January 17, 2012
Santiago, Chile

One of the most phenomenal human beings I’ve ever met hails from Harare, Zimbabwe of all places. His name is Time. That’s seriously his name. When you ask him about it, he shrugs, grins, and says, “My mom felt that she was in labor for way too long.”

Time is a real Sovereign Man. He understands that his family comes first and foremost above all else, and growing up under the regime of Robert Mugabe, he had to get very creative in order to support his loved ones.

By the time he was 15-years old, Time could see the writing on the wall. Mugabe had all but destroyed the market and private property rights, and Time knew there would be absolutely no prospects for him in Zimbabwe.

So what did he do? He learned a valuable skill and looked beyond his own borders for the best opportunities. He spent years in the wilderness living with the native bushmen learning how to track animals. He worked diligently to improve his English. He read everything he could get his hands on about botany.

He traveled to Tanzania and Botswana to cut his teeth as a safari guide while Mugabe plunged Zimbabwe into hyperinflation. He worked hard, saved his money, and always sought to improve his professional capabilities to become a better guide.

When the smoke cleared, he returned to Zimbabwe and took a tracker job at one of the most exclusive lodges in southern Africa. I got to know him when I was visiting the lodge last year, and we became fast friends due to our common philosophical outlook.

Time and I talk regularly, and I’ve been helping him to invest in Zimbabwe’s burgeoning agricultural sector. Mugabe’s economic policies absolutely devastated what used to be one of the most fertile places in the world… but now it’s starting to make a comeback. Time is eager to capitalize on the opportunity.

A few months ago, he scrapped his savings together and bought a small piece of land that he wants to begin planting with various small-scale organic crops. I offered to pony up the $3,000 he needs to buy submersible pumps for irrigation.

“Western Union,” he told me, “is the most efficient way to receive cash in Zimbabwe. As you know, because of Mugabe, we don’t have our own currency anymore. But be advised, they’re going to give you a hard time when you tell them that you want to send money to Africa.”

My next call was to Western Union.

“I’d like to send money to Zimbabwe,” I announced to the operator.

“What’s the city and state, sir?”

“Zimbabwe.”

“Is that an international transfer?”

“Yes!”

“What country?”

“Zimbabwe.” I was about to lose it. I heard the familiar click, click of the keyboard as his system pulled up the country-specific rules.

“Uh, sir, we are obliged to discourage you from sending money to people that you don’t know. Did you receive this request to send money from an email?”

“No, it’s cool, I know this guy, we’re friends.”

“Yes, sir. But did you receive this request by email from an unknown person?”

“What did I just say? No. I know the guy personally, quite well. Let’s proceed.”

“Yes, sir. Will you be sending the money in local currency?”

“There is no local currency in Zimbabwe.”

“… sir?”

“Nevermind. Let’s just send US dollars. $3,000 total.”

“Yes sir. Now, US government regulations require that I collect your social security number for any money transfer in the amount of $3,000 or more.”

“What? Seriously? I’m calling you from Chile trying to send money to Zimbabwe. What business is that of the US government??”

“…”

“Look. Let’s just make the total $2,995. OK?”

“Yes, sir.” And then he proceeded to collect all the information about Time, confirm my credit card information, and all the other nonsense. After a few more minutes, he submitted the order for processing, and then told me,

“I’m sorry sir, the transfer has been declined.”

“What? Why? Was the credit card declined? I can call Mastercard.”

“No, sir, it was declined on our end. Our system refused to take the order. US government regulations require…”

Steaming angry, I politely thanked the man for his help, hung up, and sent an email to my banker in Singapore asking if they could send money to Zimbabwe.

“No problem!” she replied. Exactly the answer I was hoping for.

As I write this note, I’m happy to say that the funds are on the way to Time, and that he should be up and running by the middle of next week.

The whole affair was just another friendly reminder of why I try to avoid doing anything in the US at all. Regulations, financial tracking, consumer protection… it’s just too damn difficult to get anything done.

In fact, that I achieved my objective by using a flexible, “can do” bank in Singapore is probably the perfect conclusion to this allegory.

Well, it is great to see that entrepreneurship is coming back to Zimbabwe and that young people there can start their own businesses again. Maybe that could be an example for entrepreneurs in other countries.

On the other hand, it is sad to see how the U.S. is crippling free enterprise with an unbridled lust for more and more regulations.*

According to Senator Collins of Maine, there are over 4,200 new business regulations being prepared in Washington for imminent implementation—a large number of them aimed specifically at small business. That is why she introduced Senate bill S.1539 – Regulatory Time-Out Act of 2011, to slow down the avalanche of new regulations.

Of course we won’t even mention the customer service at Western Union.

Sadly, many people commenting on forums, blogs, and YouTube believe that all these regulations are good and proper—that they keep us safe and healthy. What do you think?

* The annual cost of federal regulations in the United States increased to more than $1.75 trillion in 2008. Had every U.S. household paid an equal share of the federal regulatory burden, each would have owed $15,586 in 2008. (SBA Office of Advocacy, September 2010)

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Obviously, none of us are going to have the financial means to do something like this, but the point is—these people were thinking way beyond the typical car ads and they certainly caught everyone’s attention. I can’t remember a single car ad I saw on TV last night, but I remember this promo for Mercedes from long ago.

Now, the question is: “What can you do in your business that is different enough that it causes people to remember you and your product and service?” You certainly don’t have to spend the kind of money Mercedes spent on their promo piece, but you do have to be just as creative in your thinking.

Watch this video a few times and try to understand just how far they went away from the typical ads we are bombarded with for car sales. Then sit back and think about your own marketing promos and how similar they are to everyone else’s in your industry. Then try to take your thinking as far away from the “norm” as Mercedes did in their promo.

If you get stuck and need some inspiration for new ideas, take a look at Jay Conrad Levinson’s newest book The Best of Guerrilla Marketing–Guerrilla Marketing Remix. Levinson is considered by many to be the originator of guerilla marketing and is a longtime favorite of guerilla marketers everywhere.

What can you do in your business that can catch your customer’s attention and make them remember you…some pleasant, or exciting, experience that will have them thinking about you and your business the next time they want your product or service? Can you create guerilla marketing ideas for your business?

Think about it.

What extraordinary thing have you ever done to promote your business? I would like to hear about it.

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Then of course, there are the permanently UNDERemployed. A recent article in the NY Times displayed this title:

“For Jobless, Little Hope of Restoring Better Days”—NY Times, 12/2/11. (To read the entire article, click here.)

Fact of the matter is: It could be a very long time—if ever (relatively)—before the job situation returns to the robust days of the first decade of the new millennium. In other words, the jobs are not coming back any time soon.

By the time some of them do come back, you will be told (as many already have), “…you have been out of a job for too long and are no longer qualified.”

So, what are you going to do about such a possibly bleak future? Well, here are some basic options:

• Live off of someone else’s income indefinitely.
• Keep looking for work until your unemployment runs out, and then face the music.
• Keep looking for minimum wage jobs and then lower your standard of living to match whatever income you receive. (This also works for those already underemployed.)
• Go back to school and learn a new career. (Expensive and hard to survive financially while going to school, especially if you have a family.)
• Become an entrepreneur and start a business.

If it were me: I would become an entrepreneur and start a business—and before you stop reading, hear me out.

According to the Kauffman Foundation, 6.5 Million people are expected to start a full-time business this year—and you could be one of them! Here’s the requirements:

• You do NOT have to have some special education to become an entrepreneur.
• You do NOT have to have a lot of money to start a business. You can start many businesses with less than $100.
• You must NOT have a “fear of failure,” because you might just fail a time or two before you get everything right. That is part of the fabric of every entrepreneur—if your business fails, you simply try something else.
• You DO have to work very, very hard—likely harder than you ever worked in your life.
• You DO have a lot to learn, but there are many places to get that knowledge—you don’t have to go to school full time to get it.

If you are lazy, or expect things to be handed to you, forget all of this and continue doing whatever your doing now.

If you want to have a better life—start your own business. I suggest you start by reading some of the basic information on my website Business Solutions and Resources. This can give you some general information on starting a business and also some direction on where to go to get more.

If you think you have what it takes—give it a try.

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This is the third-annual Global Entrepreneurship Week, and more than 10 million present and aspiring entrepreneurs will participate in events during the week of November 14-20, 2011.

Anyone, anywhere can participate in wide-ranging activities that includes virtual and face-to-face events, competitions, and intimate networking gatherings. In the U.S. alone, 1,400 organizations will be hosting 3,500 events across most of our states. For information on entrepreneurship activities wherever you live in the world, click here.

Global Entrepreneurship Week is an initiative of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Entrepreneurial Activity, the world’s largest foundation of its kind. Here is what Carl Schramm, President and CEO of the foundation had to say about this special week:

“For one week each November, students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and government officials come together to pursue one cause—to spread the power of entrepreneurship. It’s during this time that we celebrate the innovators who bring ideas to life, drive economic growth, and expand human welfare.”

Although supported by dozens of global leaders and well-know entrepreneurs, the mainstream media seems to have totally ignored the significance of the events of this special week. In the long term, these events could be much more significant to global economic stability and growth than all the G-20 meetings combined.

How many of you are participating in a Global Entrepreneurship Week event near you?

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There is a small town in Central Oregon called Prineville. It is a nice little town in an idyllic setting, with a lot of nice people living there. Unfortunately, it also has an unemployment rate that hovers between 17% and 18%. So, the city and the county got together and developed an “enterprise zone” that offered industrial land with a 15-year moratorium on property taxes.

At the same time, Facebook was looking for a place to locate their new data center, and found that the Prineville location would fit their needs.

Facebook signed an agreement with the county and built the first of four large facilities—which became operational this past summer. The second building was also recently started.

Following Facebook’s lead, three other high tech companies are in the process of negotiating to build in Prineville’s “enterprise zone.” This is the way jobs are created, and it looked like Prineville was going to lick their unemployment problem.

That is…until the Oregon Dept. of Revenue decided that Facebook was a good source of money for the state. As a result, they recently declared Facebook’s data center a “utility,” and therefore it didn’t fall under the auspices of Prineville’s “enterprise zone” agreement (in Oregon the state assesses taxes on “utilities” without any involvement of cities or counties).

The annual minimum tax bill to Facebook will now be $390,000 per year. Sure, that amount is not going to break Facebook, but what does this whole scenario say to their mangagement about building the other three buildings and filling them with servers—and hiring people to run the operation. As Facebook management said in a recent email—”…the state has effectively rewritten the agreement between the county and Facebook.“

An Oregon state senator recently said, “It doesn’t make any sense to me, it’s like being ambushed.”

Worse yet, what about the other companies interested in building in the “enterprise zone?” According to an Oregon state representative; “It repels those other data centers that are circling right now.” Oregon’s reputation as a business partner is now totally shot at this point. Even written agreements cannot be trusted.

Very Important—Don’t Skip This!

Oregon lawmakers say that this move creates a much greater concern—the taxing of “intangibles,” such as brand loyalty and, what Facebook called in one of their emails, “world-wide goodwill.” Oregon does consider “intangibles” when they calculate the value of a property, and it is this value that taxes are assessed on.

This action in Oregon could certainly increase the “taxing frenzy” of other cities, counties, and states all across the U.S.

Do you think it is fair to tax brand loyalty and goodwill of Facebook? What would you think if your “intangibles” were taxed?

What is the attitude in your city, county, or state regarding support of new (or old) businesses? I would like to hear from anyone who has a comment about their local government’s attitude toward private business.

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This information is from the latest Quarterly Lending Bulletin published by the SBA a few days ago.

This problem could become an even larger stumbling block to future economic growth if demand for goods and services from small businesses increases suddenly and those small businesses have no resources to expand their capabilities. Apparently no one is thinking about this possibility.

Although it is too late for many small businesses (who are gone), there are still many of those left, asking the question; “Now that the banks and big businesses are bailed out, when are small businesses going to be bailed out?”

Apparently bailouts work well, according to the latest news from The NY Times:

• Wells Fargo just posted a 21% rise in it’s third-quarter earnings—$4.1 Billion.

• Citigroup reported a third-quarter rise in earnings of 74% —$3.8 Billion. This is the seventh-straight quarterly rise in profits for Citigroup.

Couple the bank’s rise in profits with the auto industry’s rise in profits and it becomes obvious that bailouts work for big business. Too bad the government only wants to take from small business.

Could it be because there is a dearth of small business experience in Washington? Obama’s Cabinet contains the lowest number of private sector people since records started with Teddy Roosevelt (Forbes).

Worse yet–the vast majority of lawmakers in Washington are “professional bureaucrats” who wouldn’t know how to run a small business if there life depended on it.

What do you think this scenario holds for your small business?

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