Be Relentless

Bill's Life and his Lessons Learned, Part II				gifts too. Don't believe everything in 'em,
				do believe most of what is in 'em. Especially
There are a few people, very exceptional				when you use at least two sources for your
people, who are so singularly special that				information. Reporters call this
the complimentary joke is made; after they				"corroboration," and "confirmation." Third,
were born, the mold to make them got broken.				the best way to find things or market things
In other words, there's no chance for				is through advertising.
posterity to make any more of the likes of
Michelangelo, George Washington Carver,				With all these money making ventures going
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, etc. In my case,				on, I was spending a tremendous amount of
they threw out the "mold," but I fooled 'em				time outdoors. I developed a love of hunting
and grew back!				and fishing. I loved the woods and being out
				in nature while "harvesting" the wild
Seriously speaking, the first lesson I				blackberries, collecting worms, tending the
learned while very young is that in order to				bees, walking my egg-and-honey delivery route
sell successfully you must be relentless. You				etc. As I got older, I became an adolescent
have to be downright incredible to be able to				and then a teenager. Really, you ask? No
keep your integrity and successfully sell				fooling? I say this because like practically
something like, "ice in the wintertime to				every other teenage boy, I got interested in
Eskimos." However, As John Paul Ghetty, the				cars. I started to collect junk cars and
oil-marketing billionaire, observed, if you				trucks. As I began to tinker with one of
have a high quality product you know people				them, my mother came outside to talk with me.
both need and want, repeatedly, it will				(There's that lesson about the importance of
almost sell itself." Like the nursery stock				finding supportive parents. Boy I was lucky
we grow at Highland Hill Farm.				with both!) My mother said, "Bill you don't
				want to be a farmer. They don't make money.
I have learned these lessons. There are basic				You have to study. Go to college and get a
concepts that are important to understand.				respectable job. If you don't, you will be a
Starting when I was very young, I've always				farmer working too many long hours worrying
had "business." My first business was making				about weather and crop diseases and such. Or,
and selling potholders when I was 5-years				you'll be a trash collector. I love you."
old. My parents had bought me a small				Then, she walked back into the house. I guess
potholder-making contraption. Rather than				she saw the junk cars and trucks I had
just make a few for the sake of "arts and				collected as trash.
crafts," developing my fingers and hands, I
made hundreds and hundreds. I got real good				Listen to your mother. That's a lesson you
at making real good potholders, you could				probably already knew before reading this. I
say. Whenever I met someone I tried to sell				picked out a college in the not-too-far from
them potholders at 25 cents each. As I earned				home backwoods of Pennsylvania. I graduated
more and more money, I started an account at				from Juniata College, near Huntingdon, in
the savings bank in Lambertville, always				1973 with a B. S. in Chemistry. My wife,
carrying with me lots of differently colored				Marjorie, also a Juniata graduate, is a
potholders when I walked into town to make my				teacher. We were married in 1977. We settled
deposits. On the sidewalk and inside the				in Dublin, Pa. I worked for a small chemical
bank, grownups would inevitably say, "What a				plant. One weekend we had a yard sale. The
cute little boy," and then, "Why are you				first item that sold was the bunch of flowers
carrying all those pretty potholders?" They				that I removed from my wife's window box.
sold themselves. The potholder sold				Here's another valuable lesson that I have
themselves. The customers "sold" themselves.				learned. Be observant. This eye opener was
				telling us that there is a market for plants
I sold enough potholders for me to buy 2				here. If people will buy them from your
shares of General Electric stock and 2 shares				window box, plants "will sell themselves." I
of the Atlas Corporation, upon the advice of				always had a desire to raise trees and plants
my great-uncle Bill. (See My Uncle Bill's				and own a farm, though not be a farmer like
Story, Part I of my life and my lessons				my mother warned me, so we decided to "go for
learned). I got these shares of stock when I				it." Another valuable lesson: It is good to
was 7-years old. My small beginning business				have a plan...
venture then expanded to include looking for
Helgermites, or Hellgrammites, they're like				We purchased a small farm near Doylestown, in
Redworms, which I'd sell out along the road				the well-to-do and growing heart of Bucks
(leading to the Delaware River, of course). I				County, Pennsylvania. We began our "tree
picked wild blackberries and sold them along				farm," our nursery. The local newspaper, The
the road too. I bought fishing lures and took				Doylestown Intelligencer, became our "store."
them to sell along the Delaware River's east				Placing small "ads" in the paper under the
bank, our side of the river. There were "hot				classifieds was our method of advertising. A
spots" where Shad fishermen would gather				small, cheap 2 line ad such as, "Pine trees
during the intense "fish runs." It seemed				delivered. Planted and mulched, $8.
like a good idea to bring along some				Guaranteed. Call 215-345-0946," were awfully
blackberries too. The fisherman needed a				economical and phenomenally successful. We
snack. I did too.				tried many ads. We found that just about
				anything can be sold or bought using
I parlayed my growing savings and bought 144				classified advertising. Would it have been
chickens. A "gross" of chickens came at a				better to place quarter-page or full-page
discounted unit price. I didn't quite realize				sales ads? Would it have made sense to spend
it at the time, but I was "leveraging" my				money we didn't have yet? I believe the
money and buying in bulk, "wholesale." So,				answer is no. "Buy as cheaply as you can," I
here are two more valuable lessons for us				said above is an important lesson. Now,
all. Buy as cheaply as you reasonably can.				besides trees, we market anything at our
(Did you notice I didn't buy a dozen gross of				consignment store in Milan, Pa.
chickens? That's 1,728 chickens. The price
per chicken would have been cheaper, but I				A few years later, we learned another lesson.
would never have been able to handle them				Friends, Walter and Paul, who make Christmas
all!) Also, make your money work for you.				Tree ball kits, had us over for dinner. They
Make your money work just like a transistor				had years of marketing experience and told us
works, use a little power to control a lot.				that you have to test your market. Their
My father, who coincidentally worked in				suggestion was to run ads for what you want
electronics engineering, had a wonderful				to do or sell and see the response, see if
friend who bought me a book about stock				the market "likes" what you offer. Duh! This
options. John stuttered so terribly he could				seems so obvious. They were right, though
barely speak, but I will always be grateful				primitive and simple, isn't this similar to
to him for teaching me about the greatest				what Marjorie and I had been doing naturally
investment vehicle of all in the stock				with our flowers and ads for pine trees? Most
market: Options. What a great way to make				people don't test out their markets before
money work, investing a small amount of money				they invest. We were lucky we did. So take
to "own" rights to shares worth far more				this valuable lesson and "test."
money.
				Marjorie and I now began investing in farm
With my 144 chickens, I created an "egg				properties and leasing out spaces on the
route," using the experience from my				farms to help pay for the mortgages so we'd
potholder business. I had "saturated" the				have positive cash flow. I decided that I
market. Just how many potholders can people				would buy an option on a property (thank you
buy? John Paul Ghetty was right. It is best				again, dad's friend John for your lesson) and
to sell something people need repeatedly,				if I could, find tenants who would rent the
like fuel, and like food. I sold eggs in the				property. If there was now the positive cash
two towns nearest to our little farm,				flow, we would exercise the option to buy. In
Lambertville and Titusville, New Jersey.				this manner we would only buy properties that
				were "cash cows." We were testing to see if
I joined the 4H club and started to raise				each of the properties would make money.
bees for their honey. Again, not realizing				(Thank you, Walter and Paul.) Additionally,
it, I was selling food, something people				we'd have all properties rented the day we
needed over and over, like John Paul Ghetty				took over so we would have no vacancies.
said. As I sold honey along with my eggs, I				Okay, being in an area with a growing economy
noticed that unlike some of my friends, I				helped.
never got an allowance. Then again, I didn't
need one.				All of this real estate "business," all of
				this investing we're doing is not "rocket
As you can see my selling started early and				science." It is the planned application of
has simply never stopped. Family and friends				simple ideas. Or, to say it differently, it
of my parents helped me. My small ventures				is the implementation of a plan. As they
were very important to me and I learned the				might say at the Wharton School of Business,
valuable lessons I'm sharing with you.				this is "Planning and Control". Okay, enough
				of the repetition from Highland Hill Farm's
There was a great lesson in another book my				Department of Redundancy Department. Just
father gave me, The ABC's of Beekeeping. It				consider that we did not invent any new
mentioned that if you wanted more bees, just				products or provide any better services. We
put an advertisement, an "ad," in the				spend our time, we "invest" our time "up
newspaper. Just have the "ad" say "Wanted Bee				front," beforehand, whether it's a tree, a
Swarms," with your phone number below it.				plant, or real estate we're going to market.
Well stupid me, I believed everything I read				We followed our plans and always invested our
and I therefore I did just what it said in				time before our money. I always tell people
the book. Within a few days a woman called me				to start at the public library. It's a gift
from Lambertville and said she had a bee				of many books to all of us. The price of all
swarm, could I come and get it? I followed				those books is very low too. They're free to
the guidelines my father taught me and from				borrow. Remember that you don't have to read,
the book. I captured that first swarm, and				for example, "The International Plant
many, many more. Bees at the greatest price				Propagators' Society Volume 54, 2004 edition,
discount possible, free, were available for				88888,000001 pages," to be up to date. Do
my to use to make honey and make money.				read a wide range of books. Even if only
				simple, "How-To books," like the how to
The above paragraphs contain a number of more				select how to plant, how to sell, types of
unmentioned, as yet, valuable lessons. First,				books.
it's important to find parents who are
supportive of your efforts. I was lucky, but				My final lesson is, always ask questions when
if you're not as blessed, find "mentors" as				you can't find the answers yourself. I've
so many other successful people have. Second,				asked thousands of questions. Then, listen to
it is important to read books. Give books as				the answers.

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Be Relentless