Page 11 - The Bootstrapper Bible

ChangeThis When Time launches a new magazine, it has a tremendous advantage in selling the ad space. A fledgling competitor, on the other hand, has to start from scratch. It’s easy to imagine that the only way to run a business is with secretaries and annual reports… Of course, this isn’t true. Last year, Costco sold more than $30 million worth of shrimp in its giant warehouse stores. The company can choose from hundreds of different shrimp suppliers (it all comes from the same ocean!), but it deals with only three firms. Why? Because the shrimp buyer at Costco doesnʼt have time to sift through every possible supplier every time she makes a new pur- chase. So she works with companies she trusts, companies sheʼs worked with before. In established markets, customer relationships are a huge advantage. 5 GREAT EMPLOYEES. Big companies are filled with turkeys, lifers, incompetents, and political operators. But there, among the bureaucrats, are some exceptional people. Great inventors, designers, marketers, salespeople, customer service wizards, and manufacturers. These great people are drawn to a company that has a great reputation, offers stability, and pays well. Smart companies like Disney leverage these people to the hilt. During a meeting with someone at Disney, I saw a stack of paper on the corner of his desk. “Whatʼs that?” I asked. He replied that they were resumes. More than 200 of them, all from extraordinarily qualified people, one with a gorgeous watercolor on it. All of them had come from one tiny classified ad in the LA paper. Big companies attract powerfully talented people. | iss. 6.01 | i | U | X | + | Donʼt agree with this manifesto? Write your own. CLICK HERE for details. h 11/103 f