by J.F. (Jim) Straw
Over the past 50+ years, I have made fortune after fortune in a diversity of businesses … 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 & coal mining, offshore banking, mailorder, writing, and publishing.
As I made those fortunes (while I was still doing it), I wrote down what I was doing, why I had done it, and how I had done it, for future generations of aggressive entrepreneurs. By reading what, why and how I had done it future generations of entrepreneurs wouldn’t have to learn by trial and error as I had.
It thrilled me no end to learn that students of mine amassed fortunes … sometimes even greater than my own … doing what I had taught them. — It saddened me, however, to learn that other students of mine had not.
Why?
What was the difference between those of my students who achieved great successes and those who didn’t? Both had the same opportunity. Both had the same training. — What could they be doing differently?
I found the answer, written some 50 years ago, on a yellowing piece of paper, in the top drawer of my desk. — It admonished …
“Let him who would be great among you be servant to all.”
Whenever I have taken on a product or service to sell … whether my own or someone else’s … my first and only question was “Will this product or service be of benefit to my customers?”
If the product or service didn’t offer a true value and benefit to my customers, I simply found another product or service that would … regardless of how much I could have made selling it
Unfortunately, all too many beginning entrepreneurs ask only “How much is the commission to me?”
You will find this attitude prevalent on the Internet where hopeful affiliates concentrate on “how much” they can make in commissions without considering the value and benefit to their customers.
Before taking on any product or service to sell to your customers, ask yourself “Will this product or service be of benefit to my customers?” — If not, find another product or service that will serve your customers.
My lifelong success system has made me fortune after fortune based on the simple admonition …
“Let him who would be great among you be servant to all.”
Adopt the same principle and achieve the success that you have been seeking.
Having spent over 50 years in business, doing business successfully, J.F. (Jim) Straw now shares “Practical Instruction in the Arts & Sciences of Making Money” at the Business Lyceum. — http://www.businesslyceum.com