by Napoleon Hill
Available in 122 free installments
Owner:
He acted on the self-starter Do It Now! In fact that very evening he was in conference with the owner. Now ordinarily in a transaction of this type, where the buyer and seller don't know each other, it takes weeks and sometimes months to negotiate ? before there is a meeting of the minds. A pleasing personality and good common sense on the part of the buyer or seller often eliminate unnecessary delays. Because of Leonard's pleasing personality and his good common sense, the owner agreed to sell the company for $400,000 that same night.
Now it is true that Leonard had been doing well but it was also true that every dollar he could spare was being plowed back into his business. Where could he get $400,000?
In his hotel room that night he realized that he had all of the combinations to real wealth but one. Just one ? money.
The next morning, as he awakened, he had a flash of inspiration. Again he reacted to the self-starter Do It Now! For he made a long distance telephone call to one of the three men to whom he was introduced by his banker. He had helped them and perhaps they could give him the right advice. For they knew more about financing than he. Because they had invested in another cosmetic company, perhaps they would invest in his. They did.
And because these men were experienced in investing, they employed a successful investment formula which made it necessary for Leonard to agree to: (a) Consolidate all his operations; (b) devote his entire efforts to one corporation; (c) have the corporation pay back the loan on quarterly installments over a five-year period; (d) pay at the going rate of interest on the loan; and (e) give 25% of the corporation's stock as a premium for the investment gamble.
Leonard did agree. He saw the value of the use of OPM. The three men used OPM, too. They borrowed the $400,000 from their banks.
The missing number ? now Leonard and Bernice had it! They worked long hours. They put then: hearts into the business. They found it a thrilling game.
It wasn't long before VO-5 was being used in every part of the United States and in many foreign countries.
December is usually the slowest month of the year for the cosmetic manufacturer. But in December, a year and a half after Leonard and Bernice took over the management of VO-5 and another product which was acquired ? Rinse Away ? the factory had a dollar volume of more than $870,000. That was as much as VO-5 and Rinse Away together had received during their past years under previous management.
And Bernice and Leonard found the missing number. With it they found the combination to acquire wealth. For it was only three years after the acquisition of VO-5 that their equities in their company were valued in excess of a million dollars.
Now the numbers in Leonard Lavin's combination for success were:
No. 1: A product or service that repeats.
No. 2: A company that is making money with an exclusive product or trade name, but which has leveled off.
No. 3: A good experienced production manager who operates the factory with maximum efficiency,
No. 4: A successful experienced sales manager who constantly increases sales (at a profit to the company) by adhering to a successful sales formula and simultaneously seeking better sales methods.
No. 5: A good administrator with PMA.
No. 6: An expert accountant who understands cost accounting and income tax law.
No. 7: A good lawyer with common sense and PMA who gets things done.
No. 8: Sufficient working capital or credit to operate the business and expand it at the right time.
You, too, can use OPM for: "Business? It is quite simple. It is other people's money."
Now if you choose to learn the principles in this chapter as well as those in Chapter Twelve entitled "Attract ? Don't Repel ? Wealth," you, like Leonard and Bernice Lavin, can find the missing numbers to unlock the door to riches for yourself.
But to be healthy and happy, you must find satisfaction in your job. When you read the next chapter, you will learn how.
PILOT NO. 13 Thoughts to Steer By
1. "Business? It is quite simple. It is other people's money!"
2. OPM: other people's money is the way to acquire wealth.
3. The basic unwritten premise in "Use OPM" is: operate on the highest ethical standards of integrity, honor, honesty, loyalty, consent, and the Golden Rule.
4. The dishonest man is not entitled to credit.
5. Your banker is your friend.
6. Where there is nothing to lose by trying, and a great deal to gain if successful, by all means try!
