Success Strategies for Anyone Starting or Growing a Business

to find anyone better than the legendary Wilson Harrell. A country boy, hobo come war hero, friend of the famous and enemy to the powerful. TV producer, marketing extraordinaire and most important of all, survivor of many an entrepreneurial battle.

hat does it take to become a successful entrepreneur in todays business world? Well, there are many giants of business you could ask but you would be hard pressed

Entrepreneurs Only is for anyone thinking of becoming an entrepreneur and for any entrepreneur trying to become better.
USA Today Wilson Harrell is quite simply a business legend. Be warned! This is not a step by step guide for starting a business. What you will gain from investing 20 minutes to immerse yourself in these pages is a crystal clear view of what it takes to become a true entrepreneur. IN THIS SUMMARY Discover if Entrepreneurs are born or made, how to test your million Entrepreneurial Terror Buccaneer or Farmer? No Matter WhatKeep Control The TQE How-To 2 3 6 8 dollar ideas, the secrets to thriving in a recession and the strategies you can use to launch your business into the stratosphere. So get ready for a rollercoaster ride into the trials and triumphs of a rare bread of entrepreneur. The type that stands strong in the face of terror and uncertainty and makes dreams come true.

ESSENTIAL BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE FOR HIGH ACHIEVERS

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wilson Harrells leadership spirit was forged by dogfights in the skies over enemy territory in World War II. Mr. Harrell then took his fighting can-do spirit into the business world to become a champion of entrepreneurship, as the author of For Entrepreneurs Only, as the contributing editor of Success Magazine and as the publisher of Inc Magazine. ENTREPRENEURIAL TERROR I dont know where you are in your business journey at the moment; you may be starting your first company or halfway through becoming a giant industry. Either way, you belong to a very special club. You didnt know it, but your admission was automatic and your time in this unique organisation is indefinite. Welcome to the Club of Terror. WORLD WAR II TERROR Fear is something I learned about early on. As a fighter pilot I was shot down behind enemy lines. Badly burned and in a lot of pain I was lucky enough to be picked up by the French underground and hidden in a corn field. Imagine it, buried alive with only a hose stuck in my mouth so I could breathe. My first time being buried lasted 4 hours and gave me ample time to consider many terrifying possibilities. What could the Germans do? 1. Put a bayonet through the dirt and into me? 2. Shoot the hole with bullets? 3. Accidentally kick the hose? 4. Turn on the faucet?... For 11 days I was buried in pain, in darkness. I got to live with what we all experience at some point on our journey, complete and utter terror. Through the grace of God or just pure luck, I was eventually rescued but never forgot my bout with this most consuming of emotions. Normal human emotions such as fear, frustration and anxiety are the least of your troubles now. You are in the middle of an emotion that God created just for entrepreneurs. Now, I am not talking about ordinary fear. No, terror is something entirely different. You see, the terror of an entrepreneur is self inflicted. It happens when you, by most standards a normal person, make a conscious decision that catapults you over the chasm of fear into your own private 2

realm filled with demons devouring every part of your being. In fact, this terror is so secret that each of us feels we are the only ones to endure this ordeal. The question has to be asked, what creates this terror? Well, I can assure you it isnt the money, No, I believe that every entrepreneur has a subconscious fear that they will become ordinary. Just a face in the crowd. This creates an overriding need to make a mark on this world. To have our feats echo in eternity you might say. HOW TO OVERCOME ENTREPRENEURIAL TERROR Always remember, the pure elation you feel from having to face that gut wrenching terror more than makes up for all the suffering. Most important of all is getting through that first harrowing encounter. If you feel it is more than you can stand then dont be alarmed. Get used to it, learn to stand in the eye of the storm and still move forward. This unique club is for the strong willed only. But if you fail, dont worry, there is no limit to the amount of times you can join up. LOOK FEAR IN THE EYE AND DONT BLINK My first company represented Kraft Foods Co. It sold Kraft products to military bases in Europe. Things were going very well and I was making money like there was no tomorrow. Then, a bombshell. Kraft management decided that if I could do it, then so could they, and cheaper. Half my market was about to be wiped out because Krafts own people would be taking over the military market in Germany. I was stunned. My income was about to be halved and my profit shot to hell. I had to make a stand. With fear coursing through my veins, I took a deep breath, picked up the phone and said, ...if you take over in Germany, Im going to let you take over everywhere. Absolute silence followed my ultimatum to Kraft President, J Clyde Loftis. It would be safe to say that a third party had just entered our meeting...Terror. 30 days later I received a letter from Kraft. My hands were shaking so much I had to have my secretary open it. But, much to my relief, Kraft had backed down. So how do you make the terror go away, or even deal with it for that matter? Youre going to hate me for this, but I have no rock solid steps for making this happen. Except

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I do have one technique that works for me from time to time. I get in my car, alone, and drive around cursing with every four letter word in my vocabulary. If you dont know any curses then write me. I will send you a list that will take you a day or so to get through. In my opinion, the ability to live with terror is the single most important factor to your entrepreneurial success. And what a way to breathe life and excitement into the boring world that we would otherwise live in. So learn to live with it, and welcome to the club. ENTREPRENEURS...BORN OR MADE? From pre-cavemen days and throughout ancient history, our ancestors hunted to live. As time went by, farming became the way to put food on the table. This has continued for generations but as any good geneticist will tell you, genes are hard to kill. So it is safe to say that some of those hunter genes have survived and have been handed down through the generations to some of us. So, in a world almost totally dominated by farmers there are still a few keen hunters plying our trade. How do you know if you are a hunter? Lets go through some of the main characteristics as they apply to entrepreneurship and see if you dont find some of your qualities here: Monitor your environment constantly. Move into chase mode at a moments notice. Flexible, always ready to change strategy quickly. Tireless and can keep this drive up when hot on the trail. Results orientated, intensely aware how close the goal is now. Clearly see the goal in every detail, even if it cant be explained. Independent. Mundane tasks bore the heck out of you new ideas charge you. Ready, willing and able to face risks and danger. Decisions come quickly no time for niceties here. What is amazing about all this is that when you look up the characteristics of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) you will find very similar traits. We are drugging our kids and future with all kinds of harmful chemicals because these little hunters have trouble living in a world now dominated by farmers. Scary isnt it? So, back to our question of Nature vs. Nurture.

Well, the most innate drive of an entrepreneur is the desire for freedom. Isnt it possible that our forefathers passed their freedom gene down to us? Granted, over the generations some have ended up with a variety of hunter and farmer genes but regardless, there seems overwhelming evidence that entrepreneurs are born and not made. And the match that starts the blaze is the desire for freedom. BUCCANEER OR FARMER? Larry King once asked me why I had sold out of so many companies and why I couldnt stick to one thing. My answer was provocative, but the truth is still the truth. I told Larry that there are 2 types of entrepreneur: 1. The Buccaneer This swashbuckler enjoys nothing more than to charge with his sword drawn through unknown lands, fighting the Indians, stealing all the gold, having their way with the women and above all just having one hell of a time. 2. The Farmer Obviously you cant build a company or a country for that matter without the type of entrepreneur who will build the homes, prepare the soil or plant the crops. However, Im no farmer. I am and always will be a buccaneer. You see, the buccaneer lives for the thrill of creating something then building a team to make it happen. But to create a successful venture you need both types. So what happens when this venture reaches a stage of maturity where managers are running the show? THE TRANSITION You can make the jump from buccaneer to farmer. But those who can do this are in the minority. To continue to build a company over the long term is for the select few. Ford, Tom Watson of IBM, Michael Dell and Fred Smith of Federal Express did it. However, many try and are met with failure. Here lies the body of an entrepreneur who failed to understand that the genius who starts a company cannot will not be the same person who runs a large company. Roy Cammarano What is important is to know who you are and base your decisions on that. So youre not a good farmer? Deal with it, and sell your company for a mint while youre still having fun and then start another one. You are a rare breed who finds delight in the endless hours, begging for money

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and despising your bank manager. ENTREPRENEURIAL TRANSITIONS From starting off to becoming a fortune 500 company is a long and windy trail fraught with difficulty. The most important thing to remember, if you are to embark on this path, is that the person you are when you start your company will be a totally different person to the one running it when it matures. There are 4 stages to go through in this maturing process. Phase 1. Entrepreneurial Genius These are the men and women with an idea who draw through their pure excitement and optimism all involved towards the realisation of a dream. Phase 2. Benevolent Dictator This person believes completely in themselves. They are control freaks and suffocate all involved with their domineering teacher-like ways. I love these first 2 stages. Phase 3. Disassociated Director This is when things start to get a little shaky. The entrepreneur must begin to let go as employees do not want to be suffocated any longer by depending on the leader for every decision. If you are in this phase you will be moody, confused and full of distrust. This stage can be disastrous if not handled effectively. Phase 4. Visionary Leader The dream is fulfilled because there is communication, agreement and teamwork. A large organisation has been built and the sky is the limit. Dont worry if you never make it to this phase because most entrepreneurs are destined to repeat phase 1 and 2 again and again. But, if you can stomach it, go all the way through to phase 4. Dont be surprised however, if you give up the visionary life for the excitement of the early stages, a time when the universe danced to the beat of your drum and you were arrogant and proud. In my opinion there is nothing like it. Oh, I almost forgot. There is another entrepreneur breed. They are the backbone of a countrys economy and unsung heroes. They have a simple goal and stop when they get it. They are content to take the risk of starting a company and if it works will never take that risk again. They live normal, sane lives and their bankers cherish them. Who are they? They are small business people. They own franchises and shop front stores and God bless them. LEADERSHIP AND ENTREPRENEURS Of all the ingredients of an entrepreneur, leadership is

essential. But what makes a great leader? You may be good looking with the entire alphabet after your name and still may not be able to lead anyone. On the other hand, I have seen ugly, nasty SOBs who you would follow anywhere. Going through fire and brimstone is what creates a leader. They are not born, as psychologists claim; they are made through the fire of experience. Combat, whether in war or in business is a prerequisite for learning and testing leadership skills. And the only way to become a great leader is from having been led well. TO BE A LEADER YOU MUST FOLLOW ONE Flying a P38 in one of many combat missions during WWII, I saw something that made my voice rise a few octaves as I reported to my commander. A bunch of German fighters that looked like a flock of birds in the distance. Upon hearing my report Major Gerry Gardner calmly said, Lets go get em. Can you imagine it? 4 idiots pursuing 67 enemy fighters who happened to be the cream of the German Air Force. Bit by bit we got closer and Im not ashamed to say I was half scared to death. Now you have to understand that there is one sacred rule when engaging in aerial combat: always keep formation. Under no conditions, if you want to live, do you break this rule. Well, just as the enemy turned in to engage us, Gerry uttered some immortal words, Every man for himself! A dog fight to end all dogfights ensued with us shooting down 47 German planes with all 4 of us surviving. I was unfortunately shot down and half burned alive before I was picked up by the French underground and later rescued by tanks sent by General Patton. How did they find me? Well, unbeknownst to me, as we began our chase Gerry had notified base of our position by letting another priceless phrase escape his lips, Get down here, we got over 50 yellow-noses cornered. What is it that made 3 pilots follow 1 man to what was almost certain death? Gerry Gardner was a leader. By what I learned through following him, I became one. ONLY GAMBLERS RISK I am going to say something that may shock you. Entrepreneurs are not risk takers! To many of you this may seem like a foolish statement but you ask any true entrepreneur if they are risk takers and they will answer in the negative. Entrepreneurs are so sure that whatever project theyre

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currently working on is going to succeed that, in their minds, there is no risk. How is this mindset possible? Simple. Add creativity to risk and whats left is aggression naked aggression. If you feel the project you are engaged in is risky then look at it again and inject as much creativity as you can until the risk is no more. Mark my words, fellow entrepreneur. On this journey you will be faced with many deals where your ability to be creative will be called upon. All you can do is move aggressively, with confidence. If the risk is still there after every possible angle is exhausted then let the deal go, no matter how lucrative. BEFORE ANYTHING, TEST YOUR MILLION DOLLAR IDEA Before you quit your job and put a 2nd mortgage on your house to start a new business I want to outline a few things you should know. Firstly it doesnt take a lot of money. Dont get me wrong, $20 million helps a whole lot; however all my plan requires is good old fashioned creativity, action and determination. Ask the Will-it-sell? and Will-I-make-money-out-of-it? questions to see if your idea is worth your energy. Will-it-sell? 1. Your idea must pass what is called the Well, Ill be damned! test. Get a sample of your widget. If its too expensive to produce one then draw a picture or write a description of it. Just make it so whoever you are showing it to will easily understand it and what it does. 2. Show 20 people. No family or friends allowed, only show this to people who will be objective. If the majority dont give you the Ill be damned! response then forget it. But dont give up. Go back to the drawing board like a true entrepreneur would. 3. If you pass this test then the next question is: Would they pay for this if they found it in a store? And how much? 4. Now give them a choice in this next question. If they could buy your product at the price they suggested would they: A. Buy it for sure, B. Buy it instead of the widget they now use, or C. Not buy it.

5. Now, if you pass all these questions, ask them how many times a year they would buy it. 6. Also ask them what they are using now? And, are they happy with it? 7. Find out their age, how much money they earn, if they are married or not and so on. 8. Keep immaculate records and always make sure you are getting true answers and they are not just trying to please you. If you want to be sure of this, ask them if they would be willing to invest their money in your widget? 9. Now take all your info and put it in a spreadsheet. Its now time to ask the Will-I-make-money-out-of-it? questions. Will-I-make-money-out-of-it? 1. Firstly, take the What would you be willing to pay? question and get rid of the top and bottom 10% and average the rest. This is a rough idea of the perceived value of your product. 2. Now take off 25% to 40% to work out how much the retail store will want for its margin. Ask your local stores for the standard markup on similar products. 3. Then subtract: 15% for the cost of selling it to the store, 15% for advertising, 10% for holding costs and transport, 5% for administration, 5% for wages etc. You should now have an amount left for manufacturing or profit. 4. If your numbers have worked out up to this point and you have a healthy profit margin, the final step is to find what percentage of people who buy this type of product will buy yours. Look back to your Would-you-buy? question and take all of the people who said yes they would and half of the maybes. If this answer is over 50% of the total yes, maybe and no answers, then you may have a shot. Over 65% is good; anything over 85% is excellent. If it was under the 50% mark then all you have wasted is your time and energy but no money.

SO YOUR IDEAS GOT A SHOT, NOW WHAT? You are well on your way now but there are still a few steps to go, beginning with the creation of a marketing plan.

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The ideal person for such a task is an individual who has experience with a similar product to yours, a marketing executive. Exhaust every possibility in this search: friends, yellow pages, run ads in the paper and call advertising agencies for recommendations. With the data you have created, your executive will have everything he or she needs to create a plan for a national roll-out. They should also be well equipped to help you formulate the larger business plan. At this point you need to take stock again. Look at your plans. Do the numbers still add up? If not, then you are only out of pocket for the marketing executive. If it all looks and feels good then say hello to your old pal Terror and go for it. BACKING THE RIGHT HORSES Who should you be hiring for this insane venture of yours? Well, let me start by saying you wont find them in a big company. The type of person you want has some unique characteristics: 1. Creativity, 2. Innovation, 3. A never-say-die attitude, 4. A good dose of hyperactivity, e.g. a workaholic. 5. They dont sleep! 6. But most of all they are not attached to security but live for the thrill of the chase and hate to follow the normal way of doing things. You know the type of person I mean. This individual drives a large company completely nuts. They are a racehorse not a mule, and when you find one, dont let them go. DO IT THE BEST WAY, NOT THE RIGHT WAY! 1970 was a great year. In 1967 I had bought formula 409 (a spray cleaner) for a smile and I was now reaping the rewards. I had put together a group of great thoroughbreds. We were smashing a host of larger companies including the great Proctor & Gamble and loving every minute of it. The bank account was overflowing, we were partying every chance we could get, then...I made a mistake. You see, at some point in time while building a great company, you start thinking your IBM or General Motors. I started attending every management seminar I could and even enrolled in Harvard Business School. What did all this leave me with? The crazy idea that I needed to change everything that was working and become a professional business.

The beginning of the end came when I hired an external consultant to whip my business into shape. He traveled the country reviewing my team of sales mavericks that had been working so well and came back wondering how I was even afloat, let alone succeeding. As far as he was concerned we lacked discipline, professionalism and everything else that the corporate manual said we should have. His solution? Hire a vice president to take over advertising and sales and save the sinking ship. I did everything he said. The new vice president came from blue chip stock with a resume including a stint in a Fortune 500 company. With a salary bigger than my own, he proceeded to replace my thoroughbreds with a professional unit that would take my company into the next decade. It never happened. We began to lose market share. We had no energy, no spark and no fun. I would have given anything to have my bunch of mavericks back to replace this bunch of failing professionals, but I stuck with my decision until the very end. Luckily for me, a company bought me out for $7 million and I headed to the bank with a great feeling of relief. As I look back on the experience I cant blame the professional team that I hired as they all went on to do great things. No, the blame was mine and the lesson I learned? It is better to compete with the professionals than work with them. NO MATTER WHAT...KEEP CONTROL At some point on your journey you will be faced with a dilemma that hits all of us eventually. Do you give up control to get the capital to continue to fuel your growth or do you go it alone and risk, among other things, being gobbled up by a larger competitor? Firstly you have to understand how an investor thinks. Their main goal is to be able to direct where their money goes and make a big fat profit at the end. Whats wrong with that, right? Well, in their minds, the easiest way to accomplish this feat is to own 51% of the company leaving you the entrepreneur in their guiding hands. Trust me, you will get told story after story about how they will not exercise their control etc. etc. Dont believe a word of it, not even the half-half equal control argument. Here is where you have to bring out your creativity and not stop until you get what you want. There are no standard procedures here folks; you must look outside the square. What do you do to raise this money and keep

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control of your company and destiny? 1. Let the investors (not 1, but a group) collectively own more than you with an option to buy them out down the line. This will ensure you get control back in the end. 2. Give 60% to 80% of the profits until the investor has their money back plus a return. This way they will feel more secure in getting their capital back as well as a good portion of cream on top. Whatever it takes so that at the end of the day you have your 51%. RECESSION AND SALESMANSHIP Why is it that the majority of entrepreneurs find their companies continue to grow in a recession? It all has to do with what the large corporations do in this time of supposed scarcity. They cut commissions, marketing, resources, everything you can think of and they move out of niches that a watchful entrepreneur simply gobbles up. Dont seize up in these times. Move like your life depended on it with your ear to the ground and reap the rewards. As I see it, any time when your back is against the wall you have 3 choices: 1. Raise your margins. 2. Slash your overheads. 3. Get more sales. For all my failures, I am and always will be a salesman, and Ive found the best way to push through any challenge whether recession related or not is to sell your way out of it. HOW TO SOLVE YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS I can keep this section short and sweet for you: Stay the hell out of courtrooms! There arent enough zeroes to express what I would have saved had I not spent so much on lawyers. Let me be frank with you. Lawyers are meant to take your side and assure you youll win. Armed with this assurance that you are right, you are like the crazed warrior taking the battlefield. Logic and reason cannot influence you and thus your funds begin to be pumped from your bank account along with valuable time taken from your company. Take the sane rational route and bring someone in, not from the legal profession, who can solve these disputes

out of court. There are companies that deal with this but if you have no luck in that avenue then get together with your opponent and appoint someone who can do the job. A retired CEO or Judge may not be as good as a company specializing in these disputes but its better than putting money into your lawyers pocket. WOMEN: JOIN THE CLUB! Women are natural entrepreneurs. Great communicators, natural team builders, intuitive with a great ability to read others. All these traits give an entrepreneur an advantage. Women are the new generation entrepreneur simply because they have and to some extent probably always will be treated less than equal in the corporate world. I know there have been steps and laws put in place to correct this unfortunate reality, but women are still behind. So what are many women doing? Striking out on their own to a place where equality is easier to find: entrepreneurship. So if youre a woman who is fed up with earning less than you are worth or slaving away at home, then rest assured that the entrepreneurial revolution is waiting for you. ENTREPRENEURS AND MANAGEMENT Im sure that at some point along the road youve heard of Charles Deming and his Total Quality Management (TQM). It would take far more time to explain TQM than what we have here but it is basically a management system that gets rid of unnecessary layers of management and creates teams instead of having just autocratic dictators run the show. And it gets rid of obstructions that are impeding the actions that have to be performed for a business to succeed. There is a lot of openness in TQM and at the end of the day it is all about teams. My experience when talking to entrepreneurs about TQM was one of distrust. The thought of a bunch of committees getting in the way was enough to make the prospective leader shudder. But with the great results larger companies were experiencing, I couldnt help but think there was something to this. After a while it all started to make sense. In the Genius and Benevolent Dictator phase of entrepreneurship, pure entrepreneurial management works a treat because you are killing giants. But after your company hits phase 3 the Disassociated Dictator you are now becoming a giant. Before you know it you have vice presidents left, right and centre and professional management is firmly entrenched. But you havent changed. And your new mission becomes trying to change the unchangeable. Converting your

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professional mules to entrepreneurial racehorses, it wont happen. Heres the solution. In phase 1 and 2 the entrepreneur must be left alone. When you hit phase 3 you must change your management style. And this is where a revolution will start. I call it TQE Total Quality Entrepreneurship. What is the goal? To create a spirit of entrepreneurship throughout the company and never stop until it is done. Heres how you do it. THE TQE HOW-TO Create entrepreneurial units at every level of your company. This means that every individual in every section of your business feels as though they own the part of the company and processes they are in. What does this mean for you? You get to continue to be an entrepreneur who is running a group of entrepreneurial teams and have a much happier journey to phase 4 the Visionary Leader. Here is how you do it. 1. Let all teams give themselves a name. Start from the lowest rung this is your team of people that deal direct with customers, sales people etc. Keep on grouping teams together up the ladder, letting each pick their own identity or name. 2. You may find this hard, but for each of those teams you are only allowed the decision making control of what a normal franchisor would have. This means you have guidelines in place to keep them on course but at the end of the day they are the captain of their ship. This will give each team power and purpose. 3. Start changing the words you use. For instance, a better name for job is OTA or Opportunity-To-Achieve. Get rid of manager and have a coach instead. The point: corporate names bring along with it years of contempt, an extra hassle you dont need. 4. Teams grade themselves. Who evaluates these entrepreneurial units? Simple, they do. The internal pressure created from this process is 10 times that of 1 manager evaluating everybody. And who better to evaluate a team than the people who are in that environment day in and day out? 5. How do you evaluate? Judging these teams by budgets or quotas will only lead to failure. Evaluate on more entrepreneurial measurements like profit. The key is to not manage by objective. Empower the teams to own and continually improve processes that they

control. The benefits of these simple changes are widespread. You will find the very best ideas are no longer coming from the top because it is always the troops closer to the customers who have their hands on the pulse. After all, these are the people who experience the day to day changes in the market and always have. These teams, now working like company owned franchises, will carry the entrepreneurial spirit to the marketplace and you wont believe the results.