When I tell people what I do, they often tell me that I must have one of the greatest jobs in the world! Obviously I'm not talking about taking hostages, making people walk the plank, and the other bad stuff associated with being a pirate. The truth is, they are right, I do have one of the best jobs in the world! I get to be creative, work with interesting people, and learn about how companies work inside and out.
OK, it doesn't sound as glamorous when worded like that...How about...I develop strategies, learn the weaknesses of people and corporations, and determine methods of discretely accomplishing tasks without anyone knowing about it! There are many names that can be associated with what i do, Captain Jack Sparrow or Jason Bourne. Regardless of what you call it, I figure things out and get things done!
So what have I accomplished? A simple question with a difficult answer.To understand what has been done you first need to know a little about what it is that I do.
Let's say that you have a remote control that controls everything in your life. This remote control allows you to pause, rewind, and speed life up. It allows you to record specific events into your memory and skip the parts of your life that you want to get through. The remote control comes in custom shapes and sizes, has back-lit buttons, and a battery that lasts forever! Even better, this remote control can be purchased just about anywhere for a low price, but unfortunately the product comes with batteries not included.
The batteries that operate the remote control can only be found in one place, "The Battery Store". Clearly this is a fictitious name, but for the sake of examples let's say the Battery Store is a modest corporation and the foremost expert on batteries that last forever. Everyone who buys one of the remote controls must get their batteries at the Battery Store and since they are the only corporation that sells batteries that last forever, the prices for their product is outrageously high, $300 for a single battery. This is a problem for most people who want to own the remote control because in order to use the remote, you must use Battery Store batteries. Additionally, the Battery Store batteries are only sold at one of their five locations in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Denver. In other words, unless you live in one of these major cities or visit these cities often, even if you did have the money to buy one of these batteries you would not be able to access the product because you would physically need to be in one of these locations.
What a great scenario! We have a life remote control that can do anything that requires a battery that will last forever. Problem, the batteries are expensive and they can only be purchased at one of five locations. This is where I come in! I know that if i can secure some of the Battery Store batteries and put them in other stores, or on retail websites, that I will be meeting the needs of the people who cannot go to the stores to purchase the products. I also know that if i can figure out how to get the batteries for a price below the price of $300 I should be able to meet the needs of people who cannot otherwise afford the batteries. My first train of thought goes to Battery Store...The remotes are retailed everywhere, but the batteries are not...Are there any places where the products are sold together, perhaps to government agencies, national corporations for corporate retreats, or cruise-lines for people wanting to take vacation on the great blue ocean? Come to find out, the remote controls are sold with batteries included to corporations and organizations that plan on using the product as a service rather than selling the product for retail. I determine that most of the remote controls that are sold with batteries included are sold to hair salons and hospitals. The products are sold to hair salons to pause life and allow the stylist to complete the hair style, pedicure, and massage in less time. The products sold to the hospitals are used to pause, slow, and speed up procedures to allow doctors to perform surgery and speed up recovery.
Hospitals can be tough to get through so my way in to get the remote control with batteries included will be to go through the salons. Salons have regular turnover and every time someone leaves the salon they take one of the remotes with them. To help the salons, who are probably the largest account for remotes with batteries included, I decide to create a company who will buy the remote controls and hold the inventory for the salon. The benefit of the company I created is that i can reduce the number of remotes the salon needs to buy each year by half. The salon sees the opportunity of reducing their annual expenses by half and they jump on the opportunity! The company I created is now the sole distributor of remote controls with batteries included and since I am buying the products directly from the manufacturer, and reaping the benefits of the volume discounts of buying in bulk, I can secure the remotes with batteries included for $100 per unit. Now we have a solution to the problem that will allow everyone the opportunity to have a life remote control with a battery that last forever.....but how do i ensure my supply is protected? How do I make sure I am following all of the rules established by the manufacturer? If you had discovered a large fortune, you wouldn't just leave someone breadcrumbs or a map of how to get to your treasure would you?
You see, figuring out how to get the product is only part of the game. A good pirate knows that in order be the fastest boat in the water, you always need to have wind in your sails.... I will tell you more about protecting your treasure next time....
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