If its sounds too good to be true, then it probably isn’t true

Recently, I received a call from a scam artist who tried to entice me with an opportunity that sounded too good to be true. Like all scams, it was laced with some level of authenticity, but also, like all scams, it contained a return on investment, just too good to be true. And, as my mentor always taught me, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true!” The recent arrest, of Bernard Madoff and the billionaire, Allen Stanford, who were both allegedly involved in scams, with thousands of investors, highlighted the fact that, no matter who the purveyors of these higher than normal returns are, the likelihood is that it is not real. Of course, there are always exceptions, but when its your life’s savings you’re betting, it’s better to be cynical than sorry.

Jim Collins, of “Good to Great” fame, highlights in his book that the most successful long term entrepreneurs have been those that have had consistently good growth in their businesses. Those companies that shot the lights out, in months or a few years, generally did not see 20 years in existence. Can anyone tell me where, Alta Vista, Yahoo and even My Space are today relative to where they were projected to be? Once again, some companies will be exceptions, but they leave a dangerous precedent in their wake, much the same as the wake that Shuttleworth created in South Africa for the IT sector. The positive, of course, was the message, he subconsciously emanated, that anyone could be a billionaire. But, the negative was the widely-held perception in the marketplace that his success was almost instantaneous. The market was flush with business plans worth billions in their creator’s minds and not worth the paper they were written on in the minds of potential investors. The formula, at the time, was to come up with a brilliant idea, demonstrate that there is an international market of billions of dollars, spend more time selling the idea than actually working on it, and complain all the time that “they” just don’t get you and then value the idea for tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars.

I put to you that there is more evidence of true long-term wealth creation by those entrepreneurs that came to work every day, built their business one system, one brick and one client at a time than there is of the “rock star” type of successes. Those entrepreneurs who have kept the value that they provide to their market relevant and innovative are the ones who have built the solid businesses that will weather the economic storms.

Many entrepreneurs think that the answer to wealth creation is some fancy formula, some secret only bestowed on those who get MBAs from Harvard and INSEAD. The evidence is overwhelming that true wealth is built, over time, by creating value to clients, and by remaining relevant to clients, through hard work, perseverance, a consistent business rhythm and faith.

Book Recommendation

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell – A well written book that gives you a completely different way to interpret the world. I highly recommend it.

Challenge for the Week

Develop your business rhythm