I write this as if addressing
a group of my classmates for the last time this semester. In this manner will
the pronouns I use and the remarks I make be structured and generalized
respectively; so as not to offend. Let me being with a few admonitions. We have
all sat through these many weeks listening to captains of industry, reading the
words of prophets and learning from the best books, most comprehensive advice,
and gaining from these mentors the wisdom they’ve gleaned from their years of
trailblazing. I have spent years listening to and following the advice of those
who passed before me. As a forty-two-year-old participant in this class who has
owned and lost two companies and is currently opening a third, allow me to pass
on some of the wisdom I’ve been able to use.
First, at the turn of the 18th century and
earlier, the system for learning a trade and opening businesses, for the
unwashed masses, was through the process of apprenticeships. Young men would
align themselves with a craftsman or tradesman and learn in exchange for his
labor. He would receive room and board and skills training. After enough years,
he would either take over the business or venture off on his own. There is
great wisdom in this process. I recommend anyone wanting to start a business to
follow a similar path. Find a business you want to copy. Get a job there, learn
all you can about its processes and models. Learn its shortcomings and
advantages. Then, model together the best of its strengths and find solutions
to its woes. Then, start your business and implement all you’ve learned. This
should be a great shortcut to success.
Next, always be the first one in and the last one out. Too
many young entrepreneurs think they can just hire and grow and then once they
get close to turning a profit, hit the links or start backing into
semi-retirement. This is folly. The only real way to success is to work yourself
out of a job. You are the jack-of-all-trades. Do everything yourself until you’re
too busy for that. Then hire those who can most cost-effectively replace one of
the hats you wear. Their hiring should only be to alleviate an opportunity
cost. Don’t waste time fixing your twenty-five fleet vehicles when you are the
GM. Hire a mechanic and use your talents elsewhere to grow the business.
Lastly, once you have worked yourself out of a job, you
become the biggest janitor in history. You have one job, Polish! Take secondary,
unbiased looks at everything you’ve done, every process you have, every person
you’ve hired. What can you improve? What skills will improve your ROI on each
investment of every dime you’ve poured in. Once you’ve polished those gears and
staff; once everything is a precision instrument, then you can look to either
replicate this success or find an altruistic hobby. Either way, these pieces of
advice will serve you well.
Best
wishes on all your righteous endeavors. Jared Hurst
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