About this post: Gabe is a family friend. As part of his homeschool curriculum he is taking independent study courses from BYU. He recently asked me to answer a few questions about on the topic of material wealth. I hope my response which I posted below meets is requirements. Feel free to contribute your thoughts as they will undoubtedly help him.
Gabe,
Thank you for thinking about me in preparing for your assignment. This is certainly not the first time I have been asked such questions so I thought I would post my response to you on my blog. This will allow others to contribute their insights which may be of help to you as you prepare your assignment.
Before I can answer your questions individually I need to provide you with my definition of wealth. Wealth is the result of responsible stewardship. We have all been given different gifts and talents. These gifts and talents are our stewardships. Our gifts and talents are increased as we demonstrate our careful and thoughtful stewardship. This increase is wealth. Money and entrepreneurial talents are gifts, yet they are not the only gifts one can have. In actuality, the principle of responsible stewardship touches all aspects of our lives. I would go deeper but I think there is more value in having you think about what I have already laid out. Having loosely established what wealth means to me, I can answer your questions.
Q: When and how did you acquire your wealth?
A: I have had an entrepreneurial drive since I was a child. Over the years I made some money from employers. While I made much more money from my entrepreneurial endeavors, I received of value from my employers in the careful observation of how they ran their businesses.
Most of my current wealth came from my the operation and eventual sale of PRWeb. PRWeb required a lot of work and patience. I did not seek venture money or financing of any type to grow the site. This meant that I had to fund the company from my own pocket making many sacrifices along the way. I nursed it along for about 4 years. I don’t think the site took in more than $500 from 1997 until 2001. In early 2001 I stopped trying to sell advertising on the site and started asking users to voluntarily support the site financially. This is the point where I really began to understand the entire stewardship concept. The more financial contributions PRWeb received the more I tried to add value to the site. Accepting voluntary contributions helped me orient my thinking. I knew that the service would only continue to grow and prosper as I demonstrated to our users that PRWeb was using their money to build more value in the service. By about 2002 I was able to dedicate all of my efforts to PRWeb. Several years later we had nearly 30 employees. PRWeb had zero debt when I finally sold the company in late 2006.
Q: What steps did you take to achieve your success?
A: The following list is not in order since all are pretty much equally important.
- Continually add value. This is important in all aspects of life but it seemed to be my constant concern at PRWeb. As long as you provide more value than your competition, you win.
- Observation. I continually read and tracked different technologies in an effort to lead the industry. It is easy to follow others, but trying to determine where everyone is headed and getting their first is a skill that requires a ton of effort in listening to employees and customers.
- Providing the best stewardship possible. I took everything seriously. As a business owner my primary job was to be defender of the castle. I had to make sure that everything we did was in the best interest of our customers, our employees and the future of the company. Every decision has an impact. My job is to make sure that they are positive ones.
- Doing what is right. I tried (and continue to try) to make every decision based on what is the right thing to do for the customer rather than worrying myself with what the return on my investment is going to be for each activity.
- Giving wisely and giving well.
Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of having material wealth?
A: I really have not experienced any disadvantages of wealth. It takes a lot of time and organization to manage wealth, but I hire most of that out so I can focus on my new endeavors.
Apart from living debt free, the major advantage to wealth is my ability to look for ways to help others. One of my favorite ways to help others is to create good jobs for people. Wealth also affords me an opportunity to seek out and support organizations that are making a difference. I am currently working with and looking for organizations focused on alleviating poverty in developing countries.
Q: If someone aspires to do what you have done, what advice would you give to him or her?
A: Here is my list.
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First, find a great wife. I was really blessed to find someone that is willing to put up with the life of an entrepreneur. The road to wealth through entrepreneurship is a roller-coster of a lifestyle both financially and emotionally. In reality I got lucky, but this is far too important to leave to chance. Seek out someone that shares your values and you should be okay.
- Secondly, pay attention. Really participate in the world. Read, watch and learn from others. There is great power in careful observation and study.
- Keep personal and company debt to a minimum. Debt can really complicate your life.
- Master principles of economics and finance. Understanding basic economic principles of supply and demand, scarcity, marginal utility and opportunity costs will give you an insight as to why people make decisions they do. Learn the difference between a debit and credit.
- Next, create value. Even if you are not on the revenue side of the balance sheet you can create value for any organization.
- Look for solutions where nobody else is looking. If everyone is looking right, look left. If they are all looking up, look down.
- Finally, goals are important. Just do not forget to enjoy the journey along the way. Enjoy the friendships and people you meet along the way. The friendships that I forged while at PRWeb with people like Mark Effinger, Al Castle, Alex Linde, Mick Jolly, Michael Drew and Mark Williman, to name just a few, are in many ways of greater value than the financial wealth I accumulated. I am certain that these friendships will outlast my material wealth.
Q: What are you doing with your wealth now?
A: I really try to put my money into things that create jobs for others or add value in some other way. For example, it is no secret that I purchased a couple of airplanes when I sold PRWeb. I did so primarily because it is a passion that I have but it is also a business opportunity that is providing jobs for others. I am building businesses around my passions in several other areas as well. I also work with organizations that devote their efforts to helping others to help themselves.
Best Wishes,
David McInnis
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