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