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Today's corporate world is largely devoid of loyalty between
employer and employee. In my generation it was not uncommon to join
a company right out of school and retire from that company. We were
advised that if you worked hard, applied yourself, and excelled in
your job you would be rewarded with pay raises, promotions, and a
retirement program for your 'golden years'. All of this is gone
with the wind - of corporate greed, merger mania, and simple
business survival. In these tumultuous and fast changing times
fueled by the computer age - compensation, benefits and retirement
programs are as dependable as the current financial health and
integrity of the owners. When the privately owned air conditioning
manufacturer that I worked for was sold to a giant conglomerate, my
future was placed in the hands of people who didn't even know where
we were on the map. They had not the slightest understanding of our
business nor did they appreciate the dedicated workers who built
the business. Commitments made by the previous owner were soon
broken and compensation programs - tied to the growth of the
business - evaporated. It soon became painfully clear to me that
the only person in that organization who was interested in my
future - was me So what to do about it? Going to work for another
company was an alternative (several of our competitors had
solicited me) but there was no guarantee the same thing would not
happen again. A better alternative would be to form my own business
and be free of corporate bondage for good. As sales manager I
certainly knew how to sell their products, but how to parley this
into a business? With a young and growing family my bank account
was paper thin. Many questions emerged - such as financing the
venture, finding the right people - even the structure of the
business itself. The statistics of success are daunting. Only one
of five new businesses survives beyond two years. The answers to
these questions and many others are the subject of this chronicle.
Since there are literally thousands of 'how to' books in print why
is this one unique? Well - they say that good judgment is the
result of experience - which is the result of bad judgment. Our
miss-calls were as important as the right ones in forming the
fabric of our emerging companies. Both are revealed herein. Scratch
a businessman or an entrepreneur, and you will likely find a
salesman. All are profiled within these pages. The prime business
we chose was to be an Independent Manufacturers Representative (a
highly insecure venture, but one that offers big rewards for those
willing to take the gamble). As the business became successful we
invested some of our profits in creating outside ventures such as
real estate and real estate development - in order to 'copper our
bets'. At this juncture I became an entrepreneur. If you have an
itch to break free from the stifling atmosphere of the corporation
in order to be your own person - if you want to avoid being a
victim of circumstances - if you long to enjoy the personal and
financial freedom of running your own show, and living life as you
please ----- read on.
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