7 Dark Roses - Free Audio ebooks

“The United States must cut all its foreign imports to an

absolute minimum,

a junketing American businessman de-

clared to me not long ago. “That’s the only way American

business will be able to survive.”

I’m afraid he was very surprised when I told him that, in

my opinion, the policy he advocated was tantamount to eco-

nomic suicide. The way I see it, the long-term solution to

our country’s economic problems lies in

more,

not less,

foreign trade. For the long haul, U.S. business will have to

embark on a gigantic, farsighted program of international

trade, seeking and expanding markets in foreign lands.

There is no room for isolationist business philosophies in

our present era. The world has grown far too small. The

American economy cannot batten upon itself; American

business must develop new and more overseas trade. And,

in order to sell to other countries, we must also buy from

them. It’s that simple. I firmly believe that the young

businessman who can rid his mind of outdated,

preconceived notions and gear his thinking to these needs

of the times will reap tremendous rewards. He will make

his millions. For, despite rumors and reports to the

contrary, most foreign countries

want very much to have us

sell them goods. They

want

to buy from us.

I travel extensively abroad, and I have business interests

on five continents. I have found very little evidence to indi-

cate there is any lessening of demand for products which

bear the “Made in U.S.A.” label. The American way of life

remains the golden symbol of good living everywhere. To

duplicate or imitate it is still

the goal of most people in

foreign ands—and the promise that they will do so is still

the most glowingly attractive and effective promise foreign

government leaders and politicians can make to their own

people. Even Russians admit this when they make

predictions that Soviet producti

on and living standards will

equal or surpass prevailing Am

erican levels. Whatever may

have happened to American political prestige in recent

years, there has been no appreciable loss of what, for want

of a better term, I would call American “product prestige.”

The proofs of all this are plain enough to anyone who

lives or travels abroad with open eyes and an open mind.

Most of the world outside th

e Iron Curtain happily sips

American cola and hopes some day to own a Sheaffer pen.

American automobiles are still status symbols for those

who own them in foreign countries—and so are American

refrigerators, washing machines, TV sets and a host of

other items. Arrow shirts, Colgate toothpaste, Gillette

razors and blades—these and a thousand and one other

American trade-marked products are high on the preferred

lists of foreign shoppers. In Communist countries, even

such commonplace American-made items as ballpoint pens,

lipsticks and nylon stockings fetch black-market prices ten

or more times their open-market cost. Any American who

has resided abroad for any length of time knows what it is

to be bombarded by requests that he order this or that item

from the States.

The demand is there—have no doubt about that. Foreign

markets are wide open to the enterprising American

businessman—more so now than ever before because the

wealth and buying power of people in many foreign lands

have multiplied many times in the last decade.

“But we can’t compete with foreign manufacturers,” a

U.S. industrialist complained to me recently. “They can

always undersell us.”

First of all, it’s not true that foreign manufacturers can

“always” undersell American producers. Take just two ran-

dom examples. American coal, mined by highly paid Ameri-

can miners, is sold in a great many parts of Europe at a

lower price than English coal, which is produced by English

miners who earn far less than their U.S. counterparts. An

Italian-made shirt of a quality equal to that of a five-dollar

American shirt sells for more than eight dollars in Italy.

The secret of competing in the foreign market lies in

realizing that no foreign country has yet truly mastered the

techniques of high-quality mass-production to the degree

that we have. Nor do many foreign businessmen

understand the theory behind volume turnover at

comparatively small per-sale profits. In the main, they still

cling to the long-outmoded principle of making large profits

per sale and contenting themselves with relatively small

turnover.

Unquestionably, import duties levied by many foreign

countries often raise the prices on American goods well

above those of like items produced within the countries

themselves.

As I see it, enterprising American businessmen can best

serve their own—and the public’s—interest by demanding

that the U.S. Government use all the resources at its

disposal to prevail upon other countries to lower or abolish

their import duties on American products. This—not the

raising of our own tariff walls—will provide a bulwark

against recession and unemployment.

At the same time, it is the American businessman’s job

to devise new means and techniques which will enable him

to produce more at lower cost while rigorously maintaining

traditional American standards of quality. Then, he must

sell his product abroad just as imaginatively and

energetically as he does at home.

“But how is it possible to reduce production costs when

wages and prices on everything from raw materials to ma-

chinery are constantly rising?” is a question I’ve heard

more times than I’d care to count. I maintain that

production can always be increased and costs can always be

cut if one knows enough about

his business to know where

to look for waste and inefficiency. There are always means

whereby economies may be achieved without lowering

standards of quality.

To start with, it’s an old manufacturing law that when

production is doubled, production costs are automatically

reduced by 20 percent. I hardly

think any further comment

is needed on this. Then, there is administrative overhead—

a cost item which can almost invariably stand a great deal

of judicious pruning. It’s very seldom necessary for an

assistant vice-president’s secretary to have her own

secretary. I’ve run my business personally for decades—and

I’ve never found any need for more than one secretary.

Truth to tell, much that is dictated and then typed in

multiple copies could be passed on faster, more efficiently

and more cheaply by the simple expedient of dialing a

telephone. And I’ll wager that

most firms could slash their

“entertainment” budgets by 50 percent or more without

losing a single sale. I can take a drink or two myself, but

I’ve observed that one generally does far more business in

15 minutes over a cup of coffee than he can possibly do in

three hours over a six-martini lunch.

There is no Federal statute that requires all salesmen

and executives in a company to fly “deluxe” wherever they

go, when they can get where they’re going just as fast,

almost as comfortably—and at an impressively lower cost—

on tourist flights. There are many other areas in which the

smart young businessman will find that he can effect

important economies. There is always room for

improvement—and for savings—in business, be it in the

home office, the plant or wherever.

I’m not advocating senseless penny-pinching. I am, how-

ever, saying that there is no excuse for waste or unneces-

sary expenditures if one is faced with heavy competition. In

any all-out business battle to capture markets, it is neces-

sary to reduce all costs wherever possible—an axiom some

firms and individuals tend to

forget during peak boom

periods.

Young men who want to start making a million today

have a wide variety of business fields from which to choose

when selecting their careers. The one an individual selects

will, of course, depend largely on his particular talents, in-

terest, background, training and experience. The alert man-

ufacturer knows that there is a great demand for new and

improved products of all kinds. The man with a flair for

merchandising will see the great potentials in wholesaling

or retailing. Other men will realize they can make their

fortunes by providing new and better services to industry or

the public at large. Simply stated, it all adds up to this: The

man who comes up with a means for doing or producing

almost anything better, faster or more economically has his

future and his fortune at his fingertips. Don’t

misunderstand me. It is not easy to build a business and

make a million. It takes hard—extremely hard—work.

There are no nine-to-five hours and no five-day weeks for

the boss.

“I studied the lives of great men and famous women,” ex-

President Harry S. Truman remarked, “and I found that

the men and women who got to the top were those who did

the jobs they had in hand, with everything they had of

energy and enthusiasm and hard work.”

There are no absolutely safe or sure-fire formulas for

achieving success in business. Nonetheless, I believe that

there are some fundamental rules to the game which, if

followed, tip the odds for success very much in the

businessman’s favor. These are rules which I’ve applied

throughout my entire career—and which every millionaire

businessman with whom I am acquainted has followed. The

rules have worked for them—and for me. They’ll work for

you, too.

Almost without exception, there is only one way to

make a great deal of money in the business world—and

that is in one’s own business. The man who wants to go into

business for himself should choose a field which he knows

and understands. Obviously, he can’t know everything

there is to know from the very beginning, but he should not

start until he has acquired a good, solid working knowledge

of the business.

The businessman should never lose sight of the

central aim of all business—to produce more and better

goods or provide more and better services to more people at

lower cost.

A sense of thrift is essential for success in business.

The businessman must discipline himself to practice

economy wherever possible, in his personal life as well as

his business affairs. “Make your money first—then think

about spending it,” is the best of all possible credos for the

man who wishes to succeed.

Legitimate opportunities for expansion should never

be ignored or overlooked. On the other hand, the

businessman must always be on his guard against the

temptation to over expand

or launch expansion programs

blindly, without sufficient justification and planning.

Forced growth can be fatal to any business, new or old.

A businessman must run his own business. He

cannot expect his employees to think or do as well as he

can. If they could, they would not be his employees. When

“The Boss” delegates authority or responsibility, he must

maintain close and constant supervision over the

subordinates entrusted with it.

The businessman must be constantly alert for new

ways to improve his products and services and increase his

production and sales. He should also use prosperous

periods to find the ways by which techniques may be

improved and costs lowered. It is only human for people to

give little thought to economies when business is booming.

That, however, is just the time when the businessman has

the mental elbow room to examine his operations calmly

and objectively and thus effect important savings without

sacrificing quality or efficiency. Many businessmen wait for

lean periods to do these things and, as a result, often hit

the panic button and slash costs in the wrong places.

A businessman must be willing to take risks—to risk

his own capital and to lose his credit and risk borrowed

money as well when, in his considered opinion, the risks

are justified. But borrowed money must always be promptly

repaid. Nothing will write finis to a career faster than a bad

credit rating.

A businessman must constantly seek new horizons

and untapped or under-exploited markets. As I’ve already

said at some length, most of the world is eager to buy

American products and know-how; today’s shrewd

businessman looks to foreign markets.

Nothing builds confidence and volume faster or

better than a reputation for standing behind one’s work or

products. Guarantees should always be honored—and in

doubtful cases, the decision should always be in the

customer’s favor. A generous service policy should also be

maintained. The firm that is known to be completely

reliable will have little difficulty filling its order books and

keeping them filled.

10. No matter how many millions an individual amasses,

if he is in business he must always consider his wealth as a

means for improving living conditions everywhere. He must

remember that he has responsibilities toward his as-

sociates, employees, stockholders—and the public.

Do you want to make a million? Believe me, you can— if

you are able to recognize the limitless opportunities and

potentials around you and will apply these rules and work

hard. For today’s alert, ambitious and able young men, all

that glitters truly

can

be gold.