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Chapter One | Old School Entrepreneur Meets New School
It was a great event, a gala I will always remember. I could not believe how much money
Xerox was spending just to recognize the top salespeople in the company. But even
though it was a celebration, I was having a miserable time. Throughout the three-day event,
all I could think about was leaving the job, the steady paycheck, and the security of the
company. I realized that once the party in San Juan was over, I was going to go on my own.
I was not going back to work at the Honolulu branch office or the Xerox Corporation.
When leaving San Juan, our plane experienced some kind of emergency. In preparing
to land at Miami, the pilot had us all brace, cradle our heads, and prepare for a possible
crash. I was already feeling bad enough about this being my first day as an entrepreneur,
but on top of that I had to prepare to die? My first day as an entrepreneur was not off to a
very good start.
Obviously, the plane did not crash, and I flew on to Chicago where I was going to do a
sales presentation for my line of nylon surfer wallets. I arrived at the Chicago Mercantile
Mart late because of the flight delays, and the client I was supposed to meet, a buyer from
a large chain of department stores, was already gone. Once again, I thought to myself,
“This is not a good way to start my new career as an entrepreneur. If I don’t make this sale,
there will be no income for the business, no paycheck for me, and no food on the table.”
Since I like to eat, having no food disturbed me the most.
Dave did not appear to have this adrenaline, fear-based fuel. When I first met Dave, he was
simply teaching some techniques he was using to drive more sales through his Amazon
store. When I began my business, I had to quit work just to have the time to fly around the
globe selling my wallets. Here Dave was, selling his Amazon products through a store that
reached the world in seconds! All from his own home office.
I was feeling old and out of touch when Dave approached me and asked me to
sign his copy of Midas Touch, a book written by Donald Trump and myself about
entrepreneurialism. I was surprised. I of course signed his book, but as I handed it back to
him, I asked him, “Did you read this book?”
“Oh yes!” he replied with great enthusiasm. “It’s one of the best business books I’ve read!
I’ve applied a lot of the lessons to my Amazon business.”
I was a bit taken aback. I had to ask him more… “So, the lessons from my days, still
apply today?”
“Absolutely!” Dave replied. “It’s still all business; just some of the systems have changed.
The reasoning hasn’t changed one bit. It’s just now you can do so much more with less.”
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