Excerpted from Business Black Belt by Burke Franklin
In the early days at JIAN, we put our manufacturing out for bid with the up-front requirement that we got 90-day payment terms. We didn’t have the luxury of a line of credit at the time, so our vendors were going to have to carry us. We figured they were motivated enough to get the business and that we could convince them to extend an outrageous credit line to us. It worked, and it turned out to be worthwhile to our vendors. In a sense, our vendors were our partners in our venture.
Two things are important about this arrangement. First, we were up front by saying that we couldn’t pay for 90 days. Some people wouldn’t be honest about their ability to pay, yet they would drag their payments out 90 days anyway. That’s not fair to the vendor. The other important thing we did is that we knew we were going to be a good customer for our suppliers for a long time, not constantly shop around to chisel their prices. Both of these issues were driven and have been rewarded by karma.
Many people have developed a perception that business is evil; profit is evil. Someone gets rich at the expense of someone else. Given that thinking, when I become wealthy, a lot of people are going to think I ripped somebody off. You can become wealthy, feel good about what you’ve done and have other people feel good about you as well. An example: I agonized for quite a while about whether or not I should buy an airplane. I’d wanted one since I can remember, I had the money, and I could even legitimately use it in my business.
In the early days at JIAN, we put our manufacturing out for bid with the up-front requirement that we got 90-day payment terms. We didn’t have the luxury of a line of credit at the time, so our vendors were going to have to carry us. We figured they were motivated enough to get the business and that we could convince them to extend an outrageous credit line to us. It worked, and it turned out to be worthwhile to our vendors. In a sense, our vendors were our partners in our venture.
Two things are important about this arrangement. First, we were up front by saying that we couldn’t pay for 90 days. Some people wouldn’t be honest about their ability to pay, yet they would drag their payments out 90 days anyway. That’s not fair to the vendor. The other important thing we did is that we knew we were going to be a good customer for our suppliers for a long time, not constantly shop around to chisel their prices. Both of these issues were driven and have been rewarded by karma.
Many people have developed a perception that business is evil; profit is evil. Someone gets rich at the expense of someone else. Given that thinking, when I become wealthy, a lot of people are going to think I ripped somebody off. You can become wealthy, feel good about what you’ve done and have other people feel good about you as well. An example: I agonized for quite a while about whether or not I should buy an airplane. I’d wanted one since I can remember, I had the money, and I could even legitimately use it in my business.
If I bought a plane, I thought everyone would think, “This guy’s got no brains. We need to spend the money on practical things for the business. What’s he doing buying an airplane?” But the actual response from people was, “We have the money, we can make more money, go buy an airplane.” (One person told me, “You’ve been killing yourself for seven years—you deserve an airplane.”)
I was the one thinking that I should be more practical. I was the one embarrassed that buying an airplane seemed decadent. The truth is that people want to associate with other successful businesspeople and they’re happy that I have an airplane. The perception becomes “This guy worked his ass off so he bought himself an airplane. He must be successful.”
So it’s crucial that you live your life with integrity—day in and day out, moment by moment. As the years go by, you’ll develop and maintain your reputation, so you might as well build a reputation for integrity. Down the road, when someone wants to make a deal and must decide who to do business with, you’ll be the one likely to be chosen because that person trusts you. Wouldn’t you rather be bitten in the butt by a future like that?
Business Black Belt Notes
I was the one thinking that I should be more practical. I was the one embarrassed that buying an airplane seemed decadent. The truth is that people want to associate with other successful businesspeople and they’re happy that I have an airplane. The perception becomes “This guy worked his ass off so he bought himself an airplane. He must be successful.”
So it’s crucial that you live your life with integrity—day in and day out, moment by moment. As the years go by, you’ll develop and maintain your reputation, so you might as well build a reputation for integrity. Down the road, when someone wants to make a deal and must decide who to do business with, you’ll be the one likely to be chosen because that person trusts you. Wouldn’t you rather be bitten in the butt by a future like that?
Business Black Belt Notes
- When ‘shit’ is happening, consider it a loud message upon which you must take immediate corrective action.
- Integrity is what you do, even when nobody else is looking.
- The universe eventually gives you what you deserve.
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