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Introduction
Buckle Up for Your
Fantastic Voyage
W
orld stock markets lost 50 percent of market value from their
2007 peak to mid-2009—the staggering sum of $19 trillion (that’s
$19,000,000,000,000! ). To put this in perspective, it is an amount equal to
the combined gross domestic products of the United States and China.
1
Indi-
viduals, businesses, governments, states, cities, universities, and organizations
of all kinds are poorer for this decline, many to the point of bankruptcy.
Youngsters and oldsters alike are feeling the financial pain. And the economic
misery will surely last for years until employment levels, housing prices, credit
flow, and consumer spending recover. While this situation is sad to the ex-
treme, this is not something you should dwell on. Instead, focus on the bigger
picture:
TODAY’S CHAOS IS THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME
FOR THE PREPARED ENTREPRENEUR!
Opportunities abound in the turbulence created by change and economic
dislocation. Businesses are for sale. Asset prices are unbelievably cheap. People
and businesses are changing their buying patterns. Governments are printing
and spending money to stimulate their depressed economies. The world is
awash with bargains and change! By honing your entrepreneurial skills and
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INTRODUCTION
unleashing the entrepreneurial power within you, you can and will capture
these opportunities.
Before we go further, let me ask you this: Why have you picked up this
book? I ask because if you are ready and willing, this book will be your
guide on an amazing journey. But it is not an easy or risk-free journey.Justas
Donald Trump has demonstrated throughout his career, rewards in life are
the direct result of imagination, hard work, dedication, and the willingness
to take reasoned risks. If building a business isn’t very high on your list
of life priorities, this book can do little for you—put it back on the shelf.
But if you are like millions of us who derive enormous pleasure from the
challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship, then buckle up for your fantastic
voyage!
Your voyage is about you and the fulfillment of your life dreams. You are
browsing this book for one of the following reasons:
1. You want to learn how to start and grow your own business.
2. You are already in your own business and anxiously want more rapid,
sustainable, profitable growth.
3. You are currently employed, you have an idea that could become a
profitable new division for the company, and you want to champion
this internal venture.
4. You want to reach your full entrepreneurial potential.
These are strong wants inside you; in fact, they are needs. You can envision
yourself as CEO, president, leader, champion of your own successful venture.
And why not?
There is no mystery to entrepreneurship. It is about creating unique
value for the customer, doing things better than the competitors, and being
rewarded for your success. So what’s holding you back? Some of the common
obstacles are lack of start-up capital, the potential for financial loss, career
risks, lack of self-confidence, pressure on your family, issues of health and
stress, lack of the “Big Idea,” minimal tolerance for risk, or being just plain
stuck. These concerns are legitimate, and they will be examined at length in
Chapter 3 and put into perspective, but they will not prevent you from realizing
your vision. As your essential guide for your entrepreneurial voyage, this book
will help you to move past the roadblocks and onto the racetrack toward your
goal.
I am an incurable entrepreneur, several times over, and certainly have more
to come. My successful ventures include a plastics injection molding company,
xiv

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