Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 12:36:08 -0500 
Subject: Crouser Report #180; March 15, 1998, 
To: martin@lata.net

Crouser Report OnLine Copyright 1998 Thomas P. Crouser, Sunday, March
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*****
Crouser Report #180; March 15, 1998
The Millionaire Next Door
Transmitted from Amelia Island, Florida
*****
INDEX: In This Issue: In the March edition of the Crouser Report, Tom
reviews The Millionaire Next Door, a book by Thomas Stanley and
William Danko who tend to debunk some of the convention wisdom in the
printing industry. Also, a little printing history as we review Isaiah
Thomas and The History Of Printing In America. All this and more in
this edition of the Crouser Report Online.
*****
What's Different About The Crouser Performance Groups?

Performance

Dear Tom, and Pamela, If it had not been for your accepting me into a
performance group 6 years ago, I know I would not be in busines today. I
had been in business for many years before my association with your
organization., but knew not where to go to actually learn how to run a
business. I do not think you can learn that even from the best business
schools! It was from your guidance that I actually learned how to read
my monthly financials. (If I had known what the numbers actually meant I
would have learned much earlier that embezzlement was going on in my
business. I would have been spared many years of toil and grief for
naught,) I will always be gratefull for the ongoing encouragement and
knowledge that iI am receiveing, and for the association and friendship
with some of the best printers in the country!. Thank you, Thank you.
(Name and telephone available upon request.)

Coming To Chicago And California This Year
In addition to our current groups meeting in Orlando, Florida, we will
be opening  groups meeting in Chicago and California. One of these
groups will specifically  before shops with over $1 million in sales.
More information on our Performance  Groups can be found at the end of
this message. For more information email me at   tomcrouser@aol.com or
call (304) 342-5100.
*****  *****
Crouser Report
March 1998

Dear Friends. . .

Researchers Thomas Stanley and William Danko debunk most of the myths
about real money in American in their hugely successful book, The
Millionaire Next Door. I used it in one of our seminars during our
General Manager's Conference in Nassau this year. Why did we study it?
Because it contains many remarkable insights which seem to be foreign to
the conventional wisdom of the printing industry.

For instance, being wealthy has hardly anything to do with the
perceptions people have of being wealthy. For instance, their research
revealed the majority of millionaires never spent even one-tenth of
$5,000 for a watch; that they don't drive foreign automobiles; most
don't drive this year's model car for that matter; and millionaires buy
cars, they don't lease them.

What they do have is common is that they are owners of small businesses
in the dull-normal variety. Businesses such as welding contractors,
auctioneers, rice farmers, owners of mobile-home parks, pest
controllers, coin and stamp dealers, paving contractors and printers.
Okay, I added the printers' part, but they meant to say printers. They
say self-employed Americans, just like us, make up less than 20% of the
entire population in the United States. Yet, they state, we account for
two-thirds of all millionaires!

Yep, the good, old-fashioned I earned it variety millionaire is where
it's at. Most of America's millionaires are first-generation rich. And
91% of them never received as much as $1 of the ownership of the family
business as a gift! More than half never received any inheritance at all
and more than three-fourths of them never have received an act of
kindness from a relative in the amount of $10,000 or more! What's more,
the authors show, that's the way it was 100 years ago in America also.

So, Are You On Your Way To Being Wealthy?

Wealthy to most people refers to an abundance of material possessions.
The authors define wealthy differently. They don't define it in terms of
material possessions for many people who display a high-consumption
lifestyle have little or not investments, appreciable assets, income
producing assets, common stocks, bonds, private businesses, oil/gas
rights, or timber land. Conversely, the people the authors define as
wealthy get much more pleasure from owning substantial amounts of
appreciable assets than from displaying a high- consumption lifestyle.

Net worth is what the authors define as being wealthy. The value of all
your assets minus your liabilities. Cattle not chattel. The concept
that a person has a lot of material possessions, but really hasn't paid
for them is referred to as having a Big Hat, But No Cattle. I refer to
it as having a Big Press, No Current Ratio.

For the text, the authors define net worth of $1 million or more as
being wealthy. Now, are you wealthy? Well, if you have a net worth of
$1 million or more you are but that's the simple approach. You see, most
folks gradually increase their net worth over time and hit the $1
million mark about the age of 57 or so. So, if you are 40, how do you
determine if you are wealthy? That is are you wealthy for a person of
40? (Please note we are talking about real wealth and not putting all of
our assets back into the print shop so you can one day sell it and be
wealthy. That doesn't happen to but a few.)

The authors tell you to multiply your age times your realized pretax
annual household income from all sources except inheritances. Then
divide that number by ten. This, less any inherited wealth, is what your
net worth should be NOW. For instance, a 40 year old with $50,000 of
income, then 40 x $50,000 = $2,000,000 divided by 10 = $200,000.
Therefore your net worth should be about $200,000 to be an Average
Accumulator of Wealth (AAW).

Now, if you are a Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth (PAW), you will have
accumulated twice the normally expected amount for your age and income
level. In this case, $400,000. If you are an Under Accumulator of Wealth
(UAW), then you would have accumulated about one-half the expected
amount or $100,000.

Frugal, Frugal, Frugal

Prodigious Accumulators of Wealth have a basic secret. They simply live
well below their means and they are frugal. Well, gee, some people
say, why would you want to live like that?

The authors point out that Under Accumulators of Wealth spend more of
their time worrying about money than Prodigious Accumulators of Wealth.
PAWs and UAWs also worry about different issues. Overall, PAWs have
significantly fewer concerns and fears than UAWs. And that means less
stress. And people with less stress have less diseases and live longer.
So, that's one basic reason you would want to live like that.

But, let's also make sure we know what we are talking about. Being
frugal does not mean being stingy, mean or cold. It means NOT being
wasteful. You want your press operator to be frugal. You don't want them
using 2,000 sheets of paper to print 500 do you? You wouldn't run the
air conditioner inside the shop with the door standing wide open would
you? Well, the issue of frugality can be seen in the same light.

Frugal doesn't mean getting the lowest price service either. Rather, it
means getting the service with the best value. The authors point out
that millionaires consistently spend more than others for their
professional advice, for instance. And they look for the value in what
they do. For instance, half of all millionaires have never paid more
than $140 for a pair or shoes, $399 for a suit or more than $235 for a
wristwatch. But that doesn't mean they do without shoes, a suit or a watch.

By the way, who is buying all these prestigious things? Typically middle
income Americans who want to feel rich is the consensus. For every
millionaire who owns a $1,000 suit, there are at least six others people
who are not millionaires who own one.

The Seven Factors

Affluent people typically follow a lifestyle conducive to accumulating
money. The authors identified seven common denominators in the group
that sets them apart from their less wealthy brethren.

1. They live well below their means.

2. They allocate their time, energy and money efficiently, in ways conducive
to building wealth.

3. They believe financial independence is more important than displaying high
social status.

4. Their parents did not provide economic outpatient care.

5. Their adult children are economically self-sufficient.

6. They are proficient in targeting market opportunities.

7.  They chose the right occupation.

Portrait Of The Millionaire Next Door

The typical millionaire in America is fifty-seven years old, married
with three children. Most earn the vast majority of the household's
income. Four out of five of us are still actively self-employed in
dull-normal businesses found in every corner of America.

The typical annual income is $131,000 and they have an average household
net worth of $3.7 million. They own their homes with an average value of
$320,000. We earned our money, we didn't inherit it. Most of our wives
are meticulous budgeteers. Most have accumulated enough wealth to live
comfortably for more than twelve years without earning any more. We live
in normal communities with a cross section of economic levels. We don't
live in the expensive sub- divisions in town. We work between forty-five
and fifty-five hours a week.

Millionaires spend heavily for the education of their offspring. They
save and invest nearly 20 percent of their household income. They make
their own investment decisions although they rarely sell their equity
investments. They are into the market for the long haul.

Great Defense!

Millionaires are frugal, had parents who are frugal and their spouse is
more frugal than they are. That's great defense according to the authors.

Great offense, says the authors, means that a household generates an
income significantly higher than the norm, which in American is an
annual realized income of approximately $33,000. Most of these
households also play great defense. That is they are frugal when it
comes to spending for consumer goods and services.

One frugal high-income producer within the married-couple category,
however, does not automatically translate into a high level of net
worth. Something else must be present. Most people will never become
wealthy in one generation if they are married to people who are
wasteful. A couple cannot accumulate wealth if one of its members is a
hyperconsumer. This is especially true when one or both are trying to
build a successful business. Few people can sustain profligate spending
habits and simultaneously build wealth. According to the authors, the
foundation stone of wealth accumulation is defense, and this defense
should be anchored by budgeting and planning.

There's More

There's much, much more in the book. Especially good for an insight for
raising rich kids and handling/training adult children to be on their
own. They quote W. W. Allen, a super PAW, who says If your goal is to
become financially secure, you'll likely attain it. . . .But if your
motive is to make money to spend money on the good life. . . you're
never gonna make it.

Do you really want to turn an average or above average income into
wealth? If so, the surprising answers are within the book. If you are
really serious about accumulating wealth, this book is required reading
for you, your spouse and your children. Get it. Study it. Live it. The
Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. and William D. Danko,
Ph.D., 1996, Longstreet Press, Atlanta, Georgia,  ISBN 1-56352-330-2.
About $22. Available at book stores everywhere.

And, If You'd Like Help Getting To The Millionaire Status:

Give us a call. Not making enough money in your Print Shop, but really
don't have time to do anything about it? Making lots of money but don't
have any time? People problems? Cost or pricing challenges? Sales slump?
Sales increasing but no cash? Transitioning the business to children?
Family working together? For a free, no obligation evaluation of your
circumstance, please contact us at (304) 342-5100 or fax (304) 342-5187.
Helping Printers Prosper since 1985.

Isaiah Thomas and The History Of Printing In America

My thanks to Jim Ullrich of Knoxville, Tennessee who sent me a copy of
The History of Printing in America by Isaiah Thomas. The book was
originally published in 1810 and was reprinted in 1970. Thomas was one
of the colonies leading printers along with Benjamin Franklin.

Born in 1749 to an old, but quite poor Boston family, his father
abandoned the family and, in 1756, Isaiah was bound out by the Overseers
of the Poor of Boston to a shiftless printer named Zechariah Fowle.
Thomas stayed with him for ten years before running away, first to Nova
Scotia, and then to South Carolina. Thomas frequently found himself in
difficulty with his employers and civil authorities during this period.

Thomas returned to Boston in 1770 with the first of his three wives and
in July went into partnership with his old master, the shiftless Fowle.
In 1775, he fled the British to Worcester, Massachusetts with his press
and type. Later, his wife ran off with Benjamin Thompson the Tory, later
Count Rumford. In succeeding years, Thomas's fortunes improved. At the
height of his prosperity he employed 150 people in a printing office
containing seven presses. In addition, he owned a paper mill, a bindery,
and eight branch offices scattered about in Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Vermont, New York and Maryland. He retired quite wealthy in
1802 and devoted himself to his book collecting, The History of Printing
and the American Antiquarian Society which he founded in 1812. Thomas
died on April 4, 1831.

One of Thomas' feats was that he is credited with printing the first
Bible in the new world. Also, it was discovered later, he apparently
printed the first contraband copy of Fanny Hill. And, one of his early
shops was on the upper floor of the Union Oyster House which still
stands today near Nathaniel Hall in downtown Boston. Just thought you
might be interested.

Travelog: Next General Manager's Training will be held in Columbus, Ohio
May 6-9th. April 4th, Pamela and I will be with the Gulf Coast Chapter
of NAQP in New Orleans. We'll be with the Bay Area Chapter of NAQP (San
Francisco area) on April 18th. We'll also be with a group of Sir Speedy
owners in Pennsylvania

May 16th and with the New England Chapter of NAQP on May 23rd. Then we
will be in Dallas for the Dallas show May 29-31st. Our 1998 Production
Management Conference for clients will be held June 3-6th in Pittsburgh.
Hope to see you soon.

Finished our first spring Performance Group meetings this week in
Orlando and getting ready for the next group to come in this Wednesday.
This week we have participants from: Florida, New Jersey, Colorado,
Iowa, Maryland, Georgia and Ohio. If you'd like information on our
Performance Groups, just message tomcrouser@aol.com. We'll be glad to
chat with you about your opportunities. Until next week.

Happy Trails,
Tom and Pamela Crouser

P.S. Wealth is largely a result of habit. John Jacob Astor.

P.P.S. A man is rich in proportion to the things he can afford to let
alone. Henry David Thoreau

P.P.P.S. It is most unusual for someone to become wealthy by working
for a rich man. Carl Riblet

P.P.P.S. If you can actually count your money, you are not rich. Joe
Kennedy.

P.P.P.S. I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better. Sophie Tucker
*****
Crouser Performance Groups. . .We Put The Performance In Performance Groups.

Our Performance Groups are composed of non-competing printers from
throughout  the country whom Pamela and I meet with every six months.
The purpose of these groups are to help printers achieve their goals and
really learn about running a   business. Our program provides business
training, personal development, coaching   and peer review specifically
related to the printing industry. There is NO other   program like it
anywhere. We start by sending an evaluation team to your shop for   a
review. And that's followed by our basic General Manager's training
program. Then your company receives annual evaluations in addition to
you working with your assigned group and our staff. Additionally,
specific training conferences are held in production, sales and general
management. Plus more. Does it work? One current participant writes:

Besides the emotional boost, belonging to one of your Performance
Groups is   paying off financially as well. The difference in profits
from one years to the next   is running about $70,000 to the plus.
(Name and telephone number on request.) Want to know more? Call us at
(304) 342-5100. Contact us about our upcoming   groups in Chicago and
San Francisco.
*****
Visit us at http://www.crouser.com. You can also reach us through the
Internet at office@crouser.com or at tomcrouser@crouser.com or
call our Help Line at (304) 342-5100 or fax us at (304) 342-5187.
*****
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