Vol. 10, #2.1-April 11, 2018 ALLAN GOLD’S BLOG
Next (extra) blog post of weekly series over 3 months on contracts
for company executives & owners of family-small businesses
TODAY’S TOPIC: “For me, an entrepreneur is something of a baker”*
For me, regardless of the business, an entrepreneur is something of a baker. You see, he is looking for his daily bread, be it French, Italian, Jewish, Russian, etc. However, an entrepreneur must make it himself… with his own two hands. Typically, the bread winner in the family, he jumps out of bed, bright and early before dawn, looking to make some. He is highly driven, always half- expecting to be asked, “Do you have any bread?” Running on flour power (of the baker’s bread type), he’s the happiest when he’s in the dough; but no matter what he does, he never seems able to get enough of it. Looking to make his dough rise, he’s itching to pop it into the oven. Extremely versatile, he’s able to make bread every which way. Indeed, his work product comes in all shapes and sizes, from small to big, fat or flat, etc. – it’s as varied as the there are bread types, (e.g., rye, pita, pumpernickel, black, hallah, baguette, etc.) .
You’ll usually find him on his route, driving his bread truck, i.e., a vehicle with which, he earns money. Of course, he is always on the lookout for someone dropping bread crumbs for him to follow. On finding some and after picking them up, he asks: “How can I make a buck from this?” But, he looks to act pursuant to the law, disclosing ingredients, never using rotten goods. You see, he doesn’t want to be reduced to a diet of bread & water. He’s also sensitive to complaints about being half- baked or frozen in time. You see, he needs to be careful when making excuses – this is because he knows that he might later have to eat his words… or worse.
Our ‘baker’ is a type “A” personality. Being a ‘main course’ kind of guy, and not a dessert person, he focuses only on real bread- making activities. He’s quick, disdaining anything or anyone, ‘slow as molasses’. Indeed, just like a sharp bread knife, he cuts right through the noise and bullshit. And like a bread slicer, he gets the job done efficiently, cleanly and completely in one fell swoop. And no doughboy, he is lean and mean …indeed really tough. While his product needs to be firm, he also must be strong, able to take it all. You see, he’s a realist and understands business. He knows that it’s just a matter of time before he will be hitting, literally & figuratively, the bread plate, not merely toasty warm, but rather, highly grilled or possibly toasted to a crisp. Or if in the soup, he will have to deal with less than ideal conditions. If and when things go wrong, he tends to be on the crotchety side, likely to get hot and cross, just like those signature buns and somewhat crusty, blanching if someone tries to nibble at the edges.
Of course, he likes when things are fully baked as he needs to be ready and able to make the next sale. Afraid of getting stale, he constantly asks: “How can I keep it fresh?” Fearing mark downs like day old bread, he watches inventory, looking to keep production in line with sales. Aspiring to stand out, he wants to be the best, never getting lost in the proverbial bread basket, amongst the rest of ordinary buns and dinner rolls, etc. And thinking like a true artisan baker, aiming for top quality, he cringes if derogatively compared to ‘white sliced bread’.
When it comes to marketing and promotion, he sees his market as being the ‘sandwich’ generation, this with many buyers, (expected to bring home the bacon), and now brown bagging it. Knowing about giving greater value, he offers a baker’s dozen, be it for muffins, bagels, croissants, etc. But he disregards buyers choosing something which pales as against the real thing, much like bread versus breadsticks, calling them just crackers!
Finally, our business person doesn’t just want a big slice (of life), or even the biggest slice of all. He also disagrees with Ronald Reagan who said: “…I have always figured that a half a loaf is better than none, …” (Source: https://tbrickert.wordpress.com/2012/12/22/the-wisdom-of-ronalad-reagan-and-the-real-reason-the-world-didnt-end/). No loafer is him. He doesn’t just want the whole loaf – instead, he wants to go home with a loaf and a half. In addition, he looks to sock away plenty of bread for a rainy day.
So you see, regardless of the particular trade and commerce, an enterprise has many of the attributes of a bakery; and a businessman is a veritable bread man! Now, would you kindly pass the jam and peanut butter? Thank you very much.
* ©/TM 2018 Allan Gold, Practitioners’ Press Inc. – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED