Table Of ContentDedication
To the entrepreneurs of today who struggle, strive, and succeed
and to the entrepreneurs of tomorrow who will see opportunities
where others see only obstacles...
Visionaries all who act boldly and leave their unique imprint,
their Midas Touch, on the economic landscape of our world.
Authors’ Notes and Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all the people who contributed to our lifelong passion of
entrepreneurial learning. Without them this book, which is based on our
experiences, would not have been possible.
We’d also like to acknowledge our wins and our losses, our successes and our
failures because, without life’s balance of ups and downs and the personal and
professional growth that comes with it, we would not be where we are today.
A special thank-you goes to Meredith McIver and Kathy Heasley who provided
editorial assistance. Special thanks as well to Allen Weisselberg, Michael Cohen,
Rhona Graff, Jonathan Gross, and Kacey Kennedy at The Trump Organization
and Mike Sullivan, Marian Van Dyke, Anita Rodriguez, Michael Joe, Rhonda
Hitchcock, Darrin Moore, and Mona Gambetta at The Rich Dad Company and
Plata Publishing. Their collaborative efforts and entrepreneurial insights helped
bring our vision of Midas Touch to life.
Finally, we’d like to thank all the entrepreneurs who are innovating, risking and
overcoming every hurdle to better their lives, their families’ lives and the lives of
billions of people around the world.
There is nothing more noble than entrepreneurship, and we applaud you for your
efforts, for your success and for your contributions to our world.
Foreword
by Mark Burnett
Entrepreneurs have a singular drive that gets them where they’re going. It’s a
focus that is so intense that nothing can derail them or their plans.
Years ago, long before meeting Donald, I read his first book, The Art of the Deal.
At the time, I was selling T-shirts on the beach in Los Angeles. In between
customers, I was constantly reading The Art of the Deal. I especially appreciated
that it was written for someone like me—someone who had never been to
business school. I was in total awe of this real estate mogul, Donald Trump, and
never believed I would set eyes on the man himself, let alone meet him. I
certainly never imagined that I would be in business with him.
One of wo the most memorable stories I can remember from The Art of the Deal
was the story about how Donald can spot “a loser.” He explained that a loser is
the person with a for-sale sign on a dirty car. While this seems obvious, it’s
amazing the number of people who do exactly this in various ways in various
businesses.
Robert has sold well over 30 million books in countries all over the world. He
obviously has a message that people want or need to hear. He sees himself
primarily as a teacher, and I admit that I see Donald as a teacher as well. The
Apprentice has an educational subtext that he taps into very well, and I think it’s
one reason the TV show has had the resonance and longevity that it has had.
These two teachers, these two titans of business, have a message for all of us.
As Midas Touch points out, entrepreneurship is something that has become
somewhat of a responsibility these days, or should be. That’s why this book is
timely. We need people who have the talent to create jobs. Those who have the
skills or ability to be an entrepreneur need to develop these skills in order to
contribute to our society. This book comes from two highly accomplished
entrepreneurs with very different backgrounds who cover the bases from
different perspectives.
Anyone wanting to enter the leagues of entrepreneurship should give this book a
thorough read.
Entrepreneurs are characterized by singular focus and powerful drive. I saw that
aspect of Donald a long time ago, and Robert has it as well. I can tell you that
their drive is palpable. They don’t stop, and the successes they have achieved are
remarkable. I hope you will take the time to listen to what they have to say.
Preface
Dreamer… or
Entrepreneur?
One entrepreneur, a mechanically minded man since childhood, saw his chance
to change the world. He saw a way to better it for people everywhere. So he set
out, not to build his fortune, but to build his dream of a new way of life for
everyday people.
He struggled with the challenges of honing his idea, prototyping countless
versions of his product—each one a slight improvement over the last—and
building his company. But his greatest struggle was with people who couldn’t
see his vision, who couldn’t expand their focus and see things as they could be,
rather than as they were. The battles were many, but he kept going. He doubted
himself, made plenty of sacrifices along the way and got sidetracked many
times. He failed often and, because he always loved famous sayings, he called
failure “the opportunity to begin again—more intelligently.”
He wasn’t a good student and learned very little in school, but he did love to take
things apart to see how they worked. “Dismembering watches” was a favorite
pastime. He had no advanced degree, but he did attend night school to hone his
skills. His mind was brilliant, and eventually he became a much-loved teacher of
his craft. He attracted students who, like him, were enthusiasts. In the late hours
of the night, they would volunteer their time to work on projects and learn in the
process. His ability to attract talent and work with others was enviable. In his
business, he surrounded himself with people who knew what he did not.
He succeeded at raising money from investors who believed in his producve t.
The problem was that they didn’t always believe in his vision. He grew
despondent because they only focused on money. At one point, he was fired
from his own company, the company that bore his name. A lesser man would
have called it quits and found a job.
Years earlier, he had given up a steady job with a prominent company.
Entrepreneurship didn’t pay very well so his family moved countless times into
ever more modest surroundings. Ironically, while still working his day job,
inspiration came from his iconic employer, a man he had idolized from
childhood and had the honor to meet one day, just for a moment. In a few quick
strokes, he sketched his innovation. The man before him pounded his fist on the
table and said, “Young man, that’s the thing. You have it. Keep at it.”
“That bang on the table was worth worlds to me,” the entrepreneur told his
patient wife. “You won’t be seeing much of me for the next year.” In truth,
success took more than a year. It took decades.
Answers rarely come through a eureka moment, and they didn’t for Henry Ford.
He observed the world around him and slowly arrived at his opportunity and his
purpose. He demonstrated that an entrepreneur need not be the inventor of a new
technology. His wild success came through something more valuable—a brand.
Custom-made cars, the standard of the time, didn’t align with Henry Ford’s view
of the world. He wanted to give everyone a luxury only the rich could then
afford.
He wanted to change the world and believed the secret was an automobile with a
gas combustion engine, assembled in a factory, where one car was the same as
the next. His hero and famous employer, Thomas Edison, believed that too.
That’s why he pounded his fist on the table, reinvigorating Henry and prompting
him to keep going through many years and many failures.
Henry dared to dream big. One Sunday he heard his minister preach, “Hitch your
wagon to a star,” and he told his sister, “That’s what I’m going to do.” That was
in 1893. Ten years later, on July 23, 1903, Chicago dentist Dr. Ernst Pfenning
bought Ford Motor Company’s very first Model A.
Henry Ford had done it. No longer a dreamer, he was an entrepreneur.
INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurs are Different
This is a book about entrepreneurs, and what makes entrepreneurs different. This
is a book for those people who are already entrepreneurs or for those who would
like to be.
This is not a textbook written by college professors who teach entrepreneurship.
It doesn’t paint a rosy picture or provide a clinical, step-by-step path to success.
Both are unrealistic, and this book is very realistic. That’s because it’s a book
written by entrepreneurs who have won, failed, and battled back to win, again
and again. And in it, we openly tell our stories.
The entrepreneur’s ability to dream, win, lose, and win again and again is often
called entrepreneurial spirit. It is what separates the entrepreneur from everyone
else in business. It is also what separates those who dthwant to be entrepreneurs
from those who can be entrepreneurs.
This book has been in the works for nearly three years. We have continued our
efforts on it because we both believe that only entrepreneurs create real jobs.
And when the world experiences unprecedented levels of unemployment, jobs
are what this world needs.
Chronic unemployment causes social unrest which can lead to revolution. The
2011 riots in the Middle East are cases in point. They are uprisings fueled by
people who are willing, capable and eager to work, but who lack opportunity.
They live in societies with chronically high unemployment. China shudders at
the thought of their exports slowing and is horrified at the possibility of millions
of unemployed workers. The U.S. government shares similar concerns and
spends billions attempting to create jobs through government legislation and
