out.

Do you remember the Builders Square stores? The Builders Square store was K-Mart's attempt to establish huge builder supply centers where the public could browse for building supplies. After millions were invested in the Builders Square stores, K-Mart gave up on that idea in 1999 once they realized that they could not compete with Lowe's and Home Depot.

The Warner Brothers Studio Stores were structured similar to the Disney Store. Their markets were the same and their business plans nearly identical. What works for one sometimes will simply not work for another. The Warner Brothers Studio Stores went out of business after only ten years.

Do you remember hearing about Speedblock? This was an idea to build houses out of reinforced concrete and other concrete products. It was speculated that Speedblock would revolutionize current methods of constructing private and commercial dwellings. Speedblock got their idea from the houses that were built in that fashion in Europe. Even after a huge NASCAR sponsorship and tons of promotions and advertising, this country just did not accept the idea of concrete homes. Speedblock closed in 1998.

Located, of course, in Chicago, "Old Chicago" was a clever concept of a huge shopping mall and indoor amusement park. Lots of marketing research said that this was an idea that just could not fail. Old Chicago opened with much fan fare in1975. It was plagued by numerous problems from the very beginning and lasted only six years. In 1986, it was demolished.

Recently, during a business trip to Orlando, I saw a man riding a Segway personal transportation scooter. Remember them? Segway HT was projected to revolutionize the entire world. Personal transportation would never again be the same. Why walk when you can ride? Investors rushed in and poured millions upon millions into the company. The Segways for some reason just did not go over the way everyone thought that it would. Only 10,000 units were sold after several years on the market. This was very disappointing for everyone involved in that dream. The company, however, was not a complete flop and is currently restructuring its network of dealers.

I had the opportunity to entertain playing my harmonica at Opryland USA in Nashville. The popular theme park was located next to the Grand Old Opry building and was owned by Gaylord Entertainment. One summer, I performed fifteen times during that summer, selling our harmonica books to visitors in the Park. For twenty six years, Opryland brought thousands of tourists to the Nashville theme park. After that long of a period of time, I guess that you could not say that the theme park was a complete flop, but it did close opting for a shopping mall. The mall was projected to be more financially rewarding. In his statement to the news media, Tom Adkinson, Manager of Corporate Communications at Gaylord Entertainment stated: "The decision to abandon the theme park was a difficult decision to exit a very enjoyable business we had been in for 26 years. When we looked to the next decade or two, we decided it would be better to be in a business that was not weather-dependent. The park could be open in the best of times about 150 days a year, plus the land was very strategically located right in the middle of our complex." The park was so popular that there was an immediate backlash from the public. Be that as it may, the park was still closed by Gaylord. This is the tough evaluation principle of management that was discussed earlier in our book.

Did you ever buy one of those Kodak disc cameras? These survived for only eight years when they were completely eliminated by the advent of inexpensive 35 mm cameras. Now the digital cameras have replaced those.

Do you remember the "Herb" marketing campaign that was launched by Burger King in 1985. This was one of the biggest marketing failures in the history of business. The public was not intrigued by Herb but instead found the Herb character to be quite annoying. The Herb campaign was dubbed by Advertising Age magazine to be the biggest advertising failure of the decade. Hardee's "Star" advertising campaign was accepted similarly by the public. Both were terrific flops that had to be abandoned.

The XFL football league was not only a big failure but a rapid one. Described as being an alternative to the NFL, the XFL was promoted as being the future of football. NBC jumped on the band wagon and was embarrassed went the league was rejected by the public. Here is what the Press said about the XFL:

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) -- World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc.'s disastrous XFL venture forced a fourth-quarter loss of $20.4 million and cut full-year profits in 2001 to about a third of the previous year's earnings. WWF, which took an after-tax charge of $36.2 million on the football league's failure, reported a loss of $20.4 million, or 28 cents per share, for the quarter ended April 30.

• June 28

XFL's short rise, rapid fall

By HOWARD FENDRICH -- Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Perhaps the most stunning aspect of the XFL's demise was its swiftness. Just 15 months ago, Vince McMahon stood before a throng at the WWF's theme restaurant in Times Square to unveil his latest can't-miss brainchild: a football league to, in his words, "take you places where the NFL is afraid to go."

• May 14

XFL gig over for Barker

By PERRY LEFKO -- Toronto Sun

Talk about two extremes. Only a month after coordinating the offence of the Los Angeles Xtreme, winners of the XFL's first and last championship game, former Argos head coach Jim Barker is looking for a job. Barker became a casualty when the XFL ceased operations on Thursday after failing to secure a regional cable deal with UPN.

You old timers will remember the hoopla in the sixties pertaining to Penn Central Transport. This undertaking was a merger between the Pennsylvania Central Railroad and New York Central Railroad. This made it the largest railroad in this country's history. After ten years of planning, negotiating, organizing and strategizing, the giant railroad survived a short 867 days. Penn Central Transport emerged in 1968 and was out of business in 1970.

You beer drinkers will remember the mellow taste of Schlitz beer. The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, based in Milwaukee Wisconsin, was a true American Brewery. Schlitz beer was often considered to be a true working-class beer. Schlitz beer was advertised as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous." Times were very good in the beginning. The company grew and expanded during the decade of the 1970s. As late as 1976 and was ranked as the No. 2 brewery in America. Then, the problems started with a management decision to attempt to cheapen the brewing process. The plan was to use a high-temperature fermentation process. This would allow the beer to be produced much more cheaply and increase the company's profit margins. The public, however, perceived the beer to be inferior, and sales plummeted. To make matters worse, in 1981 the employees at the Milwaukee plant decided that it was time to strike. Naturally, the company ran into serious financial difficulties. On June 10, 1982, Stroh Brewery Company of Detroit Michigan bought the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. Schlitz beer is still produced, but in relatively small quantities. Today, the Pabst Brewing Company owns the rights to the Schlitz name. Today, a business park, a middle school and government office buildings stand on the historic site of the old Schlitz Brewery.

The NYLA food venture lasted only one year. In 2002 the company was supposedly headed by entertainer Brittany Spears offered New York and Louisiana menus (therefore the name NYLA). It was never profitable.

Do you remember shopping at Bud's Discount City? What happened to Bud's? Where did they go? Bud's Discount City were stores that were established in old Wal-Mart stores once the Wal-Mart Super Centers started popping up everywhere. The Bud stores were to offer Wal-Mart products at discount prices. The Bud stores ended up offering damaged and obsolete products that even Wal-Mart customers refused to buy. This concept lost money and Wal-Mart closed the Bud Discount stores in 1997. Even Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, could not make this concept work.

Here is the bottom line. Closing a business is as much of one of the functions of management as planning organizing and getting the company off of the ground. At some point a person must draw the line. I once heard a businessman state that he had allowed five years for his small business to become profitable. He has a lot more patience and money than I have. A small business cannot afford that kind of luxury. Not long ago, I was speaking to another businessman who told me that his company had lost money from the day that it opened its doors. That was a period of four years. I ask him why he continued to lose money each month for the last four years. He stated that that was how long his lease lasted and he was remaining open in order to minimize his losses. Any money that he made went toward paying the monthly lease payments. What a great deal that was for the person who leased the property to him. No matter how tempting, never enter any business agreement that does not leave you a way out!

* * *

Chapter 35

Why Didn't That Kite Electrocute Ben Franklin?

An Account of the Kite Experiment

From Carl Van Doren's "Benjamin Franklin," ©1938 by Carl Van Doren

Before that, he had thought of another way of proving his theory, and, with the help of his electrical kite, had drawn lightning from a cloud. The episode of the kite, so firm and fixed in legend, turns out to be dim and mystifying in fact. Franklin himself never wrote the story of the most dramatic of his experiments. All that is known about what he did on that famous day, of no known date, comes from Joseph Priestley's account, published fifteen years afterwards but read in manuscript by Franklin, who must have given Priestley the precise, familiar details.

"As every circumstance relating to so capital a discovery (the greatest, perhaps, since the time of Sir Isaac Newton) cannot but give pleasure to all my readers, I shall Endeavour to gratify them with the communication of a few particulars which I have from the best authority.

"The Doctor, having published his method of verifying his hypothesis concerning the sameness of electricity with the matter of lightning, was waiting for the erection of a spire [on Christ Church] in Philadelphia to carry his views into execution; not imagining that a pointed rod of a moderate height could answer the purpose; when it occurred to him that by means of a common kite he could have better access to the regions of thunder than by any spire whatever. Preparing, therefore, a large silk handkerchief and two cross-sticks of a proper length on which to extend it, he took the opportunity of the first approaching thunderstorm to take a walk in the fields, in which there was a shed convenient for his purpose. But, dreading the ridicule which too commonly attends unsuccessful attempts in science, he communicated his intended experiment to nobody but his son — then twenty-one, not a child as in the traditional illustrations of the scene — who assisted him in raising the kite.

"The kite being raised, a considerable time elapsed before there was any appearance of its being electrified. One very promising cloud had passed over it without any effect; when, at length, just as he was beginning to despair of his contrivance, he observed some loose threads of the hempen string to stand erect, and to avoid one another, just as if they had been suspended on a common conductor. Struck with this promising appearance, he immediately presented his knuckle to the key, and (let the reader judge of the exquisite pleasure he must have felt at that moment) the discovery was complete. He perceived a very evident electric spark. Others succeeded, even before the string was wet, so as to put the matter past all dispute, and when the rain had wet the string he collected electric fire very copiously. This happened in June 1752, a month after the electricians in France had verified the same theory, but before he heard of anything they had done."

Let's suppose that you came home tonight, sat in your Lazy Boy recliner and, with remote in hand, turned on the television for the six o'clock news. The lead story was about this weird guy from across town who was electrocuted by lightening in the middle of a thunderstorm. He was flying a kit with a wire attached to the top. "What a nut!" you would say. "That fellow deserved what he got. Anybody with any sense knows that you should not do that!" If that kite story is true, I would say that old Ben was indeed a lucky fellow.

Let us analyze the story above. Here is what happened:

1. Ben had a hypothesis.

2. He could not wait for a spire or long rod.

3. He hid because he dreaded ridicule.

4. He was afraid of an unsuccessful attempt.

5. Ben told nobody but his son.

6. The experiment failed at first.

7. Ben was beginning to despair.

8. He witnessed the hemp string stand erect.

9. He pressed his knuckle to the string.

10. He had a shocking experience.

11. He saw a spark.

12. His discovery was complete.

13. He found out, after risking his life, that someone else had already discovered and proven this a month before he proved it.

That is the way it goes. You go through all the research. You jump through all of the hoops. You spend all of your money. You get your suspenders shocked off, only to find out that somebody else beat you to the punch! That's life. That's business. What happened next? Was Franklin discouraged? Who knows? What we do know is old Ben experimented with lightening rods, attaching them to his house and other buildings. Each time a thunderstorm went through town sparks would fly from his experiments and bells would ring at the Franklin house. Ben took this lightening and electricity thing and continued to perfect it.

"Franklin wrote in a letter that: "I feel a Want of Terms here and doubt much whether I shall be able to make this intelligible." Not only did Franklin have to posit theories, he also had to create a new language to fit them. Some of the electrical terms which Franklin coined during his experiments include:

•battery

•charge

•condenser

•conductor

•plus

•minus

•positively

•negatively

•armature

They are still the terms we use today."

(Again From Carl Van Doren's "Benjamin Franklin," ©1938 by Carl Van Doren)

That is the way entrepreneurs work. They have an idea. They cause others to raise their eyebrows when they glance in the direction of the entrepreneur. They go through the highs and the lows. Just like the cave man, they keep killing something for the supper table. They are persistent. Even Mrs. Ben Franklin was beginning to have her patience worn thin. It is said that Ben's wife got so aggravated at the lightening experiments that she asked him how she could disconnect them when he was away from home.

For the entrepreneur, it is the thrill of the hunt as much as the final victory. The entrepreneur visualizes in his mind how the finished product will look, how it will work and how it will affect others. The entrepreneur is a visionary. The entrepreneur is an eternal optimist. When Sharon and I were building the OccuDent program, staying up late at night writing contracts, meeting payroll, and brainstorming for ideas, a friend of mind said that "this is the fun part." I think that he was right.

* * *

Chapter 36

Ed McMahan Ain't Coming

"There is no such thing as a free lunch!" I have heard that expression since I was small. Well, contrary to that statement, I have had quite a few free lunches over the years, but I do not recall any that did not cost me something in the long run. In fact, I don't recall getting anything for free that did not cost me later in some way.

Dave Ramsey, the Nashville-based radio talk show host, uses the expression "Ed McMahan Ain't Coming!" For the ones of you that don't know, here is a little history. Edward "Ed" Leo Peter McMahon, Jr. was an American TV personality and comedian. Ed was a television game show host, and Johnny Carson's announcer on the Tonight show. In the 50's and 60's Ed had teamed with Johnny on his long running TV show, "Who Do You Trust". Ed later became well-known as the presenter of American Family Publishing sweepstakes. While with American Family Publishing, Ed would show up on the winner's doorstep and make them an instant millionaire.

Some folks seem to wait for that free ride hoping that Ed McMahan will show up on their door step and their worries will be over. "Things will work out," they think. "My ship will come in. Maybe I will win the lottery. Maybe somebody will die and leave me a big inheritance. Someday, I will be at the right place at the right time. One of Alabama's most famous natives (at least in the movies) is Forest Gump. Forest's mother always told him, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get." Since a person does not know what he is going to get when left to chance, I had rather determine what I am going to get. You do this by using your head, planning your future, educating yourself, saving your money and strategically planning your direction in life. Some expect Ed McMahan to walk up to their front door with a box full of money and hand it to them. To paraphrase Dave Ramsey, "It ain't going to happen!"

To use one of Zig Ziglar's favorite lines, "We are going to spend from now on in the future so it had better be important to us." Past performance is always indicative of future results. We have all heard the Biblical parable of the seed and the sower. We have to sew our seeds in the right place if we expect a good harvest. You will shape the future of yourself, your business or organization with the decisions that you make today. This is done through four avenues: by developing honor, respect, commitment and loyalty to others and to yourself.

Steps to take when planning your future as an entrepreneur:

• Always do what your heart tells you to do. You have to love it! It is imperative as an entrepreneur that you are doing what you really want to do in life. Take a serious look at your skills and interests, about what you enjoy, what you are good at, what kind of personality you are, and the values you hold dear. Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Make a list of your favorite things to do. Evaluate your choices.

• Compare your skills and interests with the business opportunities that are out there. Does that business or industry match your skills, interests, and personality? Ask yourself if you are passionate about this venture. If not, forget it. It will never work.

• Research different businesses and the skills needed to compete in each of them. Find out more about the nature of the business that interests you, such as educational requirements, earnings potential, working conditions, future outlook, and anything else that can help you narrow your focus.

• Develop a plan. You need to draw a map of where you are today and where you want to be in the future. Figure out how to get from here to there. Think about what you want to do and find out more about the kind of training, education, and skills you will need to achieve that goal.

• Establish your business goals. Once you've decided what business matches up best with you, then you can begin developing a business plan to reach your goals. Evaluate your goals to see if they are realistic and attainable.

• If the goal above is not attainable, have a back up plan.

• Find a school, internship, or training program that best meets your goal and financial needs.

• Always be sure to check out your competition. Who are they? Where are they located? Can you compete and survive in the marketplace? Colin Powell's advice pertaining to competition is to "Get inside your competitor's decision cycle." Know what they are doing, how they are doing it and what their results are likely to be. Then you need to do it better!

• Find out how much money you will need to start your venture. Be very careful to devote a lot of time to this. Add all your cost together and estimate everything that you could ever possibly need. When you get that figure add at least 25% more. It is better to over-estimate rather than under-estimate.

• Develop a detailed budget. Determine how much ongoing money you will have to have for the business to survive day in and day out. Also, you need to determine how much money you will have to have personally to survive.

• Start saving your money.

Steps to Take When Researching an Industry

• What is the size of the industry?

• What is the forecast growth of the industry?

• Is the industry in the competitive or retentive stage?

• Is the industry likely to be adversely affected by technological changes?

• What are the industry's distribution channels?

• Who would your competitors be in the industry?

• Are there any unusual trends or growth patterns in the industry?

• Will your company be marketable within the industry when it comes time to sell?

• What are the key success factors within the industry?

Competitive Analysis

Sometimes it is difficult to take an honest look at your own creation or idea. This is your baby! I love it, so everyone else will love it. Well, that is not necessarily true. Maybe you love football and know more about it that anyone else in the world. You are convinced that you could write the best book ever written about the game, and maybe you could do exactly that. Does that mean that the book will be a best seller considering that you never played football a day in your life? You are probably wasting your time. You will end up selling a few to your family members and some of your closest friends and that is it! The rest you will try to sell at flea markets before you finally donate them to the recycling center. You have to honestly appraise the potential of your idea and the appeal that it will have to others.

As a starter, compare your product or idea to others on the market. Compare your credentials to those of your competitors. You might have invented the best mousetrap, but if you cannot market the product, you have wasted your time. Will the price of your product be competitive, or will it cost twice as much as similar products on the market? Can you properly protect the rights to your product, or is it likely to be copied by others? Has someone else already patented your idea? If you are challenged in court pertaining to the rights of your product, do you have the money it takes to defend it? Even if you are right, you still must have the resources to prove that you are right. Evaluate your idea, then step back after some time has passed and reevaluate it again. If the idea still looks good to you, then you should consult the experts. See what they say about your product. Visit your local Chamber of Commerce. See if they can align you with a business that is willing to be your mentor. You should check on business incubator programs. As your idea develops and grows, you may need a strong partner that has the finances and influence to help you. These type programs may also be helpful in actually getting your product to market. The National Business Incubation Association may be contacted at 20 East Circle Drive, Suite 190, Athens , Ohio 45701.

How strong are your competitors? How ruthless are your competitors? Are they likely to squeeze you out of the marketplace? Do you have a customer base? How true will your customers be to you? How will you distribute your product? How will you market and advertise your product? Can your competitors exert enough influence on your suppliers to force you out of business? Let's face it. When it comes to business and money, make no mistake about it, this is war!

* * *

Chapter 37

Executive Development

During my undergraduate education, I majored in Industrial Management. I lacked a couple of courses having a double major, the second being Business Administration. An Industrial Management major entailed detail studies of manufacturing processes, risk management, personnel management and logistics management. This prepared us, the students, for a specialized entry into corporate America. Industrial Management majors were molded to be the folks with long-term industrial planning and operational skills. They were the ones who were to help to plan and manage future corporation production goals and strategies. This meant that those with a Bachelor of Science degree and a major in IM had to have a keen sense of business, along with a great understanding of economics and finance.

One of the most memorable classes that I took while pursuing my BS degree, was a class called Executive Development. This class made me conscious of many things that I had never thought about before. Over the years, I have used many of the things that I learned in that class. In retrospect, practical application is a good measure of the effectiveness of particular class.

At the time, I was not particularly crazy about the class. We were required to brush our teeth, comb our hair and wear a tie to class each day. For twenty one year old college students, that alone did not make the class very appealing. I guess, however, for the first time in my life, I actually learned how to tie a necktie. I also began to learn the characteristics and traits that were expected from managers in an industrial and business setting. We also were introduced to many things that were to mold us into executive type characters. We learned about speech patterns, power words, weak words, speech phraseology, proper grooming, fashionable attire for the executive, social nuances and many other things that actually came in very handy later in my life as an entrepreneur.

Poor speech habits were addressed in that Executive Development class. Unless you intend to use sign language, there are not many things more important that being able to properly communicate. Diane DiResta is the author of the public-speaking best-seller, Knockout Presentaions: How to Deliver Your Message With Power, Punch and Pizzazz. She also is the President of DiResta Communications, Inc., a New York speech coaching and training company. Here are some interesting things that she says about sloppy speech habits.

Six Sloppy Speech Habits

by Diane Diresta

Monster Contributing Writer

Here are six common language mistakes and how to keep them from sabotaging your future:

1. Non-words: Filler words such as "um," "ah," "you know," "OK" or "like" tell the interviewer you're not prepared and make you sound like a Valley Girl (or Boy). A better strategy is to think before you speak, taking pauses and breaths when you lose your train of thought. Everybody utters an occasional "um," but don't let it start every sentence.

2. "Up-Talk": A singsong or rising inflection at the end of every sentence creates a tentative impression and makes it sound as though you're asking a question instead of making a definitive statement. You need to speak with conviction when selling yourself. Bring your intonation down when ending a sentence to avoid talking up.

3. Grammatical Errors: The interviewer may question your education when you use incorrect grammar or slang. Expressions such as "ain't" "she don't," "me and my friend" and "so I goes to him" aren't appropriate. Be sure you speak in complete sentences and that tenses agree. The interview is not the venue for regional expressions or informality.

4. Sloppy Speech: Slurring words together or dropping their endings impairs the clarity of your message. To avoid slurring and increase understanding, speak slowly during an interview. Make a list of commonly mispronounced words, and practice saying them into a tape recorder before the interview. Some common incorrect pronunciations include "aks" for "ask," "ath a lete" for "athlete," "wif" for "with" and "free" for "three."

5. Speed Talking: While everybody is a bit anxious during an interview, you don't want your information to fly by like a speeding bullet. A rapid speaking rate is difficult to follow, and speed talkers are seen as nervous. Slow down your racing heart by doing some breathing exercises before the interview. To avoid rushing, listen to the question, and then count two beats in your head before answering. When you finish a sentence, count two beats again before continuing. Don't be afraid of silence. Pausing is an effective communication technique. The listener needs a few seconds to process what you just said anyway.

6. Weak Speak: Wimpy words modify or water down your conviction and in the end your position. When you pepper a conversation with "hopefully," "perhaps," "I feel," "kind of" and "sort of," the message you convey is a lack of confidence. Use power words such as "I'm confident that," "my track record shows," "I take the position that," "I recommend" or "my goal is." The language you use gives the listener an impression about your level of confidence and conviction.

The Bottom Line is this:

You don't have to study elocution to speak well. Simply slow down, take time to pronounce all the syllables, and leave slang at home.

According to Lori Zelman, vice president of human resources at Strategic Workforce Solutions in New York City, "The people most highly sought after are the ones who are succinct in the explanation of their work experience."

Opinions are formed about a person within the first thirty seconds of meeting that person. The biggest factors that helps form that opinion are speech patterns and communication skills.

There are power words, and there a words of desperation and weakness. What would your impression be if a person tells you that they are not a "morning person?" That is a terrible expression that a person should never, never use. That expression implies the following: (1) laziness (2) slow starter (3) a stagnant person until mid-day (4) sleepiness (5) unapproachable until lunch (6) non-aggressive. Would you hire a person who fits that description? You probably would not hire them if you had other viable options. Would you like to be described by the six factors above? I certainly hope not.

There are other expressions of desperation that should never be used. Here are a few of them: (1) Oh my (2) My goodness (3) Goodness gracious (4) I feel (5) I guess (6) sort of (7) I think. (8) It's just a thought (9) Kind of (10) I'm only a beginner (11) This is just my idea (12) Hopefully (13) Here is a suggestion. (14) Oh boy. As an entrepreneur, you should never be viewed as weak, desperate and ineffective. You should always be in a position of power and strength.

Be careful not to fall into a pattern of using nonsensical words and expressions. These would be expressions and words that mean absolutely nothing or are over used in day today conversation. "I always give 110%" is one of them. Come on! This is used over and over by everyone from Jack Parr to the Jackass Show. It has become a very boring expression. I know, and you know, that it is impossible to give 110%. Another overused expression is a "ton of." I have a "ton of" ideas. I have a ton of books at home. Unless you have a really big house, you do not have a ton of books. In our hometown, there is a newscaster on one of our local network affiliates that uses this expression constantly. This guy is supposed to be a professional, yet, he uses this phrase over and over every day that he is on the air. Why doesn't someone at the station pull him aside and tell him about it? I tried sending an anonymous e-mail but that did not work. Another of these nonsensical expressions would be "dog gone it". Now, what exactly does that mean? "Dad gum it" is another one... Do you remember Roy Rogers' side kick Gabby Hayes? Gabby used the expression "Dad Nabit!" When Gabby used that term, Roy always knew that it was time to get on Trigger and give Gabby plenty of room. Once upon a time, I knew a business man that would say "Looky, Looky" every time that he had a good idea or got excited. When he would say that, I always looked at him and he looked back. I guess that is what he wanted me to do. There are many of these expressions. "Stuff" is another term that is over used. I have lots of "stuff". You have lots of "stuff." All God's chill'en have lots of "stuff." This book is full of good "stuff." These words are actually meaningless, add nothing to the conversation, and seriously distracts from one's presentation.

Here's another short story:

In August, 1972, without my knowledge, I was suddenly appointed assistant principal at S.R Butler High School in Huntsville, Alabama. The school was quite an education factory, with numerous department heads, well-credentialed faculty, and a curriculum that would make most colleges and universities envious. At that time, Butler High School was the largest school in Alabama with over 3,100 students, 170 teachers, 70 support personnel and five administrators. I was now one of those five administrators. Most secondary school administrators were not even considered for those positions until at least late middle age. At age 28, here I sat, the youngest assistant principal ever appointed in a high school in Huntsville. Naturally, I was a little intimidated by the age, experience and wisdom of my fellow administrators. In the first meeting of the administrative team, I was asked a direct question by the High Chief, the principal. Everyone leaned forward in their chairs and waited for my response. "Let's see what the new kid has to bring to the table," they were thinking. I responded by saying, "To be perfectly honest with you..." and I was stopped in mid sentence by the principal. He replied, "Mr. Steelman, am I to interpret that to mean that you will not always be honest with us?" (To have been perfectly honest, and knowing now what I did not know then, I should have said, "Yes"). I have always felt that was an untimely, embarrassing and a rude interjection on his part, but he proved his point. I never used that expression again.... I also learned never to be a pompous ass in my supervision of others.

Now, let's talk about profanity...Profanity has no business in the work place. For you "cussers" out there, I hate to burst your bubble! The nasty talking has to stop. I once heard a businessman say that he uses profanity for emphasis and expression. He had a mouth like an over flowing septic tank. I don't know how he could kiss his Momma with a mouth that filthy! Many people were offended by his cursing, and it sure did not help his business. You may remember in the book and movie, A Christmas Story, Ralphie's mother had him sit with a bar of soap in his mouth for uttering a nasty word. That is really not a bad idea. I would vote for that today! Even when you are on the golf course with the good old boys, profanity is not a becoming trait. They may be laughing at you not with you.

Here are some good books to read:

• "How to Say It for Executives: The Complete Guide to Communication for Leaders" by Phyllis Mindell. Prentice-Hall, 2005

• Word Smart for Business: Cultivating a Six-Figure Vocabulary by Paul Westbrook - 1997 - 356 pages

• What to Say to Get What You Want by Samuel D. Deep, Lyle Sussman - 1991

Wimpy Words Power Words

I Feel I Know

I believe I'm Confident

If When, By

Suggest Recommend

It is sort of It is

Might Will, Definitely

Problem Challenge

Worried Concerned

Share Discuss

Here is some input from Media Coach TJ Walker. Mr. Walker is the media columnist for Investor Relations Magazine. He began media training in 1984 and he now publishes the Media Training Worldwide in an on-line magazine at www.irmag.com. That is where this information below originally appeared. Check out his information also at http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com.

You can wear the perfect suit, have great posture, and put on a winning smile, but you'll still make a lousy impression to your speaking and media audiences if you use wimpy words and phrases. The following are words that get speakers into trouble:

"It seems to me..." (obviously, it seems that way to you, you are the one talking!)

"I believe..." (again, we can see it is you)

"I think..." (see above)

"A bit" (exactly how much is that?)

"Like" (unless you really do like someone)

"You know?" (no, I don't know)

"You know what I mean?" (if you have to ask, then you weren't too articulate, were you?)

"You see?" (see what?)

"More or less" (so, which is it?)

"Really" (You Really need a new intensifier if this is all you can come up with!)

"Hopefully" (better to say, "I want this to happen.")

"Pretty" (unless you are talking about someone who is good looking)

"Perhaps" (or perhaps not)

"Sort of" (sort of what?)

"Kind of" (this isn't to kind)

"Maybe" (or maybe not)

"Fairly" (it's not fair)

"Reasonably" (you don't have reason)

"Quite" (speak loud)

"So" (so what)

"Rather" (I'd rather you not use this)

"Somewhat" (somewhat of what?)

"To some extent" (what to what extent?)

"To a certain extent" (same as above

"To be perfectly honest" (Are you not always honest?))

Here are some communication mannerisms that breakdown communications.

• The "Nose to Nose" talkers. - For some reason, these people want to stand right in your face. If you move, then, they move. If you step back, they will step closer. You begin to think that you are dancing the two step. You begin to feel like a teenage Eskimo in an igloo after prom night. You keep asking yourself if this guy is really going to rub noses with you? You probably lost the conversation somewhere after his first aggressive move in your direction.

• The "Touchy Touchies." - These people want to constantly touch you. They reach out and touch your arm, take you by the elbow, put their arm around you or put their hand on your shoulder. You keep expecting them to rub you on the head like Andy would do to Opie in Mayberry!

• The "Hold On' ers." - If you shake hands with them, they will not let go. They hold on, and hold on, and hold on. You look around to see if anyone is watching. You tell him that you are not that kind of guy, but he still holds on.

• The "Hand Squeezers." - If you shake hands with them, then the contest is started. They will squeeze your hand until you yell "uncle". It is only when you get off of your knees and back on your feet that you can continue the conversation.

• The "Cheese Eaters." - You can smell these people before they even get across the room. Last night's dinner at the El Coyote is still with them. If they have had a consecutive trip to Charlie Chan's Chinese Chow, you are in for a double whammy! You turn your head to gasp for breath, and they turn with you. Everyone within fifteen feet of them knows to go the other way. This odor is reeking from the pores of their skin. Everyone knows that unless you have brought your gas mask along, you never to engage these people in a conversation. As your face turns blue from the lack of oxygen, he asks if you are feeling well. I once knew an insurance agent that ate a raw onion almost every day for lunch. After lunch, a person could not get within ten feet of him. How does a person sell insurance like that? You must use a little common sense and show courtesy to your fellow workers and customers. There are some sacrifices that a person must make if they want to be successful.

• The "Starers." - Eye contact is a great thing, and I vote for it, but too much eye to eye distracts from the conversation. It seems to be a contest to see who will blink first. You forget about what is being said because you now are determined not to give in to this guy. You will never blink first no matter what happens.

• The "Eye Blinkers." - As the conversation builds, their eyes are blinking faster and faster. You start trying to count the blinks. It must be catchy because now you are conscious of your own blinks. He blinks faster and you blink faster. The conversation has been dropped. You are now in a blinking contest!

• The "Head Nodders." - Up and down it goes. Up and down it goes. This person is always in agreement with you. "Are you for world wide nuclear war?" you ask. He nods in agreement.

• The "Concerned Conversationalist." - This person begins the conversation with a wrinkled brow, denoting concern for you. Throughout the conversation, that same concerned brow is looking right at you. They are concerned about you personally. They are concerned about you professionally. They are concerned about the future of the company. They are concerned about global warming and that leisure suits might come back in style. They are concerned about that thing on Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov's head. They are concerned about every aspect of the conversation.

• The "Spirtualists." - These people are so heavenly bound, that they are no earthly good. Every aspect of the conversation relates to spirituality. They begin by calling you "brother" (or sister). Then they "amen" every thought that you have or word that you say. "Halleluiah Brother" is repeated several times to display his approval of your words of wisdom. The conversation eventually ends with a quote from scripture, an invitation to Sunday school class, and a request for a donation to his evangelistic missionary trip to Bango Tango Bango.

• The "Body Squeezers". I don't know where this new hugging thing came from, but I have an idea that it came from the World Class Championship Wrestling. There are those that are going to hug you no matter what. They hug you when they meet you. They hug you when they leave you. During the conversation, you can expect to get the beef squeezed at least every couple of minutes. It reminds me of the killer bear hug that Tojo Yamamoto used on the Fargo brothers back in the sixties.

• The "Whisperers." These people speak in low volume. You strain to listen. You want to turn up the volume on your hearing aid. "What did he say?" you ask yourself. Did he say, "Which way to the tea room" or "which way to the pee room?" A mistake here could be bad.

• The "Low Cutters." - The last time that you saw anything this good you were 13 years old and it was hidden under your mattress! You try to keep eye contact but how can you pass this up? She looks away and you look down. She turns quickly and you look at the ceiling. This game is continued until she is gone and you don't remember anything that was said.

• The "Know-it-All-ers." - Ask them any question and get ready for a dissertation. You might as well get a chair and sit down. You are in for a wait. These people dominate every conversation by being sure that you know that they are smarter than you. In fact, they are smarter than everyone. Bring up any subject, and they know all about it. This conversation is not a conversation at all. It is a lecture. You try to butt in, but to no avail. You try to leave, but they have not impressed you enough. They grab your arm and pull you back. There is no way to escape except to fake cardiac arrest. Since they know all about it, they will try to give you mouth to mouth resuscitation.

• The "Finishers." - This is quite a game. You start the sentence and they finish it. This would make a great television game show. These people never let you finish a complete sentence. You start the sentence, they finish it and, then, you counter. This goes on over and over until you both become dizzy and walk away.

• The "Swayers." These people rock from one foot to the other and backback and forthback and forth. They do this over and over and over. You feel like you are watching a tennis match. You finally get dizzy and have to sit down. You ask yourself, "What did he say?"

• The "Dumb Downers." - These are the folks who actually have a vast amount of talent and knowledge about most things but suddenly become very stupid around others whom they feel may be superior. They suddenly become very dumb. They sit at the feet of those who know nothing and ask stupid questions to which they already know the answer. This makes the one answering the question feel very bright and important, but is very annoying to a third party who is a witness to this conversation.

• The "Butt-in-Skees." - The Butt-in-Skees ask you a question and as you begin to answer...they butt in. Half way through every one of your sentences here they come with their own comments. You can never finish a statement on your own. They butt in, and butt in, and butt in! "What's the weather forecast?" they ask. You answer, "I hear it's forecast to be.." .. "Looks like rain if you ask me," they blurt. And this goes on and on until you fake them off by reciting the preamble to the Constitution. They never even notice!

• The "Doomsdayers" - Conversations with these folks is a real downer. According to them the world is coming to an end; the President is destroying the country; we are being poisoned by the water that we drink; socialism is being crammed down our throats; and it's all a planned conspiracy. No matter what subject you try to discuss it all gets back to the next war and it's going to be fought in our backyard! They are building underground pantries and stocking them with canned food and bottled water (which they bottled themselves). They don't trust anyone. They are keeping there powder dry!

• The "Questionables" - These people end every sentence with a question. "It's a nice day..Isn't it?" ... It's going to rain..don't you think?" ... "It's a long way over there isn't it?" ... "Business is tough..don't you agree?" ... Every word of communication requires a response from you. The listener is constantly nodding yes; saying yes; signaling yes! These people seem to lack confidence in themselves and in their communication. They are constantly asking for your approval and agreement with every statement.

Each of us has to be conscious of habits and speech patterns. We have to be careful not to get into conversational patterns and a frame of mind that paints us as constantly pessimistic.. or overly optimistic. Do you know anyone that is always sad or overly happy? Ask them how they feel and they respond, "Super!"... "Great" ... "Better than I deserve!" After a while those answers begin to get old. No one is always that happy. Mr. Peavey, the local druggist and "Jolly Boy" Barber-shop quartet member in the old Great Gildersleeves radio show, had an expression that he always used. A person could make any statement to Mr. Peavey and he would always answer, "I wouldn't say that." Mr. Peavey had developed a speech habit that was predictable and known well by everyone. That is so easy for each of us to do. Avoid repeating words like: obviously, absolutely, certainly, for sure, etc.

Business Attire:

Another thing that we discussed in that Executive Development class, was appropriate business attire. In this regard, things have certainly changed a lot over the years. Corporate apparel has become much more casual than it was a few years ago. At Bama Jammer we have taken advantage of this and marketed identity apparel to companies of all sizes. Today, it is easy to identify the bankers and lawyers. They are the only ones still wearing suits and ties. Here are a few tips from the Career Center at Florida State University. The following guidelines were written in January, 2005 by Myrna Hoover.

Dress to Impress: Secrets of Proper Attire

Clothes and manners do not make the man, but, when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance. -Henry Ward Beecher

I. The Importance of Proper Attire

Making the best possible impression is paramount when seeking employment. Even though we would like to think that our skills and abilities get us the job - appearance does count. First impressions are made within the first 5 minutes of meeting someone. Either you make a good impression or you suffer the consequences. NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) surveyed 457 employers who recruit new college graduates and an overwhelming 92 percent stated, "A candidate's overall appearance influences their opinion about the candidate." In other words, when meeting potential employers, if you want the job, dress appropriately.

II. Learn the Employer's Dress Style

Looking the part promises you a good first impression. Knowing what's expected takes a little research, a shopping trip, and a full-length mirror!

1.Research the culture of the employer. A more conservative employer, e.g. accounting, finance, law, etc., will require more conservative dress. A more creative employer, e.g. retail, advertising, etc., offers more flexibility in dress.

2.Look at the brochures, web sites, and employees of the organization to guide your dress style. What style of clothes are being worn by the people who work there? What image are they projecting with their clothing?

3.Trust your instinct when picking your interview attire. If you have to ask the question, "Can I wear this?" the answer should always be "no."

4.Err on the conservative side when in doubt about what to wear.

5.Avoid extremes: heels too high, skirts too short, or blouses too low cut.

6.Ask experts at a high end clothing store about the fit of your suit. You don't want it too loose or too tight.

7.Purchase a good quality suit. It is better to buy only one "good" suit than several inexpensive suits.

8.Always try on your entire outfit prior to the interview day, looking for any flaws or weaknesses in your appearance. Don't forget to look at the back of your outfit, making sure you have a polished look coming and going.

III. Business Attire

What is business attire? It is the written or unwritten dress code of an organization. Business attire suggests a formal, conservative dress style. It is what is expected when interviewing with an employer unless stated otherwise. Attention to detail, impeccable grooming, and a well-fitted suit are a must to make a lasting good impression.

A. Men's Interview Attire - Back to the Basics!

The Suit:

•Choose suits neutral in color - charcoal, navy, or gray. Black suits while in style are less appropriate for an interview.

•The pant leg should touch the front of the shoe and fall just above the heel in the back.

•Pants can either have cuffs or not.

•The fabric of the suit should be gabardine or wool. Blended material is acceptable but avoid cotton blends as they wrinkle.

•The suit jacket should be buttoned while standing and unbuttoned to sit. Do not button the bottom button of a three or two-piece suit.

•Avoid suits with double-breasted jackets.

The Dress Shirt:

•Choose shirts in white, ecru, or light blue.

•If possible, have your shirt professionally laundered.

•Always wear a long sleeve shirt.

•Pointed collars give a more professional image than button down collars, yet both are acceptable.

•Avoid shirts with insignias on them.

•The shirt's sleeve should extend beyond the suit jacket sleeves by 1/2 inch.

•Always wear an undershirt (avoid v necks) as they give the appearance of a finished look.

The Tie:

•Wear a conservative tie with subtle patterns or solid colors.

•Ties should be of good quality and made of 100% silk.

•Always wear a tie that is darker than your shirt.

•Tie your tie to fall in the middle of your belt.

Socks, Shoes and Belt:

•Wing tips or lace up conservative shoes are the most appropriate. Loafers should be used for business casual.

•Choose black, brown or burgundy shoes. Shoe color should match your suit or be of a darker color.

•Shoes should be in good condition and polished.

•Socks should match the color of your suit and cover your calves.

•Belts should be in good condition and match the color of your shoes.

Accessories:

•Men should limit accessories/jewelry to 3 pieces.

•Accessories include watch, ring, handkerchief, lapel pins, cuff links, and tie tacks. A dress watch should be worn, avoid athletic styles.

•Avoid bracelets, necklaces, and visible piercings.

Grooming:

•Facial hair should be neatly trimmed (moustache, sideburns), beards are not recommended for an interview.

•Hair should be neat and conservative, not touching the collar of your shirt.

•Heavy cologne should be avoided. Soap and antiperspirant will allow the interviewer to remember you not your scent.

•Nails should be clean and manicured.

B. Women's Interview Attire - Fit in, don't stand out!

The Suit:

•Choose a classic suit avoiding trendy suit styles.

•For a conservative organization, a skirt suit is still considered the appropriate interview attire. A pantsuit while acceptable for some organizations is still considered less formal.

•Hemlines should be knee length or longer. Miniskirts are not only inappropriate they scream, "do not take me serious!"

•Choose wool, gabardine or rayon fabric.

•Color does not have to be limited to dark colors but remember the rule - if you have to ask yourself "Can I?" then don't.

•Make sure the suit flatters your figure and is a good fit, not too tight or too loose.

•Jacket sleeves should fall 1/2 inch below your wrist.

The Blouse:

•Blouses should be updated, but neither low cut nor revealing.

•Do not wear a camisole or see through blouse.

Shoes and Hose:

•Shoes should be pumps or sling backs, do not wear shoes with open toes, open heel, or ankle straps.

•Shoes should be of good quality leather.

•Shoe color should be darker than your suit.

•Heels should be 1-2 inches; higher heels should be saved for after hours.

•Hosiery should be worn with a skirt to match your skin tone or suit.

•Skin colored hose should always be worn with short sleeve suits to create a balanced look.

Accessories:

•Jewelry should be keep minimal and conservative. Remove all facial piercing except earrings.

•Follow one of the following rules when accessorizing for an interview.

1.The 5 Piece Rule: Wear only 5 accessories - earrings count as 2; watch counts as 3, allowing 2 additional accessories, or

2.The 13 Piece rule: Wear only 13 accessories remembering to count each button on your suit front and sleeves as individual pieces.

Regardless which rule you follow, the meaning is clear, do not over accessorize.

Make-up and Grooming:

•Makeup should be natural looking, better toned down than so loud that they remember your eye shadow but not you.

•Nails should be clean and manicured, avoid overly long fingernails and nail art.

•Nail polish and lip color should not be too trendy or bright.

•Hair should be clean, neat in appearance.

•Perfume should be applied very lightly if at all. A good soap and antiperspirant will allow the interviewer to remember you not your scent.

IV. Business Casual

Business casual is an oxymoron! Dress code policies have been changing for the last decade. Dressing more casually is meant to make life easier, but confusion over appropriate attire has caused many employers to adopt some type of business casual standard. Whether it is casual Fridays, shirts with the organization logo, or a guide for acceptable dress, the casual dress code for employees are becoming more defined. However, candidates seeking employment with an organization may be instructed to wear "business casual" to a particular event of the interview process without receiving any guidelines for which to follow. So what is acceptable business casual?

A. Women - Acceptable Attire:

•Pantsuits are a wise choice for a business casual event, e.g., information session, tour of facility, etc.

•A classic sheath paired with a cardigan or a blazer in the same fabric and color is a good choice.

•Crisp, cotton shirts in white, chambray and chartreuse added to dress pants, khakis, or skirts make a casual outfit.

•Cardigan twin sets are also an easy way to present a more casual look while still looking professional.

•Jewelry, scarves and other accessories will add a polished finish to an outfit. Remember though, "less is more."

•Shoes should still be well made and close-toed - no extremes. Flats are appropriate.

•Hose are not essential for business casual, but recommended for shorter skirts.

•Knee highs or trouser socks are suggested with pants.

B. Men - Acceptable Attire:

•A sports coat creates a pulled together look in a business casual environment and eliminates the need for a tie. Pair up the sports coat with khakis or dark pants.

•Traditional dress slacks, khakis, Dockers, corduroys, wool flannel and linen slacks are appropriate with or without a blazer. Be sure to press them beforehand.

•Casual button-down oxford shirts are a great alternative to dress shirts, with or without a tie. Choose basic white, chambray or pinstripe.

•Oxfords and loafers in brown or black are a good match for khakis or corduroys.

C. Unacceptable Attire:

•Jeans or denim pants, shorts

•Leggings/stretch/stirrup/sweat pants, spandex or other form fitting pants

•Athletic shoes, hiking boots, sandals or flip flops

•Flannel shirts or T-shirts

•Hats/caps

V. Putting it All Together

Regardless of the occasion, dressing appropriately is one of the easiest ways to impress the potential employer. It may not guarantee you a job, but it will prevent you from possibly losing one.

Additional Resources

Bixler, Susan and Nix-Rice, Nancy. The New Professional Image: From Business Casual to the Ultimate Power Look. 1999.

Molloy, John T. New Woman's Dress for Success Book. New York, New York: Warner Books, 2002.

Molloy, John T. New Dress for Success Book. New York, New York: Warner Books, 2002.

Sample Web Sites

Business Attire

http://www.cba.uni.edu/buscomm/

http://www.business.missouri.edu/Career+Services/Resources/Dress+&+Etiquette/What+is+Business+Casual/default.aspx

Casual Attire

http://www.cba.uni.edu/buscomm/

http://ecglink.com/newsletter/casual.shtml

http://businesscasualdress.com/illustrations.htm

Okay. It looks like flip flops with your black suit are out! Now that you know how to dress properly, let's move along to a real dangerous subject. What do you do in a business setting when liquor is involved? This is certain to happen, so, you had better get your game plan ready. If you are not personally opposed to consumption of liquor, then moderation in a business setting is appropriate. You must understand that there is a big difference in moderation and, as Barney Fife in Mayberry would say, "Getting completely snookered!" Lots of business deals have been settled over a margarita, and lots have been lost over too many margaritas. Probably, none have been lost over not having any margaritas.

* * *

Chapter 38

In 2008, I took a nap...

When I woke up my whole world had changed

I took a nap in 2008, when I woke up, the sky was falling! People were running about wringing their hands, lamenting and wailing! There was talk of falling production throughout the world. Multi-billion dollar bailouts with taxpayer money were common place, and had a close resemblance to corporate-induced extortion. White collar greed saw top executives personally pocketing millions of dollars of the bailout monies while the companies that they had directed were going bankrupt. Pension plans were going away each day. Banks were failing. Investment houses were going bankrupt.. Major automobile manufacturers were begging for money or thousands of people were certain to be jobless. Businesses could no longer borrow money from the banks. As a result, businesses were failing on the right, and on the left. The rate of unemployment was only exceeded by the Great Depression of 1929. The housing markets had dried up, and personal equities in homes, which had always been a sure bet, were dropping each day. Foreclosures were skyrocketing. Bank repossessions were near their highest marks in history. There was corruption everywhere. Honesty quickly became a thing of the past. White collar and political crime was rampant. It was discovered, that some financial advisors had been running giant scam operations and pilfering away their client's life savings. Those that we trusted before were now stealing our money. The stock market hit rock bottom and stayed there. Oil prices soared, and gasoline was nearly unaffordable. Food prices were going up each day. Tent cities were popping up around the country, as we saw our homeless population explode. Politicians were all pointing fingers at each other shouting, "It's your fault! It's your fault!" The voices of both political parties were spewing their hatred, divisiveness and poison. Our country was in a terrible foreign war that was costing more and more American lives each day. That is the way it was in 2008. In eight short years we had seen our country come from having the greatest surplus and prosperity in history, to having the greatest deficit and massive distrust and confusion.... What had happened while I was sleeping?

Here is the story of Chicken Little:

A chicken, named in the story Chicken Little, believed that the sky was falling. This happened when an acorn fell from an oak tree and banged Chicken Little on her head. She began to panic and ran to tell the King. On her journey, she met other animals, spread her hysteria, and they also joined her in the journey to tell the King. This story varies from this point on as it has been retold for centuries. In most retellings, the animals all have rhyming names such as Henny Penny, Cocky Lockey and Goosey Loosey. Finally, as luck (or misfortune) would have it, they come across Foxy Loxy, a fox who naturally offered his help to the frantic Chicken Little and her friends.

After this point, the story varies, and there are many different endings. In the most common version, Foxy Loxy eats Chicken Little's friends. This is not a good ending. In another version of the story, Cocky Lockey survives long enough to warn Chicken Little, and she escapes. This is still not a good ending. Other variations of the endings include Foxy eating Chicken Little and her friends, the animals all being saved by an owl (or a squirrel in one version) and finally reaching the King and getting to meet with him. There is one version in which the sky falls and kills Foxy Loxy. In the best version, and most humane, the characters are all saved by the King's hunting dogs.

As you can see, the moral changes depending on the different versions of the story. In the "happy ending" version, the moral is not to be a "Chicken" (Is that where that term came from?), but to have courage. In other versions the moral is usually interpreted to mean "do not believe everything you are told." In the latter case, it could well be a cautionary political tale: Without properly weighing the facts, Chicken Little jumps to a quick conclusion, and whips her animal friends into mass hysteria. The unscrupulous fox realizes what Chicken Little has done and manipulates the animals for his own benefit, his dinner!

Wow! Does that sound familiar?

The author, Robert Fulghum, summed things up very simply in his book, All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten. He came to world-wide prominence when his first collection of books in 1986 stayed on the New York Times bestseller lists for nearly two years. Here is what he says that he learned:

Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are some of the things that I learned:

Share everything.

Play fair.

Don't hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don't take things that aren't yours.

Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life.

Learn some, and think some, and draw, and paint, and sing, and dance, and play, and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

Be aware of wonder.

Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how, or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish, and hamsters, and white mice, and even the little seed in the plastic cup -- they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: look.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule, and love, and basic sanitation, ecology, and politics, and sane living.

Think what a better world it would be, if we all -- the whole world -- had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon, and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or, if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them, and cleaned up our own messes. And, it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

\- Robert Fulghum –

Those are two simple stories that teach us a lot. Did the sky fall in 2008? I don't think that it did. Maybe we were all just wacked on the top of the head by a little piece of reality? Here is a poem that I wrote many years ago that depicts a true story in my life. It illustrates how things do change, and frustrations of the moment pass with time, and in the end, are not too important in the whole scheme of things.

Rage

by Ray "Bama Jammer" Steelman

Copyright 1983 all rights reserved

One night, I jerked a road sign down in a terrible angry fit.

I picked it up, and swung it around, and jumped on top of it.

I kicked at my dog... ran my fist through a wall.

I did many bad things, I can't even recall.

I cursed, and I swore, and made quite a scene

Casting insults galore and gestures obscene.

As I reflect back on that terrible night,

And try to dissect what went wrong and went right,

I lament and deplore the event that took place,

As I try to restore and amend my disgrace,

I'm finding it hard to understand...was life so bitter and things that bad?

'Cause today I try as hard as I can to recall what made me so mad!

"Long ago, Sir Isaac Newton gave us three laws of motion, which were the works of a genius.... But Sir Isaac's talents didn't extend to investing. He lost a bundle in a "can't lose" investment of his time called the South Sea Bubble. He stated, 'I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men.' If he had not been traumatized by his investment losses, Sir Isaac might have gone on to discover the Fourth Law of Motion. For investors as a whole, returns decrease as motion increases."

-Warren Buffet

"The best financial plan is to handle your finances so that the final check to the undertaker bounces!" -Michael Blumberg

There are many theories that are applied to discern what happened in the economic downturn of 2008. Most of the theories are divided along party lines as the politicians espouse their doctrines. One thing that we all understand is that the Reagan "Trickle Down" idea did not trickle down. It sounded good in theory, but it was obvious to everyone, that the money trickled up, and stayed there! Thomas Jefferson once said that bankers and speculators were the biggest threat to the Republic. It does appear that our government too often sides with individuals and institutions of great advantage and that class warfare is propelled by the politicians.

There are two things that you should never talk about in a business environment:

1.Religion

2.Politics

Both of these will get you in a lot of trouble because people are very opinionated on both of these subjects. A person's particular religious belief is the only one that will get you to heaven and their candidate or party is the only one that really has it right. I am hesitant, in fact, to even address the political facts below. I am certainly no expert on politics. This is such a deep and complicated and subject that I am not sure that any of us really understand what is happening. I will admit that most of the time I have voted for the Republican Party. Now, that I have alienated my Democratic readers, I will continue. In fact, I reluctantly voted for both George Bush senior and junior. That being said, I have been as impartial as I could be compiling the following information.

After many hours of (again... impartial) research, here is the information that I uncovered pertaining to the causes of our hard times in 2008:

Some analysts point the blame as far back as 1977 when Congress created the Community Reinvestment Act that President Carter (a Democrat) signed into law. This act was later expanded by President Clinton (another Democrat) and later by President George W. Bush. Then along came the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, which was signed into law by President Clinton. This law allowed investment firms, insurance and banks to merge together so that they could better compete in the global markets. This eventually led to the financial crisis that initially got the ball rolling and accelerated the downturn. Others blame the eight year reign of George W. Bush and the massive across-the-board deregulation movement that allowed the foxes to move in hen houses and set up shop. With little oversight and the free reign of the mortgage companies and investment firms, the stage was set and the down slide began. Many say that the Bush Administration's policies allowed the Securities and Exchange Commission and other oversight groups to bury their head in the sand while the greed of banks, hedge funds, Wall Street and investment houses took unprecedented risks with other people's money.

According to Robert Freeman in "The Bush Deficit Death Spiral", here is what happened:

They (the economic problems) began, of course, under the parlous economic stewardship of Ronald Reagan. Reagan cut the marginal tax rate on the wealthiest of Americans from 70% to 38%. He promised it would spur an orgy of investment and rocket the economy to new levels of production and prosperity. Instead, his "supply side economics" did the exact opposite. It produced the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

Output fell 2.2% in 1982, while budget deficits soared. When Reagan took office in 1981, the national debt stood at $995 billion. Twelve years later, by the end of George H.W. Bush's presidency, it had exploded to $4 trillion. Reagan was a "B" grade movie actor and a doddering, probably clinically senile president, but he was a sheer genius at rewarding his friends by saddling other people with debts.

Bill Clinton reversed Reagan's course, raising taxes on the wealthy, and lowering them for the working and middle classes. This produced the longest sustained economic expansion in American history. Importantly, it also produced budgetary surpluses allowing the government to begin paying down the crippling debt begun under Reagan. In 2000, Clinton's last year, the surplus amounted to $236 billion. The forecast ten year surplus stood at $5.6 trillion. It was the last black ink America would see for decades, perhaps forever.

George W. Bush immediately reversed Clinton's policy in order to revive Reagan's, once again showering an embarrassment of riches on the already most embarrassingly rich, his "base" as he called them. He ladled out some $630 billion in tax cuts to the top 1% of income earners. In true Republican fashion, they returned the favor by investing over $200 million to ensure Bush's re-election. Do the math. A $630 billion return on a $200 million investment: $3,160 for $1. I'll give you $3,160. All I ask is that you give me $1 back so I can keep the goodness flowing. Do we have a deal? Republicans know return on investment.

Who are we, the common man, to believe?

During the G-20 London World Economic Summit on April 1 through April 2, 2009, world leaders pointed a finger straight at the United States blaming the US deregulation policies of the last decade or so as the culprit that created the worldwide economic crisis. Whatever the reason, the recession took its toll on all segments of our population in a way not seen since the Great Depression and about which our grandparents told us.

Although he had absolutely nothing to do with the reasons for the economic downturn, President Barack Obama took it on the nose during the first 90 days of his new administration in 2009. The people, and the Republican Party, were desperately looking for someone to blame for the tough economic times. Obama's efforts to recharge the economy, through massive stimulus packages, were the perfect target for all of those who opposed his new administration and resisted the return of the Democratic Party to power. As Shakespeare stated so well in Henry IV Part II, 1597 , "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown."

Canst thou, O partial sleep, give thy repose

To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude,

And in the calmest and most stillest night,

With all appliances and means to boot,

Deny it to a king? Then happy low, lie down!

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

Here is a 10 point summary of the events that led to the problems

with the 2008/ 2009 downturn.

1. 1977 - Congress created the Community Reinvestment Act that President Carter signed into law. The first step toward out housing (mortgage) problem.

2. The economic problems first emerged under the stewardship of Ronald Reagan. Reagan cut the marginal tax rate on the wealthiest of Americans nearly in half from 70% to 38%.

Result: Reagan promised that his tax cuts on the wealthy would spur a mountain of investment and rocket the economy to new levels of production (due to the "trickle down" theory) and prosperity. Instead, his "supply side economics" did the exact opposite. It produced the deepest recession since the Great Depression. In the first year alone, output fell 2.2% (in 1982) while budget deficits soared. It escalated ever year that he was President.

3. When President Reagan took office in 1981, the national debt stood at $995 billion. (Note: Twelve years later, by the end of George H.W. Bush's presidency, it had exploded to $4 trillion.)

4. The Community Reinvestment Act was later expanded by President Clinton and later by President George W. Bush.

5. Bill Clinton reversed Reagan's course, raising taxes on the wealthy, and lowering them for the working and middle classes. This produced the longest sustained economic expansion in American history. It also produced budget surpluses allowing the government to begin paying down the nation's debt. When Clinton left office we had the largest surplus in American history.

6. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 that was signed into law by President Clinton. This law allowed investment firms, insurance and banks to merge together so that they could better compete in the global markets. This eventually led to the financial crisis that initially got the ball rolling and accelerated the downturn. ..not a good move!

7. In 2000, Clinton's last year, the surplus amounted to $236 billion. The forecast ten year surplus was projected to be $5.6 trillion.

8. During the eight year reign of George W. Bush, the across-the-board deregulation movement began. With little oversight and the free reign of the mortgage companies and investment firms, the stage was set, thereby starting the down slide.

9. When George W. Bush took office he immediately reversed Clinton's policy in order to revive Reagan's "trickle down" economics. He pushed through $630 billion in tax cuts to the top 1% of income earners.

Note: They returned the favor by investing over $200 million to ensure Bush's re-election. A $630 billion return on a $200 million investment: $3,160 for $1.

10. The Bush Administration's deregulation policies (under Cox's direction), allowed the Securities and Exchange Commission and other oversight groups to bury their head in the sand while the greed of banks, hedge funds, Wall Street and investment houses took unprecedented risks with other people's money.

This story is to be continued under Barak Obama.........

Regardless of whose propaganda a person believes, one thing is for sure, the downturn took its toll on major retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, banks, distributors, real estate markets, small businesses and the common man. Many well-established businesses closed their doors forever. Why did some businesses fail why others prospered? It all gets back to the simple rules of surviving in business that we covered in the earlier chapters. Chapter 25, How to Flop In Business, covers most of the basics. Below are 14 specific recommendations from the Massachusetts District Office of the Small Business Administration. These tips are for small business owners and managers to follow during economic upheavals:

Small Business Survival Resources for Your Business

1. Watch your inventories carefully, but don't hold them down so tight that you'll lose

sales.

Typically during a slowdown, there is an imbalance between slumping retail sales and

bloated inventories -- don't be saddled with leftover merchandise that ties up your cash flow. One possibility is converting inventories into cash. If your business traditionally stocks 250 units of each of its slowest-moving products, consider cutting that number to 100 each. Monitor the results, keeping an eye out for those products that can tolerate even leaner inventories or that should be eliminated from your stock. This way if sales nosedive, less of your cash is locked into unproductive assets.

2. Taking that point further, monitor your cash flow very diligently, and forecast it

monthly to ensure that expenses and planned expenditures are in line with accounts

receivable.

Make sure your financial statements provide information that is timely, relevant and

accurate. Cash flow statements are superior in this regard to income statements and balance sheets. Be able to project where you will stand three months in advance. Negotiate with suppliers, contractors and landlords for better prices or short-term reductions, and even consider trading goods and services on a barter exchange for credits instead of for cash. Take advantage of supplier discounts for prompt payment, and don't pay checks for no-discount bills before they're due. If the cash bind has already surfaced, talk to creditors before the bills are past due to persuade them to extend payments of your current bills. Your chances of getting their cooperation will lessen if you wait until they send collection memos. Keep in mind that suppliers' credit managers will be more receptive if your payment history is a solid one, and you can assure them

future bills will be paid on time.

3. Separate the "nice to do" from the "have to do," and eliminate nonessential expenses as much as possible.

Ask yourself, is that activity necessary? If not, don't do it. Also consider cutting personal spending. Simple solutions such as brown bag lunches and car pooling can make a difference.

4. Reduce or stretch out debt, and build up your capital reserves. Watch the creditworthiness of your customers, even bread and butter accounts.

Remaining close to existing customers, and checking to see how they are getting on during the economic downturn, not only helps avoid unpleasant surprises but could also lead to new opportunities. Besides, when sales are sluggish, keeping in touch with customers (always a sound business practice) becomes vital to head off eager competitors. If appropriate, encourage sales people to call on every customer on a regular basis, and set aside some of your own time to do the same. Frequent face-to-face meetings with your client base provides you an excellent opportunity –probably your only one -- to pacify disgruntled customers and win back lost ones.

Try to lock up long-term contracts with your most important customers at anything approaching acceptable terms. Offer prepayment incentives, for example, and discounts on long-term buys.

5. Get aggressive with collections. According to the partner of a consulting firm, "when business is good, companies tend to become lazy about collecting on receivables. This can prove dangerous in a recession." Assume that the average collection period for your industry is 45days, but your company is at 51 days. After bringing that collection period down to the industry average, keep working to get it down to 40 days. Being tough with customers may be unpleasant, but it's an important safeguard against the effects of a prolonged economic slowdown.

6. In a related vein, look hard at capital spending. Consider delaying both the purchase of high ticket items and expansion plans that take a long time to pay off. At the same time, make sure you have enough capacity to start filling orders again when the economy stabilizes.

7. Strengthen your banking relationships, which includes letting lenders know the

company's financial position.

Banks are looking for business to boost their income, but are also trying to minimize risk, so they are careful about what kind of loans they undertake. Most experts agree, however, that seeking additional credit during a recession is not advisable.

8. Look for opportunities to reduce rented space. If, similar to many companies, you acquired space in anticipation of staff expansion that ultimately proved unnecessary, this may be a good time to sublet that space -- thus reducing overhead and generating extra income.

With this in mind, commit yourself to subleasing a set percentage of your company's space. By consolidating operations and removing unused equipment, you may find that much of the space you thought you had to have was simply draining the bottom line.

9. Now is the time to be prudently aggressive in the marketplace. Actively seek out new

business, and perhaps add a salesperson or two or an extra service to give you an edge over competition.

10. Similarly, don't skimp on service and quality by being understaffed. Options include freelancers, consultants and part-time employees. One advantage of a slowdown is that hiring gets easier because there are more candidates from which to choose due to layoffs and other cutbacks.

11. In strategizing how to build your customer base and induce current customers to raise revenues, the importance of good service cannot be overstressed -- especially as their buying power or willingness to spend is lessened during tough economic times. Studies show that perception of service is fixed primarily in terms of time in a customer's mind. Three examples are: waiting time to obtain service; reaction time to deliver service; and length of time of the service. In banks or stores, or phoning in orders or for information, prospective customers will walk out or hang up if their time perception is strained. According to management consultant Donald Blumberg, author of Managing Service as a Strategic Profit Center, customers will temper their time demands when they see store employees busy helping other customers. But they will not be so tolerant when clerks are chatting with one another or on the phone while waiting customers are ignored. An informal, friendly attitude by owner-managers is key to a happy workplace, with emphasis clearly placed on the important role all employees play in meeting customer needs for attentive, timely service.

12. Historically, many businesses reduce advertising and promotional expenditures rather than slash fixed costs during hard times. However, studies have shown that those maintaining or increasing ad outlays during slowdowns wind up outselling rivals who cut back.

Savvy marketers can boost sales and market share, even if the industry in which they compete is in a slump, by focusing on short-term tactical techniques such as sales and price promotions (including cents-off coupons and rebates), and tailoring advertising in response to the shaky economic climate.

Survival Guidelines Include:

• Monitor your competitors' advertising. If they're cutting down, seriously consider

increasing your ad budget and hitting harder. This will provide a great opportunity to

capture -- and retain -- a larger share of the market.

• Avoid gimmicky and clever advertising. Center your message on the benefits and

advantages of your product or service -- such as convenience or energy efficiency –

rather than making emotional appeals.

• Use direct-response advertising techniques. Use hard-hitting copy with simple but

convincing language, a special offer the prospect will find hard to pass up, and a strong

call to action.

• Avoid ads that look like ads. Make them appear to be vital messages to the consumer

offering them the most for their money.

• Stress quality and durability. Consumers are looking for as much value as possible in a

weak economy. But don't actually use the words "quality" and durability," as they have

degenerated into advertising cliches. Show, don't tell.

• Study advertising research thoroughly. Know which page positions pull best, which copy factors work effectively, which colors do the job, and so on. Spend every ad dollar

carefully.

• Re-examine your marketing mix to ensure it is the most cost effective.

• Keep in mind that perceptions play a major role in a week economy. If people believe

money is going to be tight, they will behave as if it is -- even if they have money to

spend. Your ads have to convince prospective customers that your product or service is a

wise investment.

13. Another mistake during recessionary times is to reduce training budgets. Training can best be conducted during slack periods -- especially low-cost, on-the-job instruction and broadened skill acquisition. Also, local community colleges offer a number of free classes that teach and upgrade trade and office skills and supervision techniques.

14. Get employees involved in policy choices as well as tactics and implementation -- asking, for example, if costs can be cut 15 percent without layoffs.

If layoffs or a significant reduction in work hours are unavoidable, let employees take a lead role in designing the program. Shortened hours, job reassignments, job sharing and other alternatives may surface. Meet with staff regularly to exchange ideas on boosting productivity and other issues. Create an incentive for good suggestions, and foster a team spirit for survival. Remember that employees need to feel they are important to your company, and that their work is challenging them up to their full capabilities. "Do what I tell you" management styles need to be replaced, because small businesses whose owner or managers are "the whole show" can definitely benefit by encouraging workers on all levels to contribute their expertise instead of just following orders. This is especially true during lean times when challenges to business success are greatest. While economic downturns are admittedly difficult, and increase the obstacles small businesses face in trying to survive and grow, it is not axiomatic that companies have to slash earnings and compress market share. That recourse befalls firms that take too long to realize what must be done, or which resist change. Resourceful entrepreneurs capture the available opportunities, and take steps during today's hard times to lay the groundwork for tomorrow's prosperity.

The businesses that had a good product or service for which there was a demand, and large enough margins, easily survived the downturn and made it through 2008.

What lessons can we learn from Chicken Little and kindergarten story that we can apply the multitude of problems that occurred in 2008?

Well...Let's see:

A Lot of the Things That I Know About Business,

I Learned in 2008

Most of what I really need to know about business as it relates to how to live, how to survive, what to do, and how to be, I learned in 2008. Wisdom was not a prominent force in the 2008 mountain of crisis, but it did exist there in the trenches in the midst of the gun fire..

These are some of the things that I learned:

Be very careful about debt. It will destroy you.

Don't believe ever thing that you are told.

Never over leverage anything...no matter how hard the banker twists your arm.

Keep you margins high enough to survive downturns in the business cycle.

There are unscrupulous "foxy" characters out there that will eat you for dinner.

Be careful of jumping to quick conclusions.

Shake hands with the politicians then count your fingers.

Don't depend on others to solve your problems.

Never pay more for anything than what it is worth.

Be careful of anyone who will profit from using your money.

Bad guys sometimes wear white hats.

Always keep your gun powder dry.

Giants sometimes fall.

The stock market and legalized gambling are actually the same thing.

There is no art to decipher the mind's construction in the face.

Mortgage defaults and house prices move in the same direction.

A beggar on his feet stands higher than a gentleman on his knees.

The harder the times, the better the Spam tastes.

The demand for inferior goods rises when incomes fall.

There are lots of zeros in a $700 billion dollar stimulus package.

Every language understands the English word "money".

Having no health insurance is a great cure for a cold.

In a downturn, the fly in your soup is really not that important..

A repossessed car will get you back on your feet.

An optimist is a banker ironing five shirts on a Sunday night.

In time all things will pass.

* * *

Chapter 39

A Tip of the Hat to the Ladies

Early reviews of this book turned out to be pretty good, with one exception. There were some who said that the book might have too much baseball, football, basketball and cave men things. Some said that the book might be slanted, somewhat, toward the male and not enough feminine information. This chapter was written to correct that observation.

Let's set the record straight. I like women. My wife is a woman and I love her dearly. My two daughters are women. My Momma was a woman. My grandmother was a woman. Women are great, tough, imaginative, hard workers, smell good and make great entrepreneurs. I have found that women, in a lot of ways, make better entrepreneurs than men. A woman's outlook is different. I believe that a woman has a greater tolerance for pain than a man (Maybe it's the childbirth thing?). Her objectives and goals, in many cases, are different. Where would we be in this world without women in our lives and in businesses across this country?

It is really hard for this generation to believe that women in the United States were not allowed to vote until 1920. Prior to that those caught fighting for the right of women to vote, the suffrage movement, were jailed! In the 1946 Alabama gubernatorial campaign of "Big Jim" Folsom, it is said that he openly stated as a part of his campaign message:

"A woman's place is in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant."

Can you imagine a politician today making a statement like that? You've come a long way baby, as the old television commercial stated.

In 1978, I developed a deep appreciation for the toughness of women. I was forced to coach the girl's basketball team at S.R. Butler High School (Here's another basketball story.). I say, forced, because I did not want to coach the girl's team. I had always coached the boy's teams. I knew nothing about coaching women.

Here is what happened: Our girl's coach resigned as the season was about to begin and there was no one, except me, that was experienced enough to coach the girl's team. I resisted. "What? Me, coach a girl's team. Why, I'd be too tough on them. They couldn't take it. They would cry and quit!...There is no crying in basketball (a takeoff from Tom Hanks in the movie, A League of their Own), and, with 15 girls on the squad, that monthly thing would drive me nuts!"

Was I ever wrong? I learned a lot that year about women. In fact, after the season was over, I could not give the team up. I kept the girl's team for one more year until the pressures and demands of the assistant principal's job forced me to give them up. In the two years that I coached the girls, we only lost a total of three games. Our record was 38 wins and 3 losses! Although I was lucky in my coaching career to always have good solid winning teams, I never had another team with a record that good. I learned from that experience, that women are fierce competitors. I learned that no matter how hard that I worked the girls, they never whimpered and cried. They never gave up. They were always loyal. They were great at taking instruction, practiced hard and never quit on me. I get a tear in my eyes each time that I see the Tom Hanks movie, A League of Their Own or the NPR movie, The Heart of the Game by filmmaker Ward Merrill. The one that touches me the most is the 2006 movie, Believe in Me staring Jeffrey Donovan as Oklahoma's Coach Clayton Driscoll. Believe in Me was my story. It brought back a lot of personal memories and demonstrated the strength that lies in the female spirit.

I started Steelman and Associates in 1981 as a sole proprietorship. In 1986, Steelman and Associates, Inc. was incorporated, and I was the only stockholder. A couple of years later, 49% of the stock was passed to, Sharon, my wife. The next year I passed all of my stock to Sharon and the company became 100% woman-owned. I personally phased out of Steelman and Associates, Inc. to devote my time and efforts to another of our businesses, Steelman Properties, LLC, a real estate holding company. Steelman and Associates, Inc. was now under the leadership of Sharon. I resigned from the Board of Directors and rode off into the sunset.

Sharon immediately was in complete control of Steelman and Associates, Inc. which included Bama Jammer Promotions. She began steps to position the company so that good things would happen. Sharon initiated a move to get the company certified in several areas as listed below. There were many advantages to this move:

Woman-owned – Businesses that are more than 51% owned by

one or more women receive preference on many government

and private sector contracts. The certifying agencies are:

• US Small Business Administration

• Women's Business Enterprise National Council

• National Women Business Owners Corporation

In addition to being certified as a Woman-Owned Business, the company was also certified as a Small Disadvantaged business:

Small Disadvantaged Business – A business that is certified by

the SBA as a Small Disadvantaged Business receives (1) price

evaluation adjustments (10% advantages on selected bids) and (2) evaluation factors on competitively negotiated acquisitions.

Due to Sharon's Chinese heritage, the company was further certified as an 8(a) minority-owned business (The female gender no longer qualifies as a minority.).

Minority-owned 8(a) – Businesses that are certified as being more

than 51% owned by minority stockholders receive preferences on

many government and private sector contracts.

As you can see, any sexist attitude and any slanting of this book toward the men was purely accidental.

Here are some of the world's most famous women entrepreneurs:

Mary Kay Ash - Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

Suze Orman – Financial Advisor and Media Personality

Gina Rinehart – First Australian Entrepreneur and First Female Billionaire

Jenna Jameson – From Porn Princess to Media Mogul

Anita Roddick – British Entrepreneur and Body Shop Founder

Oprah Winfrey – A Multi-faceted Entrepreneur

Meg Whitman – Former CEO of eBay

Madame C. J. Walker – Said to be the first African-American Entrepreneur

J.K. Rowling – Writer and creator of the Harry Potter books

Estee Lauder – Cosmetic Queen

Coco Chanel – Fragrance Queen

Sarah Beeny – Real Estate Developer

Rhonda Bryne – Australian Author

Debbi Fields – Founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies

Chin Ning Chu – Chinese-born Business Consultant and Author

...and the list goes on and on....

* * *

Chapter 40

Reinvent Yourself

As our businesses grew, particularly Bama Jammer, the geographical area of our clients and suppliers also expanded until we were doing business all across the United States and Canada. In fact, we occasionally sold our products outside of the United States. As our clients began to be physically located farther from our front door, it took more time to make sales and servicing calls. For a while, we would drive to see them but that soon became impractical. Commercial flights were another option but that also was inconvenient, expensive and time consuming. We soon realized that if our company was to continue to grow, we had to have a better, quicker and more convenient way to get to our customers.

We finally came to the conclusion that having our own aircraft would really be an asset to the company. Of course, we could have private commercial shuttle aircraft fly us to meet with our customers, but the cost of that was something that a small struggling business could not easily afford. The best option was for me to learn to fly an airplane, get the proper licenses and buy a plane. I liked that idea since I had always wanted to fly and this gave me a good excuse to do so.

Although I had a couple of friends who were pilots, I really did not know much about airplanes. In fact, I knew almost nothing! My knowledge of airplanes was limited to the fact that I knew that they were the machines that I had seen in the skies overhead everyday since the day that I was born. I knew that they went very fast, were shiny and looked like fun. That's it. I knew nothing about how airplanes work, or what skills it took to fly one. I knew nothing pertaining to controlled air space and airport restrictions or the laws governing pilots. I had no idea about how the air traffic control system worked or what knowledge that it took to operate within that system. I did know, however, that we needed this tool to grow our business just like we needed our embroidery machines, computers and copy machines. Just like a carpenter needs a hammer, we needed an airplane. The process of elimination soon showed that I was the only candidate in the company who was available to learn to operate that flying machine. Here is a short story that sums up my experience learning to fly:

The article below was written on August 10, 2005 in response to an Advantages magazine article (a publication of the Advertising Specialty Institute) pertaining to Ray's learning to fly.

Andrew,

Yes, I am getting my pilot license and I would be most happy to answer your questions.

This has been quite an adventure. Sharon and I do everything very aggressively, so I told her (and I fully expected) that I would get my license in thirty days (an impossibility at least for me.). That was a year ago! This has been one of the toughest challenges of my life. Over the years, the flight training process (that once was twenty five true and false questions) has become very complicated, especially since 911. The process now involves extensive aeronautical training, ground schools, cross country flying (both dual and solo) (both day and night), extensive weather training, a tough written test, a intimidating oral exam, a complicated "white knuckle" check ride with an FAA Examiner, and more avionics and mechanical and medical (yes, medical) knowledge than I ever wanted to know. I have read a stack of books that are a least two feet tall, and watched enough aviation DVDs to cause me to miss every Atlanta Braves game this summer! Aviation CD ROMs now litter my desk like rats at the garbage dump. I have learned to do all kind of stalls, complicated turns, short and soft field takeoffs and landings, spins and anti-spins, landings while blindfolded (I'm not kidding.), steep turns, chandelles, s-turns, eights-on-pylons, cross-controlled stalls, lazy eights, forward slips, side slips and --- if you can do it in an airplane, I have probably done it. I have learned to talk to air traffic controllers like a professional. The local controllers now recognize my voice and I can feel the empathy when they respond to me.

During the past year, I have become a weather expert. I feel like, without hesitation, I could now do the weather on TV. Talk about expensive --- At one point I thought that I was going to have to mortgage the farm! If I had known what I was getting in to, I would never have done it.

Andrew, it all started on May 23rd of 2004 when I feel off of the top of our house while doing some routine maintenance. I bounced a couple of times, careened of the deck, slid across the porch and in the process severely broke my ankle. Prior to that event, I had never been sick a day in my life. Now, I was flat on my back and had a metal rod and 7 screws in my leg and ankle.. I stayed in the hospital for 6 days and later (due to my temperament) had to be readmitted for another day. I convinced myself that I was dying and if I ever lived through this ordeal, I was going to do some things that I had always wanted to do. It was very much like that country song that that guy sings, Live Like You are Dying. That song came out after I broke my leg and became my theme song last summer. I was on a walker for 12 weeks. Once I had recovered to the point that I could drag myself around, I wandered into the local airport (I actually hobbled in on a walking cane) and said that I wanted to learn to fly a plane. You should have seen the look on their faces as they glanced at each other then reluctantly back at me. They could see that I could hardly stand up! Nonetheless, a few days later I was in the cockpit, had a scarf around my neck and I was ready for my first flight.

My instructor was half (maybe a third) of my age. He looked like a kid...barely shaving. I asked to see his driver's license and a picture ID just to be sure that he was old enough to teach me to fly. I was his first student ever! What a way to break in the new kid (him not me)! Then we were off! After the first ride I was hooked. I loved it! Flying high into the wild blue yonder, I kept thinking about those Sky King TV shows that I watched as a kid. Dreaming about the Red Baron and feeling like Tom Cruise in Top Gun! And a sunset at 10,000 feet, there is nothing like it! I was beginning to laugh at those poor souls who were bumper to bumper on the interstate as I dipped down, tipped my wings and soared on by...There was no question... I loved it!

The ground school was a real eye opener. I was the oldest guy in class. In my class there was me and 18 pimple faced kids who also wanted to see those sunsets. For 16 weeks every Tuesday night from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM, my wife, Sharon knew exactly where to find me...on the front row in room 2-A at the airport. After class we all shared our stories of drama in the skies, so I would not get home until 10:00 or 10:30 if the stories were really good. After that came the dreaded written exam. Each night, I would fall asleep cramming for the test. I would wake up at 2:00 in the morning and wander to bed. After a couple of months of that I stuck on our refrigerator door next to the recipes and real estate magnets, a bright red test score of "95".

Then, came the day that I soloed. I have never been prouder in my life than I was the day that they cut the tail out of my T-shirt (a Hanes Beefy T) and pinned it to the airport lounge wall between the coke machine and water fountain. I was now half a pilot! I had gotten into an airplane and managed to fly around the field three times and (after a bounce or two) return safely to earth. I could tell that there were those in the crowd who had had their doubts. As I glanced in his direction, I thought that I noticed a few grey hairs on my instructor's head. It was also impossible to establish eye contact with him. After I soloed I could then fly (with lots of limitations) by myself, alone in the skies. What an honor and thrill!

After I soloed it was back to work. Then came the flight maneuvers, the cross country trips, the night flying and half a dozen other things designed to scare you to death! I bought a book entitled One Hundred Ways to Kill Yourself in an Airplane. For several nights I would wake up in a cold sweat yelling "Who forgot to pack the parachutes!" I would have quit but I had gotten so excited about being in the same realm as the astronauts, that I had bought my own airplane, a Cessna 152. Now the pressure was on. I had to learn to fly! By now the word had spread around town that I was flying an airplane. I was now so deep in debt and so many people knew about my new adventure that I would have to leave town if I failed to earn my wings.

The excitement was something else. During the year, I have had to make one semi-emergency landing due to a faulty alternator and came very close to making a second one another time when the plane would not climb (due to a magneto problem) on takeoff. Due to quick thinking and prompt action on my part, I managed to correct the situation before I hit the ground! Since last August, three times while landing or taking off on a runway I met another plane coming the other way (I'm not kidding). That will make your hair stand up. Once I got air sick while practicing dives, climbs, stalls and usual attitudes. Thank goodness I packed a barf bag!

This has been the story of my life for the past year. Our bathroom floor is now littered with AOPA Flight Training magazine, Flying magazine and numerous catalogs filled with aviation paraphernalia which I really can not afford but buy anyway. My computer "favorites" now mark all the major aviation and weather web sites. I bought a Treo Palm Pilot and an I-phone so that I could have internet access on my person and more accurate and immediate weather information. And, of course, every good pilot has to have one of those $3,500 Garmin handheld GPSs (I bought two.). I now know within three meters where I am any place on the earth! As far as airplanes, I am now looking for a second airplane. I have to get a bigger and faster one so that Sharon and I can fly to the ASI shows in Orlando, Chicago, Philadelphia and Las Vegas! I am beginning to visualize vacations in far away places eating those $200 hamburgers (That's what they cost if you figure your gas, oil, maintenance and hanger fees.).

During this summer (2005) I flew across the whole state of Alabama (The long way from north to south) to Gulf Shores, Alabama (KJKA) from our home in Huntsville. It normally takes six or seven hours to drive but I managed to fly there in less than three hours (My plane is a little slow. I need a faster one.). I proudly walked into the airport office at Gulf Shores, got a coke and flew back home. I have also flown to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the home of the "Tide". I have flown to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. I have flown to Montgomery, Alabama, McMinnville, Tennessee, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Birmingham, AL, Atlanta, Georgia (very busy air space) and a few other places that I did not intend to go.

The text book says you can be a pilot with appropriate training and experience after 40 hours of flight time. The book goes on to say that most people, however, take 80 or more hours. I am one of those. As of today, August 10, I have 116 hours in the sky. I guess you could say that I am one of the most experienced student pilots out there. The guys at the airport are now placing bets as to when I will get my license. If all goes well, I will officially be a pilot next Thursday, August 18, 2005 at 11:30 AM CST (As all good pilots know that's 1630 Zulu Time)! An FAA examiner is standing by to sign my license, shake my hand and launch me into the skies of America. Tonight, I have butterflies in my stomach. Yesterday, I noticed that my instructor sure has aged a lot.

Sharon and I are hoping to use my new skills as a pilot to expand Bama Jammer. We are intending to travel to make sales and service calls in places that are too far for us to drive. We think that this will be a great way to expand our services and grow our company vertically (a little play on words). We are excited about the possibilities! Sharon has not ridden with me yet. I am continuing to work on that.

-Ray

The rest of the story:

On Thursday, August 18, 2005 at 11:30 AM CST, Ray did indeed get his wings. Since then, he has been busy. He is now on his third airplane in as many years. After the Cessna 152 came N9566E, a Bellanca Super Viking. The Super Viking is a 300 horsepower airplane, very fast and sleek requiring a high performance and complex endorsement. Then came N31715, the plane featured on the www.mypiperwarrior web site.

Within a few months of getting his pilot license, Ray obtained ratings to fly complex and high performance aircraft (He then bought the Super Viking.). A year later he was rated to fly multi-engine airplanes. Later he obtained his IFR rating which allowed him to fly inside and above the clouds. Since obtaining his licenses, he flies on a regular basis...almost every day. Either solo or with his flying buddy, Michael Dean of Dean Plumbing in Huntsville, Ray has flown to St. Louis, Kansas City, Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Memphis, Louisville, Ft. Knox, New Orleans, Chicago and multiple locations in Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina.

Be sure to check out the videos of these flying adventures on the www.mypiperwarrior web site.

I would like to thank my flight instructor, Tim Lewter who, incidentally, got out of the instructor business after I got my license. He now flies Lear jets and King Airs for a living. I guess he figures that it is safer.

-Ray "The Bama Jammer"

After getting my pilot license it was possible to visit a lot of our customers, on our own schedule and make much more efficient use of our time and resources. It also allowed us to give back to the community by using the company-owned airplane to ferry sick people to doctors and hospitals in far away places. This was done through the Mercy Flight Southeast program, a program in which the company still participates today.

The bottom line is this. As a business person, when a problem presents itself, it is up to you to find a solution to that problem. I never I my wildest dreams thought that I would become a pilot. Time had passed me by. I was too old to tackle such a large and complicated feat. But...I did! In fact, as a result of that accomplishment, I cannot imagine myself today not being able to fly. It is a very big part of my life. I fly almost every day when I have the time. Flying has enabled us to help a lot of people through our humanitarian efforts with the Mercy Flight program. Flying was a big undertaking but with even bigger rewards.

This story illustrates the necessity for an entrepreneur to be innovative in their approach to business and life. As an entrepreneur, don't be afraid to tackle the impossible. When you do, go for it with vigor, determination and grit! Someone once said that "you can be as brave as you make believe that you are."... Never let them see you sweat!

I have always been very secretive when it comes to telling my age. I have always been fortunate to look many years younger that my actual chronological age. I normally guard my age as viciously as a momma bear guards her newly born cubs but, in this writing, I will confess, I was 58 years old when I obtained my license to fly. I intend to fly the rest of my life.

"Life is not over, until it is over. I will tell you when it is over!"

-God

* * *

Chapter 41

The Hardest Part... Getting Off Your Butt and on Your Feet!

So, now you are convinced that you want to be a cave man. You have decided what you want to do and you have a good idea of what it will cost you. You have devised a road map that is going to get you where you want to be. You are ready to enjoy the thrill of the hunt. You are ready for the challenge of killing something for the supper table each and every day. You are prepared for the adventure with a quiver full of arrows, and undying spirit and lots of ideas. What do you do next?

The first thing to do is get on your feet and make something happen! An old insurance agent told me one time that activity stirs the cauldron of potential which gets results. You have to get off your rear end and consistently keep going in the right direction. It is as simple as that! There are lots of people who have ideas but very few who have the intestinal fortitude to do anything with those ideas. An entrepreneur must be an eternal optimist. There are always reasons to be doubtful. Always be positive. Always remember the paraphrase of Zig Ziglar, " The future is very important to all of us because we are going to spend the rest of our lives there." Don't follow your dream...Live your dream. One thing that you never want to be said is that "He (or she) has a great future behind him."

Here are some secrets for becoming a successful entrepreneur.

• Keep your promises.

• Give your enthusiasm to everyone.

• Be an optimist.

• Always remain humble.

• Be fair and honest, but firm with everybody.

• Overwhelm people with your charm, not your power.

• Meet people at their own level.

• Make other people feel important.

• Let other people take credit for your successes.

• Smile a lot.

• Stamp out self pity.

• Never lose your temper in front of others.

• Give the gift of heart.

• Become genuinely interested in other people.

• Keep trying.

• Forgive yourself if you fail.

We will end this book as we started it. This book is addressed to those who, like the cavemen of long ago, want to enter the world of entrepreneurship. This is a great country with opportunity hanging before each of us like a ripe red apple, ready for picking. For those who want to enter the world of entrepreneurship, there is no better place to be in the universe -- than right here. That world is not for the lazy, fainthearted, weak or unstable. It is for those who are willing to run ahead of the racers, to work longer, harder, faster and smarter. It is for those who are willing to break tradition, to color outside of the lines, to stand straight, to square their shoulders, swallow hard and kill something for the pot each and every day. It is for those who are not willing to live like everyone else. It is for those who do not want to be normal. It is for those who want to lift themselves above the crowd and, by their own two hands, shape and direct their future. If you fit this mold then get on your feet, pick up your club, and follow us as we welcome you to the brotherhood of the caveman and the greatest adventure of your life!

Go for it!

* * *

Chapter 42

Handing off the Baton

So, you took the plunge. The business did great. You hung in there over the years and you're beginning to dream about beaches and mountains in far away places. Now, what do you do with the business? It's the goose that has laid so many golden eggs for you and sustained your lifestyle throughout the years. It has been the money tree that has allowed you to do the things about which you once only dreamed. Do you shoot the goose and walk away or do you allow the goose to help someone else realize those same dreams?

When you are ready to move on and walk away from the business you basically have three options:

1. Sell the business

2. Pass the business along to the next generation of your family

3. Close the business

The first option above is to sell the business. You put up a For Sale sign, post it on Craig's List, put it on your web site, buy an advertisement in an industry magazine, hire a business broker and wait for a buyer to come along. There is no reason to discuss that option any further. If the business is a family-owned business then, chances are, you might want to pass it along to the next generation. If the business is a family-owned business and the next generation has a desire to enter the business, how do you make that happen so that every one is happy and you get to head off with the sun screen?

How many time have you watched a relay race and one team is way out front and there seems to be no question that they will win the race? When they come to the last runner, there is a problem with the handoff, the baton is dropped and another runner passes them to cross the finish line. This happens very often to family-owned businesses. Somewhere in the transition to the next generation the baton is dropped! There are many varying statistics that tell us that somewhere in the neighborhood of only 40% of family-owned businesses survive to the second generation, 12% to the third, and only 3% of family businesses make it to the to the fourth generation. Why does this happen?

Some of the reasons for the above statistics may be:

1. A lack of desire by the next generation to enter the business.

2. A business that is so weakly structured and financially unstable that the children do not want it.

3. The children have different personal goals and desires.

4. The controlling parent never really gets out of the business.

5. The lack of a concise and deliberate business plan that defines in detail the parameters of the transition.

6. Sibling rivalry that would not be favorable to the business.

7. A transition plan that would show favoritism toward one of the children.

8. The spoiled-child syndrome may have generated a lack of work ethic by the younger generation. It seems that this is seen most often in the third transition. They are so distant from the original entrepreneurs, their grandparents, that that have not witnessed the dream, the desire, hard work, long hours, dedication and determination that made the business a success. In three generations of pampered prosperity the genes have changed. .. the family has gotten lazy.

Here is some personal insight into the transition that worked for us at Bama Jammer.

From the beginning, the transition out of the business was an integral part of our active business plan. The transition procedure was defined in detail, reviewed periodically and communicated to all parties involved. From the youngest of ages, our children worked in the business. At the age of five they were stuffing envelopes, sweeping the office and becoming familiar with how the family made a living. The entrepreneurial spirit was instilled in them from the time that they were born. For them to work for another would have been considered a personal defeat. As teenagers, they were preparing themselves to take over the family business. They were learning to operate the equipment, write letters, manage others and make sales. While in college, they formed their first corporation which was going full speed by the time they graduated. Two years after graduation from college their company crossed the multi-million dollar threshold. At that point, Sharon and I began phasing out of the business and the children and their corporation took over completely two years later. Sharon remained on the Board of Directors in an advisory capacity only. For a couple of years, Sharon attended their quarterly meetings with their CPA. Even today, when invited, she and I occasionally attend those meetings as advisors. That is exactly the way that the transition was outlined in our business plan that was written 15 years earlier.

In order to make a transition possible, all personal and financial affairs must be in place. In most cases, a buy / sell agreement of some kind is necessary, and must be ready to be implemented at any time. This is in case there is a premature or unexpected death of the owner; disability of the owner; or health problems that will not allow the owner to continue the business. Life insurance coverage is also very important necessity in a business transition strategy. The death benefit of a life insurance policy, if structured properly, may be exempt from most taxes including income taxes, capital gains taxes, gift taxes, generation skipping taxes and federal estate taxes. A life insurance policy's death benefit may also be used to provide money to the children who have no interest in the transition and working in the family business. Trusts are also very important. The word "Trust" scare many people but are relatively simple tools for personal and business planning. They also are normally inexpensive to implement and serve a very critical purpose. There are many ways to set up trusts so that an owner may give stock in the business to those that actively work in the business, and other assets to those who are not active in the business. Wills, pour-over wills and all financial matters must be in place and properly update through out the life of the business. The personal affairs of the owners must be properly addressed. In order for the initial owners to phase out of the business, they must be capable of being financially able to step out of the business when the time comes. They should, at retirement, not expect to be a burden on the business by being dependent on it for financial support. The older generation (initial owners) must retire and get completely out of the business when the time comes. This is accomplished by the original owners being financially strong and stable enough for the transition to take place.

When the initial owner gets out of the business...he or she needs to get out! So many times you will see businesses turned over to the next generation and the initial owner(s) hanging around for years... for decades... Sometimes they really never leave! They are watching every move, advising when they should be keeping their mouths shut and hanging around like cigarette smoke in a honky tonk. After all, this was their baby. Their very identity was defined by the success of this business. It is understandable that they would have a difficult time separating themselves from the business. However, there comes a time when they must go. Things change, ideas change, technology changes, markets change. The new generation should not be hampered by the ever presence and meddling of the past owners. For the transition to be successful, a time comes when the older generation must find new things to do and stop hanging around like a bad habit.

At Bama Jammer we worked diligently at keeping our business debt free. By being debt free, the transition was much easier and much smoother. There was no heavy debt burden that the incoming generation had to inherit and hurdle in order to keep the business profitable. At Bama Jammer there was no debt at all. Also, there was no debt obligation debt owed to the outgoing generation in order from the newcomers to take over the business. Debt has destroyed many personal lives and it will do the same to a business. I once heard a new businessman exclaim that he had so much business debt that he would not make a profit for five years. This is a position in which you never want to be. Debt is a killer. Why would anyone want to be in business and not make any money? I do no understand that kind of reasoning. I do not want to be in any business that does not make money! Not even for one month! As a business owner, never let yourself believe the philosophy that most new startup businesses do not make money for several years. In that case, you do not have a business, but instead an expensive hobby that costs you money each month. Except for my very first business venture (the Coach's Corner sporting goods stores), I have never been involved in any business that did not make money immediately. I would not allow myself to be in that position again.

In order to transition a business to the next generation, you must have something that is worth passing on. The business must have equity of some kind and be profitable. I have never understood how people get involved in networking marketing situations, work long and hard at it, and in the end, they have absolutely no equity for their efforts. If a person is going to work that hard, they must be working at a business that will be worth something in the end. Otherwise, you have just had a job. I've seen families try to pass along a business that was marginal at best and should have been closed years earlier. Who wants to take on that kind of problem?

Talent is also critical. Those taking over the business must have the talent to make it work. You can train a donkey all day long but it will never win the Kentucky Derby. The first generation must look realistically at the talents possessed by the next generation. Do they have the work ethic to grow and maintain the business? Do they have the intestinal fortitude to hang in there when the going gets tough? Are they fighters or quitters? Have they have the years and life experience necessary to make it work? Do they have the maturity that the business will demand? These are things that must be weighed before the transition begins.

Timing is also critical. The business must be passed on when the moon is aligned and all the signs are just right. It should not be done too soon or, on the other hand, held by the first generation too long. Those taking over should be financially ready. They should be economically stable in their personal lives and they should be mentally prepared and properly trained to assume the duties of the business. They should understand balance sheets and profit and loss statements. They must surround themselves with professional advisors of their own choosing, not those inherited from their predecessor. They must understand profit margins and overhead. They must know their product better than their competitors knows his product. And, most of all, they must have an undying desire to take over the business and control their destiny. They must possess the spirit of the entrepreneur.

* * *

Business Tips

Wow! I'm now a Business Owner! What do I do next?

Here are our suggestions.

1. First determine the markets in which you want to concentrate.

(corporations, schools, churches, small business, associations, unions, etc.)

2. Target the prospects from the selected market that you want as your clients.

Use the Yellow Pages, Chamber of Commerce Membership Directory, Industrial Guides, Manufacturers Registers (may be purchased at Manufacturer's News, Inc. (847) 864-7000).

2. Compile a mailing and phone list with the following information:

(a) company name

(b) company address

(c) contact's name

(d) contact's phone and fax number.

3. Prepare a mailing list announcing that you are now in business. Send only enough letters at a time so that you can properly follow up by phone.

4. Go to the US Post Office and obtain a business reply permit.

5. Go to a copy center and print business reply cards on card stock.

6. Mail letters to the prospects. Be sure that each contains a business reply card to be returned to you. Design the card so that each prospect can outline his/her immediate needs or interests. Don't expect a high return. A 2% to 4% return is average. By phoning the prospects, your appointment/sale rate will increase substantially. You should concentrate on your mailing list and mail them over and over. Your best response will come after you have mailed them several times. Your direct mail should feature specials, sale items, seasonal ideas, etc. Persistency and personal contact is the key to making a direct mail program work.

7. In addition to direct mail, personal contact is very important. Notify your family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, etc. of your new business endeavor. Promotional products are bought by everyone. People prefer to buy from people that they know. Chances are you will get the sale if you let everyone know about the products that you are marketing. Don't be shy!

AVOID EXPENSIVE ADVERTISING

Avoid expensive advertising. Over the years Bama Jammer has advertised on the radio, in the newspapers, in magazines, in the yellow pages and on television. This type of advertising is very expensive and has not proven to be more effective than the direct mail and personal contact outlined above. Be careful of high pressure salespeople who try to convince you that you must spend lots of money in their advertising media. This adds to your overhead which is the factor that destroys most young businesses.

Don't do it!!!

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Appendix

BUILDING YOUR LIST OF PROSPECTS

(Source for the following information Kaeser & Blair, Incorporated)

Success results when preparedness (your prospective partner) and opportunity (what you can offer) meet. Select those who are prepared - those who have a POSITIVE ATTITUDE (a must), who are respected and ambitious, and who are on your level or above.

Most often, the more successful a person is already, the quicker they are to see the tremendous opportunity. Remember, you are doing them a favor - they're not doing you a favor. You are offering the opportunity for financial freedom and realization of their dreams.

Be sure not to prejudge people - especially successful people. When you think, "Oh, they wouldn't be interested," you have just made a decision for that person - a decision that deprives them of the greatest opportunity our country offers. Give them their freedom to decide. Then they can never say you didn't give them a chance... many will thank you for the rest of their lives. Prejudging can cost you $MONEY!!!!

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

FRIENDS

NEIGHBORS

RELATIVES

CHURCH MEMBERS

FELLOW EMPLOYEES

CLUB MEMBERS

PAST ASSOCIATES

CHRISTMAS CARD LIST

WEDDING INVITATION LIST (if married)

THOSE YOU WENT TO SCHOOL WITH (check your yearbooks)

ANYONE YOU ADMIRE

Who do you know?

(Source for the following information Kaeser & Blair, Incorporated)

AS LONG AS YOU KNOW PEOPLE, YOU KNOW PEOPLE WITH NEEDS

TO GET STARTED, TO GIVE DIRECTION, ASK...

WHO DO YOU

KNOW THAT...

1. I respect

2. Shows genuine concern for other people

3. Is active in their church

4. People always seem to like

5. Does personal counseling, such as church leaders, doctors, lawyers, etc.

6. Is a professional

7. Is in clubs and various group organizations or active in civic affairs

8. Is in a teaching position in a school or business

9. Deals with the public, such as policemen, firemen, postmen, city official

10. Is in a managerial, or supervisory, or consultant, or trainer capacity

11. Is looking for more out of life

12. Is ambitious, aggressive and "on the go"

13. Is considered a leader

14. Has children just starting junior high, high school, or college

15. Has children with special talents that should be developed

16. Want to set a good example for their children to follow

17. Owns their own business

18. Hold very responsible positions that are causing stress and pressure on them

19. Want to have freedom

20. Is considering a new profession or changing jobs, or recently changed jobs

21. Is unable to advance on their jobs

22. Has talents but is held back

23. Just started selling or is an experienced direct salesman

24. Relies on ideas for his livelihood - authors, designers, promoters, advertisers

25. Has never been able to get started or failed in business but still has strong desires

26. Is going to college, business school, trade school, etc., or just graduated

27. Was recently married and just "starting out"

Help others become successful, develop talents, realize their dreams!!! It is a natural human trait, when you have sincerely sold yourself on this great business, it is psychologically, impossible to keep a "good thing" to yourself? Everyone has the compulsion to "spread the good word."

When you want to grow even bigger and stronger start with "being friendly" to strangers - that will add a few million more names to your list ... They will thank you.

RELATIVES CONTACTS WHO

Parents Lives next door / across the street

Grandparents Is my barber / wife's hairdresser

Sister(s) Teaches our children at school

Brother(s) Was my best man - ushers

Aunts Was the wedding photographer

Uncles Is the purchasing agent where I work

Cousins Is the band director at school

WHO IS OUR Are our babysitter's parents

Goes hunting / fishing with me

Was my Army / Navy / Marine buddy

Mailman Was / Is our architect

Paper Boy (parents) Goes bowling with us

Dentist Is the president of the PTA

Physician My (or wife's) fraternity bothers

Minister Are the people we met camping

Florist Is the credit manager of grocery

Lawyer Is my (my wife's) boss - former boss

Insurance Agent Are the people we work with

Accountant Was my old teacher/principal

Congressman Repaired our T.V.

Pharmacist Upholstered our couch

Veterinarian People we knew on our old jobs

Optometrist Went with us to the races

Are in our car pool

WHO SOLD US OUR Installed our telephone

Has a Laundromat

House Teaches ceramics / crafts

Car / Tires Owns a taxi service

Piano / Organ Cuts our grass (parents)

Fishing Tackle / Gun Painted our house

T.V. / Stereo Owns a pet shop

Suit / Ties / Shoes Installed our refrigerator

Business Cards Renewed my drivers license

Wedding Rings Owns our apartment

Glasses / Contact Lenses Is in Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, Etc.

Vacuum Cleaner Is on Board of Directors with me

Boat Is Jaycee President

Camper Plays bridge / Poker with me

Honda / Bicycle Is in my wife's garden club, etc.

Living Room Furniture Is in our book club

Typewriter / Adding Machine Child's kindergarten teacher/day care

Computer Parents of my children's friends

Air Conditioner Is a deacon in our church

Surfboard Owns a fabric or drapery business

Kitchen Appliances Local Store Managers

Riding Lawnmower Gave me a speeding / parking ticket

Luggage Does our income tax

WHO

Works with the Rescue Squad

Owns beach / Mountain cottage where we vacationed

Sells us gasoline and services our car(s)

Sold my wife her wig

Owns a nursery

Delivers parcel post packages (UPS)

Works with an exterminating / pest control company

Stores my wife's winter coat

Sells aluminum awnings

Works for travel agency

WE KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS

Nurse Dietician Bench Machinist

Golf Pro Mechanic Waitress / Waiter

Student Anesthetist Furniture Dealer

Fashion Model Surgeon Notary Public

Security Guard Librarian Farmer

Sheriff Mortician Actor / Actress

Fire Chief Missionary Land Clearer

Secretary Real Estate Agent Horse trader

Welder Railroad Ticket Agent Statistician

Crane Operator Newspaper Pressman Cement Finisher

Candy Salesman Bulldozer Operator Antique Dealer

Police Detective Mobile Home Salesman Brewery Salesman

Music Teacher Soft Drink Distributor Engineer

Art Instructor Air Traffic Controller Contractor

Forester Lifeguard Chiropractor

Seamstress Swimming Teacher Podiatrist

Carpenter Interior Decorator Auctioneer

Pilot/Stewardess Typewriter Salesman Optometrist

Bus Driver Grocery Store Owner Pediatrician

Bank Cashier/Teller Insurance Adjuster Electrician

Cloth Cutter Warehouse Manager Plumber

Garage Mechanic Moving Van Operator Architect

Editor Rent-A-Car Representative Dental Hygienist

Lab Technician Professional Ball Player Shoe Repairman

Restaurant Owner TV Announcer/Producer Physical Therapist

PCX Operator Tool and Die Maker Motel Manager

Social Worker Cookware Salesman Highway Patrolman

Race Car Driver Encyclopedia Salesman Judge

Paper Mill Worker Dance Instructor Photographer/Model

Brick Mason Sawmill Operator Motorcycle Owner

Drafting Industrial Engineer Pizza Delivery

Printer Research Technician Store Owners

Office Manager Telephone Lineman Owns a Car Wash

Bakery Owner Lithographer Sells Storm Doors

Plant Foreman Fisherman Sells Auto Stereos

9 Ways to Remember Names

Below are nine ways to remember names. These have been extracted from the book, "Get Along with Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere...8 Keys to Enduring Connections with Customers, Co-workers – even Kids" by Arnold Sanow and Sandra Strauss. Hopefully this information will help you build rapport, relationships, and connection with customers and co-workers.

Remembering names is very important to any business person. As Dale Carnegie stated, "the most important sound to each individual is their name." People love to hear others address them by name, even if they know it was just taken off a credit card or name tag. In our increasingly anonymous world, it's refreshing to hear your name in conversation. It's flattering and makes a person feel important. When leaving voice mail messages, be sure to include the person's name as an effective part of your relationship-building efforts.

1. Focus on remembering names during introductions, and mentally repeat each one several times.

2. Look for a personal connection. For instance, does one of your relatives share the same name?

3. If it's an unfamiliar name, inquire about its origin: "Houston? Does your name perhaps reflect any Texan roots?"

4. Sometimes, asking the correct spelling or pronunciation of a name is useful, especially if it's unfamiliar. With our changing global landscape, even some common names are spelled or pronounced differently, such as Michael or Michel.

5. Use the name frequently in conversation.

6. If you forget a name, simply ask the person again: "I'm sorry. I was a little distracted the last time we met (or 5 minutes ago). Please refresh my memory. Your name is...?" They may need a refresher too.

7. If you should know someone's name, but can't recall it during introductions, let others introduce themselves with a quick save, "Have you two met?" This usually works wonders and saves everybody embarrassment.

8. If you don't remember someone's name from a previous event, reintroduce yourself to them. When you offer your name, the other will usually reciprocate (gratefully, since they might have forgotten your name, too).

9. Ask for a business card (if it includes a photo, that's especially helpful for future ID reference).

Bible Business Quotes

For a clear understanding you should read all of the below in their full context. These are paraphrased for clarity.

Proverbs 22:7 "The borrower is slave to the lender."

Proverbs 22: 26-27 "Don't be a co-signer."

Romans 12:11 "Be not slothful in business."

Romans 13:8 "Owe no man anything."

Proverbs 10:4 "The hand of the diligent will become rich."

Proverbs 27:23 "Know the state of thy flocks..look well to thy herds."

Deuteronomy 8:18 "You are given the power to get wealth."

3 John 2 "I wish that.... you may prosper."

Matthew 25: 28-30 "The unprofitable servant shall be cast out."

Luke 16: 11 "One not trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, cannot be trusted with true riches?"

Proverbs 22:3 "A prudent man plans ahead."

Luke 14:28 "Don't begin until you count the cost."

Proverbs 24:3 'Any enterprise is built by wise planning."

Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 "You should not borrow."

Proverbs 11:15 "He that is a surety for another will surely suffer."

Proverbs 14:21 "Happy is the person who has mercy on the poor."

Proverbs 10:4 "He that deals with a slack hand will become poor."

Proverbs 22:29 "A man diligent in his business shall stand before kings."

Proverbs 21:5 "Steady plodding brings prosperity, hasty speculation brings poverty."

Proverbs 21:20 "A wise man saves for the future..a foolish man spends."

There are eight factors which should be used to determine your willingness to submit bids (from the Bama Jammer Archives):

The quantities involved. Since we know that our markup must be very small in order to win any bid, we use a pre-determined mathematical formula based on the quantities involved to determine our gross margin possibilities. Small margins can be absorbed when large quantities are involved, but on small quantities, we simply cannot meet our minimum profit margins. When small quantities are involved, many times, the transaction is closer to a donation than a purchase.

The expense involved. When margins are very tight and there are other miscellaneous expenses involved, such as pre-award samples, etc., these make it even more difficult to meet our minimum profit margins. This is true especially when the samples are quite expensive, such jackets, umbrellas, etc.

Minimum profit margins. Our mathematical formula projects our minimum profits based on what we expect to have to bid to get the award. If projections fall below those minimums, then we do not quote.

The Beta Factor. We have to factor in risk on every bid. If things can go wrong, they most likely will when the quantities are low and the margins tight.

Labor factor. We factor into our formula (and final bid price) the cost of labor to research and prepare a competitive bid.

The cost of money. Since we purchase (and pay for up front) all of the items that a customer purchases from us, we have to factor in every quote the cost of the loss of use of the monies involved.

The probability factor. On every bid we have to weigh our probability of actually winning the bid after we have the initial investments of labor, samples, etc. Each bid costs us money whether we win it or not. This is a cost of doing business and a factor that is critical in helping us determine whether or not we want to invest the time, effort and money involved to compete for a customer's business.

Unbundling of Bid. If a bid request for several items may be unbundled and awarded as separate awards to several vendors, the probability factor above is negatively affected.

Bama Jammer ™ Scholarship

In November, 2005 Bama Jammer™ established the endowed scholarship below.

"Tim Counts Memorial Bama Jammer™ Scholarship"

(Taken from November, 2005 Counselor Magazine)

Bama Jammer has established a scholarship program at the University of Alabama in Huntsville , Alabama . The scholarship is available to students majoring in business, marketing or related fields with emphasis on entrepreneurship. "We are trying to identify those students who intend to start and operate their own business, not just go to work for someone else," stated Ray Steelman, Marketing Director of Bama Jammer. "This country was built on small business owners who had the courage to break away from the pack, stick their necks out and start their own businesses. Those are the type of kids that we are trying to identify and reward through this scholarship program," he continued.

The scholarship will be awarded annually to those students with entrepreneurial ambitions and who demonstrate a financial need. Along with the scholarship, an internship at Bama Jammer Promotions is being planned. "Not only will we award a scholarship, but the student will have an opportunity to actually be a part of a small business operation," stated Sharon Steelman, President of Bama Jammer. "The student will be able to apply what is learned in the classroom and apply them in the trenches at Bama Jammer. This will be a great learning experience for a young entrepreneur," she continued.

This memorial scholarship is named after the late Tim Counts, Ray Steelman's brother and son of James and Mabel Counts of Flintville, Tennessee. Tim was struck by a car and killed in the Flintville community in 1968 at age six while waiting on his school bus.

Bama Jammer is a government and commercial contractor specializing in corporate apparel and promotional products. The Advertising Specialty Institute named Bama Jammer the Fastest Growing Promotional Products Distribution Company in America - 2003 and again in 2004. In 2004, Huntsville / Madison County Chamber of Commerce named Bama Jammer the "Small Business of the Year" in the Wholesale / Retail Division. Bama Jammer was started in the trunk of the Steelmans' car and is now a world wide multi-million dollar operation.

If you would like to be considered for the UAH scholarship, here is the criteria:

Bama Jammer™ Scholarship Criteria

The scholarship will be an annual scholarship to students at any collegiate level.

1.Scholarships will be awarded to those who intend to become entrepreneurs.

2.The recipient must be aggressive, financially needy and educationally hungry.

3.Work ethic and desire are more important than a high grade point average.

4.The scholarships would be limited to business, marketing, and management type folks.

5.Along with the scholarship, Bama Jammer will likely offer an internship employment situation at Bama Jammer. This way, the students could get actual hands-on experience in real-life business situations.

6.Bama Jammer will be very active in all aspects of the scholarships. The Bama Jammer staff will be involved in the selection process. They will review the applications, assess the need, evaluate the students and make the selection.

7.The evaluation process would include a resume, essay and, in the end, a personal interview.

For specific details and to formally apply for the scholarship, contact the University of Alabama in Huntsville Business Department.

Bama Jammer™ is presently planning other scholarships for all regional colleges and universities in and around Huntsville, Alabama.

This annual endowed scholarship below was established by Bama Jammer Promotions in 2008

The Holly Tran Brown endowed annual scholarship awarded to the Women's Economic Development Council

This is an annual scholarship awarded each year to women who display a financial need and an eagerness to succeed.

Written by Sharon Steelman...

This endowed annual scholarship is named after, Holly Tran Brown, my biggest hero and the greatest influence in my life. Today, it is very difficult to find real heroes. Holly Tran Brown is certainly one although she will probably never be immortalized in movies, written about in books or featured on TV. Holly came to America from Viet Nam. All of her life she has had an undying empathy and love for all of God's creatures. Today she is very frugal, never wasting anything, but instead, finding a useful purpose for everything. This comes from the influences of her childhood in Viet Nam where her family often ate the residue that fell from the horse feed troughs and that they collected form the stable floors. That was all that they had to eat as they heard the percussion from the bombs tearing their home land apart. Holly later came to America where she had to learn the ways of this country. She taught herself to drive, to become proficient in the language and to survive. She raised three great children in spite of being constantly uprooted and traveling around the country as from one military base to another. All of her life she has been the symbol of honesty, courage, perseverance and strength. Even today her bright smile, disposition and optimistic outlook, is an encouragement to everyone that comes in contact with her. She is a true modern day hero! With this scholarship we hope to help others who like Holly possess the same honesty, courage, perseverance and strength. It is difficult for a person to pull themselves up by their boot straps if they have no boots. With this scholarship we hope to provide those boots.

.... Holly Tran Brown is my mother.

* * *

Resources

SBA Small Business Answer Desk

6302 Fairview Road, Suite 300

Charlotte, North Carolina 28210

1-800-U-ASK-SBA (1-800-827-5722)

Send e-mails to: answerdesk@sba.gov

Answer Desk TTY: (704) 344-6640

Association of Small Business Development Centers

3108 Columbia Pike

Suite 300

Arlington, VA 22204

(703)271-8700

 www.asbdc-us.org

National Minority Supplier

Development Council, Inc.

1040 Avenue of the Americas,

Second Floor

New York, New York 10018

Telephone: (212) 944-2430

Fax: (212) 719-9611

National Small Business United

1156 15Th Street. N.W.

Suite 1100

Washington, DC 20005

(202) 293-8830

 www.nsbu.org

Women's Business Enterprise National Council

1120 Connecticut Avenue, NW

Suite 1000

Washington, DC 20036

Phone: (202) 872-5515 ext. 26

Fax:(202) 872-5505

info@wbenc.org

National Womens Business Owners Corporation

1001 W. Jasmine Drive, #G

Lake Park, Florida 33403

mailto:info@nwboc.org

Phone: 1-800-675-5066.

Center for Entrepreneurial Management, Inc.

180 Varick Street

17th Floor

New York, NY 10014

(212) 633-0060

Small Business Service Bureau

544 Main Street

P.O. Box 15014

Worcester, MA 01615-0014

(508) 756-3513

Magazines

The Business Owner

16 Fox Lane

Locust Valley, NY 11560

(516) 671-8100

Entrepreneurial Manager

180 Varick Street

17 th Floor

New York, NY 10014

(212) 633-0060

Entrepreneurial Manager's Newsletter

180 Varick Street

17 th Floor

New York, NY 10014

(212) 633-0060

Journal of Small Business Management

West Virginia University

College of Business

Bureau of Business and economic Research

P.O. Box 6025

Morgantown, WV 26506-6025

(304) 293-5837

Other works by Sharon and Ray

All God's Children

Herman the Male Cow

Learn to Play the Harmonica...Nashville Style

Harmonica 101

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