WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THIS …
The success of Nike is legendary. And sometimes, in telling the story, business writers depict Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman as archetypical risk-taking entrepreneurs.
As you now know, nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, they were cautious—even timid at times.
I am writing this book because the common perception of the entrepreneur never fit with my own experience.
I have started, co-started, or consulted on the creation of at least a dozen successful entrepreneurial businesses. Two of them were holding companies that launched dozens of smaller companies. And in my experience, the safest and surest way to develop a successful business is not to come up with a brand-new idea and put all your money into it. It’s to start out slowly, like Phil Knight did. Develop your sources, contacts, and business plan first. And keep your day job until the new business is making so much money that you no longer need the salary.
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