Jeremy Harbour totally changed the way I do business and the way I do life. I thought I knew a lot about how business worked, I thought I knew a lot about having a great lifestyle; until I learned the lessons contained in this book and completely jumped up several notches. If youre starting out in business, or youre wanting to up your game to the next level, grab this book and sit in the sun soaking up some really solid wisdom with some vitamin D.
Im lucky enough to have spent time with Jeremy on his boat and his sea side home. Every time we talk I say thats genius! you must put it into a book. Im no dummy, Ive built successful businesses and travelled the world myself but when I spend time talking to Jeremy I cant help feeling like a student learning from a wise teacher. Anyone who wants to be successful in business and in life would be mad not to read this book.
Daniel Priestly , Entrepreneur and Author of Become a Key Person of Influence,
Jeremy ably dispels the myth that you need to invent something new to start your own business. People have made money selling bread for thousands of years, the successful ones just do it better.
Nick Jenkins , Founder of Moonpig.com
Jeremy is a true entrepreneur. In his writings he shares his journey and we learn how he has always believed that life is what we make of it, never the victim, never seeking to be the hero, Jeremy has just been determined to be independently wealthy and rely on no one else. Is it possible to teach entrepreneurship? I believe it is with the right role models and realism of what it takes. This book takes the reader through that real, scary, joyful and ultimately rewarding journey into wealth.
Penny Power , Founder of Ecademy and Digital Youth Academy
This edition first published 2012
2012 Jeremy Harbour
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Harbour, Jeremy.
Go do! : for people who have always wanted to start a business / Jeremy Harbour.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-857-08274-9 (pbk.)
1. New business enterprisesManagement. 2. Entrepreneurship. I. Title.
HD62.5.H369 2012
658.1'1dc23
2012001819
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-0-857-08274-9 (pbk) ISBN 978-0-857-08314-2 (ebk)
ISBN 978-0-857-08317-3 (ebk) ISBN 978-0-857-08316-6 (ebk)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you for buying my book. I heard that when Donald Trumps book was published he got sued for lots of money, so, for the avoidance of doubt, Ive made it all up. I, therefore, cant accept any responsibility for anything negative that happens after listening to my advice. Of course if you go on to be hugely successful then I will humbly accept all the credit.
Sometimes life teaches you a lesson I have learnt my fair share. If you dont get back up after being knocked down, then you didnt learn the lesson. I hope this book will give you a short cut past some of the painful lessons but be ready to learn some of your own.
So many people have shaped my life it would be impossible to mention them all, but the real stars in my story are my family, in particular my Mum and Dad, Valerie and John Harbour. Without their support, advice and education over the years nothing would have been possible. Both of my grandmothers, Mabel (alive and kicking at 94 years old) and Freda (RIP), and my brother Ben have also helped me enormously on this journey. They say you cant choose your family, well, if I could I would choose this one.
Thank you.
INTRODUCTION
Warren Buffet was once asked how he could remember so much detail about thousands of stocks. His answer was Well, you start at A .
Every journey starts with a single step. The question is when will you take yours?
So, your financial advisor tells you to put half your salary into a pension scheme, which you wont see until youre almost dead, in order to make sure you will not have to sell your home to pay for your upkeep in a nursing home bloomin marvellous!
What about the guy who just went past in the Aston Martin, or the guy on the yacht in Monaco Harbour? Are they just lucky? Did they inherit it? Are they smarter than you? Probably not.
When you look at the richest people in the world nowadays, in either Forbes or the Sunday Times rich list, you will see that the list is almost entirely dominated by non-inherited wealth; a very different story to that of 20 years ago. When I was growing up the richest man in the world was the Sultan of Brunei, who owed his fortune to a combination of inherited and massive oil wealth. Today, the top three richest people are a telecoms guy in Mexico, a computer guy and a stocks and shares guy. They all started from zero. They all started with a single step. They all started at A.
Not only among the very top few, but all the way through the sprawling middle classes, the same thing is apparent. The transfer of wealth from what Warren Buffet calls the lucky sperm club, the world of inherited wealth, to the new world meritocracy, or earned wealth, is truly striking. This transfer of wealth and power represents a massive evolution of opportunity.
So how do you get your fair share?
There are many people who have made their wealth through a staggering variety of sources, through art, music, divorce or winning the lottery, but by far and away the greatest wealth creator is business entrepreneurship in all its colours and forms. If you are starting from zero and you want to create a great life, have fun and just maybe become wealthy, then entrepreneurship wins hands down. You may think the odds of winning the lottery are reasonable. Theyre not. Most winners in life have to go out and do it for themselves.
What makes these entrepreneurs successful? To a great extent it is their self-belief that they can go and set up their own businesses and become a success. This self-belief isnt innate; it needs to be nurtured and encouraged, and it must survive in the face of much doubt. Society in general does not encourage this sort of behaviour; it tries to convince you that you need a job. This is passively drummed into us all on television, at school, from our parents and in newspapers and magazines. A job trades time for money, and time is very much finite, so it is, unfortunately, very hard to win through employment. Those who Go Do find an alternative route through life, where success is suddenly in their own hands.