Lost in Kollel » Business Tips

You Have to Say a Chiddush

aaron — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 04:59:53 +0000

When you are trying to get noticed in the beis medrash, you have to say a chiddush, a really bomb chiddush. The more off-the-top it is, the better it is, as long as you can (attempt) to back it up with proofs. But if all you have to offer is the same reid that’s been circulating for years, you will have a hard time trying to find someone who will listen.

So when it comes to making money, why is anything different? Those who have nothing new to offer just don’t make it. How many accountants do we need that all do the same thing? How many dry cleaners can a specific place support? Do we really need just another take out store with all the same kinds of foods?

Instead, think of a novel offering. The first restaurant or caterer that offered sushi. The accountant that knows exactly how to deal with an audit on a particular tax credit. The dry cleaner that knows how to freshen up old dresses like new. When you have something new and interesting to offer, people will come and tell their friends.

There are successful examples of novel business ideas all over the place. Starbucks, which is a multi-billion dollar company, sells coffee. So does every corner donut shop. But the way they sold their coffee got people to talk about it, and come, and spend an outrageous $5 a cup.

Is it more risky to only focus on the novelty? Sure it is. But it’s a risk you can’t afford not to take.

Bookmark and Share

The Hairs Breadth of Excellence

aaron — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:14:29 +0000

Some of the fears associated with leaving kollel is the fear of being unsuccessful in your chosen career path. Sure, there are plenty of business success stories out there, but the pessimist in you doesn’t associate those success stories with something that you could be capable of being.

If others could do it, why couldn’t you do the same? The excuse is, they are super achievers who are great at what they do. But the real truth is that excellence is only a tad better than average.

Being excellent at something doesn’t require you to be so much better than the other guy. If you are just a bit better at something, that is already a good enough reason for the business to come your way. And then you have the resources to get better and better, leaving the competition in the dust.

Remember, back when you were a bochur in yeshiva, the ones who became the ‘best’ in learning weren’t miles ahead of everyone else. Their success came by being just a drop better than everyone else. When everyone was goofing off, they weren’t. When everyone else thought about the kashya one time, they thought about it an extra time. When everyone else wasn’t paying attention, they were. And before long, they were miles ahead.

The difference between excellence and average starts out small, but it quickly becomes a wide gap that is almost insurmountable. (Think of Google vs. Yahoo). You already have what it takes to be excellent at whatever you do, it just takes diligence. Be just a drop better than everyone else, and you will have won the battle for good.

Bookmark and Share

Help Others Without Giving Money

aaron — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:02:52 +0000

This week, 2 incidents proved to me how helping poeple can be easily achieved without costing you a penny.

A friend of mine who is going through a “career change”, is looking to get involved in a business that provides services to very specific kinds of businesses. Because the program is only of use to very specific kinds of businesses, he doesn’t have too many leads to approach. He asked me to call a relative of mine who works in the medical field to see if he could get some contacts from him. I called the relative, and after just 2 phone calls, I put them in touch with each other, probably resulting in a lucrative deal for my friend. This cost me nothing, and it gave my friend a great boost to his fledgling business.

In a similar story, a friend of mine connected me to a person who agreed to meet with me and offer me valuable business advice. This person runs a multi million dollar business, and I would never have been able to sit down with him and hear his ideas, until the friend of mine made the connection. Funny thing is – he was actually very happy to give me the time, and even offered to be of help whenever I need.

It’s hard to give someone your hard earned money. After all, there are so many things that you could be doing with that money, and giving it to someone else is probably not high on your list. But there are so many people who you could be helping without having to part with money.

Everyone is connected to someone who can help someone else. Networking, the life and blood of all business deals, is very easily accomplished in our community. Who doesn’t know someone who works in the medical supply field, the banking industry, real estate, etc.

Business is constantly evolving, and opportunities are always arising. Chances are, there is someone who you know that can be a great source of help for someone that you know who is trying to get a business started, or a deal through. Instead of shying away, help them by picking up the phone and calling that person for them.

You’ll be doing a tremendous chessed, and the person you are asking will likely be very glad to be of help. And best of all, it won’t cost you a dime.

Bookmark and Share

If Everything is Made in China…

aaron — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:20:40 +0000

…Then how do we make our money?

Everything is made in China. From cars to chairs, computers to pianos. Boats arrive to our docks full of pallets of merchandise, and return to China empty. If everything is being made by the Chinese people, where do we make our money from?

The US economy is powered not by goods, but by ideas. Steel mills have closed down years ago, car companies are going broke, factories are a thing of the past. Those have all been sent overseas, where cheap labor is plentiful. But smart people, with ideas, cannot be outsourced.

B&H Photo sells billions of dollars of camera and other electronics every year, and they make a ton of money doing so. There is nothing unique about the products they sell. 90% of what they sell is easily found in other stores, both online and off. So what is so unique about their business that causes pro photographers and amateurs alike to flock to them with religious zeal for their gear?

The answer is the “shopping experience.” The camera is not unique, but their ideas on how to sell the camera are. And that alone is worth billions in annual sales, allowing them to employ 1,600 people in the process.

Ideas are the currency of today’s marketplace. Don’t invest in products, they can be found anywhere. Instead, invest in creating a sales process that is unique. It may be more difficult to create a new idea than a new product, but ultimately, it is the only way to make money in today’s marketplace.

Because good ideas are the only things not being Made in China.

Bookmark and Share

If Everything is Made in China…

Defining a Business from the Outset

aaron — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:49:45 +0000

When you start out in business, it can be very tempting to just take any work that comes your way. All those who have started out without a security cushion (read: rich parents to fall back on) know the feeling of wondering if there will be enough money for food this month.

When a job comes along that doesn’t really fit in with what you want to do, you may decide to take it just to be able to keep the lights on. This can be a life saver, but it can also have negative side effects which you weren’t expecting.

I made this mistake early on in my business. While I was struggling through in the first few months, an acquaintance of mine offered me some work which was not something I had wanted to take on. But the bills needed to be paid, so I reluctantly agreed to do the job. After a few months, the job – which was paying fairly well, disappeared. Had it been something which I truly loved doing, my enthusiasm and devotion to the work would have kept it going. However, since it became just a job, it never went anywhere.

How you start off your business is how your business is perceived in the eyes of the most important people in the world – your customers. ArtScroll set itself on a path to become the largest and most successful Jewish book publisher ever, because back in 1976, when no one really seemed to care, they exerted themselves to produce a Megillas Esther of the finest quality. If they would have just taken any job to make some money, do you really think they would be where they are today?

When you take on work, ask yourself if this job is really helping you in the long run. If not, turn it down. It may seem tempting for now, but six months from now you’ll be glad you didn’t take it.

Bookmark and Share

Day # 8 (and beyond): Back to Routine?

aaron — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:00:44 +0000

Every year it seems that we go through the same routine. Cry our heads off during viduy, promise to do better, and then life comes back to routine. Is there any meaning to all of it, if on Tuesday morning we all go back to our old selves?

The truth is that there is hardly such a thing as routine. We are living in a constant sea of change. In business, nothing stays the same for long. This past year alone, the biggest bank in the country was brought down to a shadow of its former self, hundreds of banks went under, the largest auto company declared bankruptcy, while companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon enjoyed comfortable profits.

Why such a difference? The former were punished by the forces of change, while the latter few were rewarded by it. Change is not necessarily your worst enemy, if you learn to embrace it and accept its existence.

How do you accept change? By anticipating it and realizing that by just doing the same old thing again and again won’t accomplish what it used to. Those who lean into the future of change are rewarded by it, while those who choose to remain in the “safety” of the present become the next GM and Citi.

We are all prime examples of this. Spiritual bankruptcy is rampant amongst ourselves, both in terms of individual behavior, and even in whole communities. If we aren’t willing to make changes, what will become of ourselves? It isn’t enough to say, “I’ll be the same I was until now.” Because one thing is certain, that what worked up until this point will not work in the future.

I’m directing my words and the reluctant kollel yungerman who knows in his heart that the time has come, but he is too afraid to do anything about it. One thing is for certain, that just because it worked up to today does not mean it will continue to work. You know that the pressures are mounting, the bills are piling up, and the stress levels are unprecedented. Leaving kollel does not mean leaving yiddeshkeit.

Look into yourself and realize that for things to work out, change is not optional. It’s now the time to make a move forward in life.

Bookmark and Share

Day # 6 – Your Relationship with Money

aaron — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:00:39 +0000

Leaving kollel is all about taking control of your own finances, and so you will be focusing more attention on your finances. Before you get in “over your head” it important to make sure you control your attitudes towards money so that it doesn’t gain control over you.

The Chafetz Chaim pointed out how in Ne’eilah of Yom Kippur, the one aveirah that is singled out is that of gezeila – “L’maan nechdal meioshek yadeinu”. See the mishna brura who explains that theft is the sin that stands out the most to accuse a person, that is why we ask forgiveness especially for that. On Yom Kippur, when we are as holy as malachim, we beseech Hashem for forgiveness for something that seems so distant from us at that moment. However, the yetzer hora is very clever, and he is able to get us with this more than anywhere else.

In a study conducted by the authors of The Millionaire Next Door, they surveyed dozens of ultra wealthy people, looking for qualities that were shared by a singnificant number of them. They found the one quality that stands out the most was super high levels of integrity. Contrary to popular belief that most millionaires got rich by ripping off everyone, instead they found that the super rich people generally were people of high integrity.

Business requires lots of trust between partners, customers, suppliers, and everyone else it interacts with. Trustworthy people, besides their honesty are also so much more pleasant to work with. Money tends to flow towards those who can be trusted.

You may think, at this point what could I possibly be dishonest about? But the yetzer hora is already sowing the seeds of malice, little by little. It starts off with small amounts that you can rationalize, and pretty soon it becomes “just the way of doing business.”

Don’t get caught in this disasterous trap of dishonesty. Integrity rewards you both in this world, and the next.

Bookmark and Share

Watching the Money You Make

aaron — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:46:36 +0000

Being successful at business requires not just the knowledge of how to make money, but also how not to lose it. There are countless opportunities at making money, and there are ten times more ways to easily lose your money to scams, pranks, and just plain stupidity.

Did you ever receive the following email from a “friend”?

Dear Friends; Please do not take this for a junk letter. Bill Gates sharing his fortune. If you ignore this, You will repent later. Microsoft and AOL are now the largest Internet companies and in an effort to make sure that Internet Explorer remains the most widely used program, Microsoft and AOL are running an e-mail beta test.

When you forward this e-mail to friends, Microsoft can and will track it ( If you are a Microsoft Windows user) For a two weeks time period.

For every person that you forward this e-mail to, Microsoft will pay you $245.00 For every person that you sent it to that forwards it on, Microsoft will pay you $243.00 and for every third person that receives it, You will be paid $241.00. Within two weeks, Microsoft will contact you for your address and then send you a check.

You may have even forwarded this email on to others. Not that you really believed that it was true, but maybe just in case…

G-d gave us brains, and he commanded us to use them. He gave us ways to figure how to make money, and ways to ensure that the money doesn’t leave you. Money gets lost in so many ways: accidents, financial collapse, divorce, death, taxes, theft, dishonest partners, bad business deals, overspending, and of course – scams.

Its not anyone else’s job to safeguard your money. Not your parents, spouse, friend, or the government. Just as when you figure out a way to creatively bring in money its your credit, so too when the money is taken away from you because you were swindled out of it is due to your stupidity.

How many stories are there of people who lost everything due to a scam? Bernie Madoff is the most recent and famous one, but thieves just like him have preyed on naive and greedy frum people for decades. Especially on young kollel couples with their chassuna money. And each time the story happens, it wasn’t anyone eles’s fault.Yes, you do get punished for not being prudent with your money – it will go away.

Bookmark and Share

Succeeding in Business: Who You’re Really Up Against

aaron — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 03:37:19 +0000

The biggest obstacle faced by those wishing to go into business, is fear of failure. One may think, “If its such a good way to make money, why wasn’t this tried before?”

Who is your competition? What exactly are you up against?

The average American household spends 8 hours and 18 minutes a day watching TV!!! That means, if they sleep 7 hours and work 9 hours, the rest of the time is spent in front of the television!

An acquaintance of mine who successfully opened and runs 4 different businesses in Texas once told me how surprised he was to find that it was so easy to succeed in business. He said that he never would’ve imagined that with a little determination, work, and drive, how far he could get. The reason why – no competition. He found that his competition was so slow and not focused that he was easily able to capture their customers over to his company by just offering to show up and do the job on time.

Most of us don’t watch TV. But we easily can spend many hours a day being just as unproductive. Browsing the web, schmoozing, reading papers, chasing ambulances. Instead of all the wasted time, apply it towards your dream of operating your own business. You’ll be amazed at how far you get in so little time.

After all, everyone else is busy finding ways to kill time. Be smarter than them, and you are bound to win.

Bookmark and Share

Business Lessons from 3 Roshei Yeshiva

aaron — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:46:40 +0000

What do Rabbi Avrohom Ausband, R”Y of Telz Alumni D’Riverdale, Rabbi Eli Sorotzkin, R”Y of North Plainfield (Springfield), and Rabbi Elya Chaim Swerdloff, R”Y of Paterson NJ have in common?

They all have successful yeshivos, they are all tremendous talmidei chachomim, and they are all sons in law and (except for R’ Swerdloff) sons of Roshei Yeshiva.

[note: Rav Ausband is the son of Rav Issac Ausband Shlita R"Y of Telz, and the son in law of Rav Binyamin Tzeilberger R"Y of Bais HaTalmud. Rav Sorotzkin is the son of Rav Boruch Sorotzkin, R"Y of Telz, and the son in law of Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, R"Y of Mirrer Yeshiva. Rav Swerdloff is the the son in law of Rav Gershon Weisenfeld, R"Y in Bais HaTalmud.]

Most people in their situation would have just waited for opportunity to fall into their lap. After all, with such yichus, the world “owes them” a royal shteler, complete with frock and mizrach vant.

However, they did otherwise. They abandoned their “comfortable” positions where they were, and left to start themselves off, on their own, in hostile territory, with absolutely no guarantee of success.

Why did they do this? Looking back now, it was a pretty smart move, but at the time it was considered foolish and risky.

The answer is simple, yet not understood by many. In order to be successful, one has to be able to operate on his own terms. You cannot be a person of significance in the shadow of others, bound to their rules and guidelines.

They all saw the future ahead of them, and they were scared. They were scared to sit still and do nothing, because that meant being restricted in what they could say, how they could learn, which talmidim they could take.

And they knew that their potential could not be reached under other people’s rules. They knew themselves, and realized early on that their ultimate success depended on them getting out and starting fresh where no one could tell them how to do things.

Everyone has within themselves the potential to do something well. Don’t stifle it by restricting yourself to other people’s rules. Get out on your own, and bring out the best things that you can only do when its on your own terms.

Bookmark and Share