MAY 2010
Greetings & Salutations:
Believe it or don't, I just flunked another test for "entrepreneurial"
traits!
From my test score, it appears I am probably better adapted
to washing dishes than running a business. Then again,
according to the governing laws of aerodynamics, Bumble Bees
can't fly either.
Let me tell you a TRUE STORY about those tests. -- You've
seen them. They usually have a headline like ...
Do You Have What It Takes To Become An Entrepreneur?
Back in 1977, an old millionaire friend of mine ... in his
late 70s ... sent me a 20-question test with a personal note
asking me to answer the questions and return them to him. --
He said he was conducting an experiment and wanted honest answers
... no fudging allowed ... to all of the questions. So,
I answered the questions and returned them to him.
A couple months later, the old millionaire sent me a letter
detailing his experiment and reporting the results.
The "test" he had sent to me had been published
in a big-name, prestigious business magazine, with a self-scoring
answer-sheet at the end of the article. -- It was the "work"
of a world-renowned psychologist.
After he had taken the "test" in the magazine, my
old friend was disappointed to learn that he didn't have what
it took to be an entrepreneur. -- As a matter of fact ... even
though he had been a real entrepreneur all his life with millions
of real dollars in the bank to prove it ... his "test"
results indicated that he should have been a 40-hour-per-week
wage-slave and put all his money in safe and secure bank deposit
accounts.
Having failed the "test" ... miserably ... he decided
to send a copy of the "test" to 35 real entrepreneurs
he knew, just to see if he was some kind of psychological freak.
-- Maybe he was just a Bumble Bee, flying with the F-14 fighters.
All 35 of the real entrepreneurs ... including me ... who
received the "test" from him were self-made millionaires
... no inheritors or lottery winners. Their educational
backgrounds ranged from elementary school dropouts to a few with
doctorates ... ranging in age from their mid-20s to late-80s.
Guess what? -- According to the "test" ... not one
of us had what it took to be an entrepreneur. We all failed
the "test."
The old millionaire sent the fully-documented results of his
experiment to the world-renowned psychologist who had created
the "test." To which the learned psychologist
responded, "The traits indicated in the test are necessary
to becoming an entrepreneur but they are not required to be an
entrepreneur."
In other words ...
If you pass the "test," you have what it takes
to become an entrepreneur - but - you can't be one.
So ... why did I tell that story?
Well, I'll tell ya. -- After taking and flunking a number
of those tests, I, myself, got to wondering ...
What Does It Really Take To Be An Entrepreneur?
Since I couldn't find an answer in my own experience, I started
asking each and every successful entrepreneur I met, "What
motivated you to start and succeed in your own business?"
As you can imagine, the answers I received ranged from the
ridiculous to the sublime ... from mystical hocus-pocus to ultra-logical
reasoning ... from irrational psycho-babble to textbook business
plans.
Then, a few years ago, a young millionaire ... in his early
30s ... solved the riddle for me. He looked me straight
in the eyes and said ...
"I don't really know. One day, I decided
to do it and just did it!"
So ... all it takes to be an entrepreneur is a decision to
be one. -- Once the decision is made, you will do it!
The decision is yours and yours alone!
Well ... that's it for this month. -- In order to make every
issue responsive to YOUR needs, please send me your questions;
or tell me what sources or resources you need to build your business;
or give me any thoughts you want to share with your fellow members.
Believe it or don't ... I ain t a mind-reader. -- If n you
doesn't tell me what you need, I may never touch upon the information,
sources or resources you need.
This is your publication for you to use to your benefit ...
I am just your moderator.
Until next month, keep well ...
J.F. (Jim) STRAW
Grande Panjandrum
Can you stump the old master? --
Betcha can't!
Over the past 50 years (man and boy), I have made bundles
of money in direct selling, service contracting, wholesale merchandising,
entertainment (I was a professional Trumpet player, vocalist
& Radio Announcer), freight forwarding, import/export, retail
merchandising, warehousing, real estate, electronics manufacturing,
finder's fees, closeout merchandising, financial brokerage, business
consulting, steel fabrication, gold and coal mining, offshore
banking, mailorder, writing, and publishing. -- That being the
case ...
No matter what business you're in ... whether you're just
starting, well on your way, or at the top of the heap ... I've
probably been where you are, done what you are doing. -- So ...
Anytime you have a question about 'how' to do something in
your business - or - if you have any comments about anything
I've said in issues of this e-Letter; or if you want to add your
2 cents worth ... just "ask" me or "tell"
me.
Send your Questions, Comments or 2 Cents Worth
to ...
with "Question" - "Comment"
- or, "2 Cents Worth" in the SUBJECT.
If I, personally, don't have an answer to any question you
may ask, I will contact some of the professionals in your field
of endeavor (I will probably know one or more personally) to
get the real 'skinny' for you.
Note: If you want to ask a question anonymously
just tell me so when you send in the question. -- Nobody but
you and I will know who asked the question.
Copyright - 20010, J.F. (Jim) Straw. All rights reserved.