Me, Inc. Page 9

Or you can decide to become an entrepreneur. YOU will become the corporation. YOU will become the boss. YOU stand to make the big bucks. In order to do that, you cannot and should not build your venture on the old business model.

  Remember, if you’re building a business in America, YOU are the last person who will get paid (if there is any profit). The workers always get paid first. And their health coverage, retirement funds, and other issues are also paid first. Buildings, office space, rent, insurance, equipment—these things all cost lots of money, and you are the one who will pay for it all.

  If, after all that money goes out, there is any profit left, you will still have to pay tax on that to the United States government. The 50 percent tax bracket kicks in, when you earn approximately $250,000 and over. So you’ll wind up with half of that last precious dollar—after everyone else, and everything else, gets paid first: about $125,000.

  Not much of an incentive to start a company in America, is it?

  Which is why I want to stress the idea of ME, as a corporation.

  Have a killer instinct. I still do. And I don’t have to. I would, arguably, make a living without trying very hard at this point. My bills are paid. I don’t have to write this book, or be in a rock band, or be partners in all the companies I’ve mentioned.

  Why do it?

  Because I’m a champion. I pride myself not only on what I’ve achieved, but on what I dream of achieving.

  I refuse to sit on my thumb all day and talk about yesterday.

  That’s for wimps.

  I’m a today and tomorrow person.

  The past is wonderful, but it’s the past. The only thing that counts is the here and now, and tomorrow.

  Are you like me?

  If you are, then you are greatly increasing your chances of becoming a proud member of the Me, Inc. mind-set.

  YOU first.

  Everyone else second.

  THE ART OF MORE: PRINCIPLE #2

  PAY YOUR DUES, DO THE WORK

  It’s a good practice, before making a major life decision regarding what you want to do to make money, to get your hands on everything that’s out there. Put yourself out there and dive in. As far as I’m concerned, that’s far braver than trying to be a trailblazer and waiting for the public to catch on. If life gives you an opportunity—and we’re blessed to be living in America, the land of opportunity—there are no excuses. You simply cannot fail. In launching a business, you can use your own money, or you can borrow and then fail and even if you can’t pay your debt, the government allows you to declare Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy. And then you can start again. You cannot fail. Since you have all the opportunities the universe has to offer, you have no excuse. None.

  14

  Role Models

  “Your time is precious, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

  STEVE JOBS

  innovative entrepreneur, inventor, and home computer pioneer, cofounder and CEO of Apple, Inc., cofounder of Pixar Animation Studios, and developer of the iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and iPad

  I would recommend you watch the movie Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher, if you don’t have the time to read Jobs’s biography. Steve Jobs’s story, his relentless vision to start a new computer company, is filled with lessons for the modern entrepreneur. There are lessons in this movie you need to take notice of.

  The film is about a college kid who didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. He was bored. With everything. He didn’t work well with rules or within societal norms. (Note: I’m not recommending this lifestyle.) He had lots of female liaisons, but committed to none. He used drugs and got high a lot. Reality and the status quo didn’t inspire him or fire his imagination. A nine-to-five existence simply didn’t appeal to him. He was directionless. Uninspired. Empty.

  But one fundamental notion resonated with him, as the movie makes clear: he didn’t want to work for anyone.

  Sound like you?

  One day, lightning strikes. And Steve Jobs is possessed. He’s not sure what the inspiration is, or how he’s going to pursue it. He is sure of one thing: it has to do with technology and computers.

  What do Steve Jobs and Apple, the computer company he cofounded, have to do with you and your aspirations to start your own company?

  Quite a bit, actually.

  It’s called a business model. A business philosophy.

  Steve Jobs wasn’t good in school. In fact, he dropped out. School bored him. He wasn’t a technological genius. His people skills were horrendous. He was arrogant. He actually abandoned and never visited the child he had with his girlfriend. He bullied people. He fired his friends. He hardly ever complimented others. He was selfish. Some considered him to be insane, or a megalomaniac. When his friends and colleagues pointed out his shortcomings, he simply didn’t care what anyone else’s assessments were.

  But he was relentless.

  Nothing and no one would stop him from achieving his objectives.

  That last sentence, with some variations, is something repeated at various points in this book. It’s worth repeating, because it’s important, and it’s something that you need to remember at all times.

  Now, I’m not saying that you have to duplicate all of Steve Jobs’s character traits. I would hope that we can be successful entrepreneurs while still treating other people with kindness and respect.

  But it’s important to make note of the things that Jobs did right. And remember that before he started, he had no experience in business. He was completely unqualified to start a company. In fact, he barely had any work experience of any kind.

  But his business model was sound. He did it right. Perhaps instinctively.

  Steve Jobs surrounded himself with the right partners. Like Steve Wozniak, who was the one who actually invented the technology at the core of the Macintosh and with whom Jobs founded Apple Computer.

  Jobs didn’t create the technology or design the systems that would become Apple. But it was Jobs who created the industry that would become Apple. And it was Jobs who came up with the Apple name and brand. He wasn’t sure what the technology would be, and didn’t know exactly what he was looking for. At one point in the movie, he turns to his team and says, “Give me something new. Give me something everyone can use. Give me something you are passionate about.”

  Hardly a specific tech direction. And yet that’s exactly what his team did. And continues to do.

  Jobs had a strong and articulate vision for what he wanted and used that to create the business model for Apple. He minimized financial exposure (in other words, he spent as little money as possible) by working out of his parents’ garage. And presto, Apple Computer was born. Apple had no rent to pay, no parking facilities, no insurance. Jobs gave some of his initial team shares in the hypothetical new company, and spent little or no cash.

  Steve Jobs then went to a retail outlet—a computer store—and convinced the owner to buy fifty computers that his team would build. He also negotiated to get a higher price per computer and increased the quantity of the order. That initial order started Apple Computer. However, Jobs and Apple wouldn’t get paid until they delivered the computers to the store.

  Jobs then pursued investors. He was repeatedly and routinely dismissed, but he did not take no for an answer. Take note of that. He continued to look for an investor to provide seed money, until he found one. A former Intel partner was looking for a new start-up. The financial offer from the Intel guy turned into a negotiation and Jobs kept at it, until the Intel guy quadrupled his investment in the new start-up company called Apple. The rest is history.

  Jobs’s climb up the ladder of success wasn’t seamless and it wasn’t easy. And it won’t be for you, either. Although Jobs had the idea, founded the company, and was the leader of his team, the company that he founded would fire him a few years later.

  After being fired by Apple, Jobs then had to go back to square one and put together a new team. Espousing the same business philosophy/model, he soon clim
bed his way back to the top with NeXT and then Pixar. He subsequently said getting fired was the best thing that had ever happened to him, because he was at his most creative as a beginner.

  Meanwhile, Apple had fallen on hard times, and only got back on their feet after acquiring NeXT, which allowed Jobs to return as CEO of the company he founded.

  Create your company. Control your company.

  Jobs was a leader. And you need to be that in order to be a successful entrepreneur. Jobs was not liked by many people, and it’s fair to say he was feared by many people. The people who loved him were loyal to him, and to his “Apple culture.” The people who hated him had to sit on the sidelines and watch as he took a start-up from his parents’ garage to a worldwide business empire.

  Jobs found the seed money to start the company. You will have to do the same to get your enterprise off the ground. Jobs put together a team to implement his vision. And you will have to put a team together to implement yours. Jobs fired anyone who didn’t share his vision. You may have to do the same. Jobs fired his friends, without thinking twice about it. Can you? Jobs let no one and nothing stop him from pursuing his vision. Can you?

  Say what you will about Steve Jobs, but his last name defined what he did.

  He created Jobs. He invented himself.

  Again, I’m not suggesting that you have to be arrogant or selfish or mean-spirited the way Steve Jobs may have been. I’m certainly not saying you should abandon your child and concentrate only on your business.

  What I am saying is that anything and anyone that takes your time and attention away from your pursuit of success is something that you don’t need while you’re pursuing success. And that includes family, children, and relationships. At least while you’re young and starting out.

  Maybe you shouldn’t get married or have children for a long time. Maybe you shouldn’t waste time hanging out with your friends and doing nothing. Maybe you should be hanging out with people who are brighter and are further up the ladder of success than you are.

  It’s up to you.

  When you’re starting out, your every waking moment, including weekends, should be spent on launching your enterprise. Don’t let anything or anyone take you away from being committed to YOU.

  That’s right: don’t take breaks.

  Don’t take vacations.

  Pursue something that makes you tenacious and passionate, so you never feel like you need a vacation. Business is life, and your life is your business.

  Stay committed to YOU and only YOU. And do that until you’ve succeeded. You can decide when that is.

  Then, once you’ve succeeded—which may happen in your twenties or may not happen until you’re middle-aged—then you can start thinking about a family and love and children and mortgages and car payments and insurance, etc. But there are sacrifices to be made, and some of these sacrifices aren’t equal across all lines—gender lines especially. I’ll get into this later.

  There is an old saying: “If the mountain won’t come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain.”

  In essence, this means that opportunity will not come to you. It won’t knock on your door. You must create the opportunity (that is, the right thing at the right place at the right time). You have to be ready for it, so that if or when it comes, you can take full advantage of it.

  It also means that Mommy and Daddy won’t be there to wipe your nose, feed you, and create your successful venture, unless your family is already filthy rich and they hand over the family business. And even then, unless you’re qualified and ready to take it on, you may well drive the family business into the ground. Someone can open a door for you. You still have to walk through it without tripping and greet what’s on the other side, alone.

  It means the government won’t (and shouldn’t) cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s for you. Living in the Age of Entitlement, we might expect the government to make sure that we’re all healthy and happy. But in the real world, entrepreneurs take care of themselves.

  Speaking of personal responsibility, you may want to read up on Ayn Rand. She’s a punch line, at times, in certain media outlets. But she has a very distinct point of view that we can take to heart, regarding individual responsibility to do well. She opined that if one lives in America, or another free country that gives you both opportunity and free will, that’s all you need, and the rest is up to the individual.

  She was born a Russian Jewess at the beginning of the twentieth century, and lived through the Cossacks’ annihilation of Jews, and barely survived the chaos of Russia’s communist revolution. She came to America without being able to speak a word of English and promised herself not to depend on government for anything. Since America gave her the same opportunities as native-born Americans and the freedom to express herself in any way she chose, she promised herself that she would forever be grateful and become self-sufficient.

  Rand was opposed to the idea of the welfare state, and that’s putting it mildly. She believed that it took away people’s incentive to dig themselves out of the slums they were in. She believed that it is the responsibility of individuals to educate themselves and find jobs—and if no jobs are available where they live, then to move to places where they are available. In fact, she believed it was one’s responsibility to oneself to do so. This principle is known in the business world as having “an inferred fiduciary duty to yourself”—you’ve heard this phrase before in this book, and you’ll hear it again.

  Ayn Rand is controversial, and whether or not you agree with her philosophies, I think it’s safe to say that the less you depend on government and the more self-sufficient you are, the better off you’ll be.

  THE ART OF MORE: PRINCIPLE #3

  LEARN FROM THE MASTERS

  I am an avid reader. I devour information and love history. And, interestingly enough, history books are filled with information that may give you greater insight into how capitalism works. Yes, I’ve read Civilization, An Empire of Their Own, and Money. But on their own, they aren’t the kinds of books people tend to think of when they are trying to find the “Secrets of Success.”

  As I learned how the Gutenberg Bible opened up the floodgates of literacy to the great unwashed masses, and especially when I entered my first public library, I became aware that for the first time since the dawn of man, the masses have gotten access to the same information that the rich have. For free.

  And now with the Internet, all of human knowledge is also available to us instantaneously wherever we are.

  I suppose I could point you in the direction of a few entrepreneurs who have climbed the ladder of success, or other insightful books on the nature of entrepreneurship. But that’s too simple. And it would do you a disservice. Because there is no shortcut. All the information you need to enhance your powers of entrepreneurship does not live in one place. Not in one book—not even this one. And not in any one person. No matter how successful they are. And that includes me.

  My journey is mine alone. I figured out how to get through my own maze. It may not apply to the journey you will have to make on your own in order to succeed. But it doesn’t mean you can’t learn something from the success of others.

  Who are your role models? Your idols? What can you learn from them? Follow their every move in the news. Watch their decisions and how they conduct themselves. Read their books, learn from their experience, think about how to apply it to your life and goals.

  Pick up the Wall Street Journal every day and read it. Read about the lives and careers of people such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, and others, to see what you can learn. Whatever you do, just read.

  15

  Vacations, Holidays, and Other Wastes of Time

  “If you live for weekends—or vacations—your shit is broken.”

  GARY VAYNERCHUK

  Russian-born branding, social media, and retail entrepreneur

  Capitalism has made it possible for all of us to enjoy the privileges that were p
reviously reserved for the rich. We have equal access to all the information mankind has amassed in its entire existence. And because of the Industrial Revolution and other wonderful advancements, we now have lots of spare time that would otherwise be filled with menial tasks. Technology, if used properly, can free your day up significantly.

  If we are fortunate enough to have a job, we typically work five days a week, and have two days off on the weekend. Sometimes we even get three-day weekends. Most of us with jobs get two weeks off per year in paid vacation days. We also have all sorts of paid holidays off. We get paid sick days. And women get paid maternity leave.

  If you add it all up, most of us spend relatively little time working, or focusing on our careers at all. We may even have more time off than actual workdays.

  In previous centuries, workdays often lasted ten or twelve hours, and there were often six or seven such days in a workweek. Wages were a few dollars a week. Vacations were only for the rich.

  So here you are, with lots of free time on your hands. And you’ve certainly gotten used to it. And perhaps expect it.

  When you were growing up, your parents may have given you a very comfortable life. So did the school system. You probably went to school from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon. Homework aside, the rest of the day was yours to use as you pleased. You had weekends to yourself. You had holidays to yourself. If you got sick, you could stay home and still get fed.

  None of this prepared you for what life is really like.

  Right after you graduate from school, you may come to the stark realization that you don’t have the slightest idea of how or where to get a job. You probably have no idea how you are going to make a living, much less make your fortune. For one thing, you don’t know how capitalism works. You may not know much about economics, but you will certainly still need to understand the basics of a business model if you are going to become a successful entrepreneur.

  That means that you will have to think for yourself, and that you will have to educate yourself. And that all of it will be YOUR responsibility.