Chapter 1

In looking at the month-end sales report, Ben Palmer thought it reflected another profitable month. Ben was a mid-west sales manager for Bifty athletic shoes. His territory consisted of five States. His business was headquartered in northern Illinois where he owned a condo. He also owned a house in Florida and considered himself to be a Florida resident. With modern technology, he could physically be away from Illinois for more than nine months of the year and still managed his business.

Ben who was six feet four inches tall was a gifted athlete and an accomplished basketball player. He had played for ten years in the NBA. He initially was a starter on his NBA team but in the last few years had become what some would call the sixth man. His ability in being a three-point shooter gave him the longevity needed to be playing in this league.

It was not all fun and games being an NBA player because of the traveling and length of the season. The question of how long he would be in the league caused Ben to live a frugal lifestyle and invest his money conservatively. He now had progressed to be in a situation where he had the funds to live a comfortable lifestyle from the dividends and interest those funds would generate. He had come to realize because of his diminishing basketball skills and his wanting to avoid being cut or traded, that it was time for him to retire. He was looking to have some sort of activity to supplement his income as he did not want to turn into a couch potato but what that would be he didn’t know.

That problem was solved when Myles Owens the owner of the NBA team was informed that Ben was retiring and gave Ben a call. They had become friends during the time Ben was on the team. Myles was only a few years older than Ben and was already a billionaire mainly because of his computer company but he also had other businesses that contributed to his wealth. It seemed that every business venture Myles became involved in was a success. He had the magic touch thought Ben, but he was also a solid, down-to-earth guy.

Myles asked Ben what he was going to do in retirement. Ben responded by saying that besides stopping to smell the roses he wasn’t sure. He would look to see what was available as he just didn’t want to sit on his ass.

Myles said his next business endeavor was going to be turning around and rebranding an athletic shoe company that he had recently purchased. He said he was going to name the shoe company, Bifty Athletic Shoes. He had ideas in shoe design that he thought would appeal to the consumer, especially female consumers. Besides different designs and colors including matching color shoelaces, he was going to change the heel design of the shoe in a model which would be offered to the women. The heel would be raised by two inches which would give the shoe a high-heel effect. He thought this would have women wearing these comfortable shoes more often than they presently wear athletic shoes.

In setting up this shoe operation Myles said he would establish a distribution outlet for the shoes by having two mega warehouses constructed but he needed people to handle the sales side of the business. He offered Ben the sales manager position of one of the mid-west territories consisting of five States.

To get this business started Myles said, “Salespeople will be needed to approach different types of retail stores about setting up a minor portion in their store for us to have on display a small assortment of our shoes by size, color, and style. These sales people will be independent contractors. The stores will sell the shoes by placing a computer order for the shoe the customer wants which will be shipped from the warehouse to the customer’s home.”

“You will receive a daily and monthly report of the shoe orders. The store, salesperson, and sales manager will get a commission on every sale at month’s end. We will be highly computerized to do this. In addition, since these shoes can be sold directly by the customer going online to order a pair, the store, the salesperson, and the sales manager will get a reduced commission if that person ordering online lives in the zip code where that store is located. That direct online sale commission will be paid quarterly just like stocks pay their dividends.”

“If online orders are placed from unassigned zip codes, only the sales manager will get a reduced commission. As we grow, retail stores can be opened by either the sales manager or franchisers that carry a full line of shoes to be sold there.”

Because of Myles’s success in the past, Ben liked what Myles said and thought this business would be something to get into on the ground floor. He accepted the offer to join the business and thanked Myles for the opportunity.

Ben studied how the other athletic shoe companies operated and he concluded that if he was to be a success, he needed to hire quality people for sales that had exhibited a pattern of success. With that in mind, he hired mostly sales representatives who had prior sales experience. He also hired an eager beaver young man as a salesperson who he thought would be a success. Ben told this sales staff what his plans were for the businesses and assigned them a large territory where they would be the sole salesperson. Their having this large territory would enable them to generate significant compensation.

Ben’s best hire without a doubt was Todd Higgins, a recent college graduate who majored in computer science. Todd developed the software programs needed for Ben to run the business from tracking the orders to funds being processed, bills paid, salaries, and taxes along with reports on all the facets of the business. Ben knew that Todd was a computer programming genius and Ben would be monetarily rewarding Todd for having that talent.

It was over a year before all the software was in place and the bugs were worked out of the system. This coincided with the time it took for Bifty shoes to catch on with the public which made for an ideal marriage for Ben’s business operation.

Now four years later, Ben could sit on his butt and watch the business operate like it was on automatic pilot. Sales increased most months when compared to the prior month. The five stores Ben opened in outlet malls were profitable. Two more stores were on plan to be opened shortly. The business was heavily computerized which along with Skype and Zoom let Ben manage his business without the necessity of him being in his assigned territory. Morale among his employees was high because of the success of the business from which everyone profited. Ben was generous in rewarding his employees.

Being involved in his other ventures resulted in Myles not being a hands-on type of owner but his presence was felt. He increased the heel lift in an additional new shoe model for women to three inches. There now were the no-rise, low-rise, and high-rise styles of shoes offered to female customers. He commented that a woman wearing high heels is a visual aphrodisiac that attracts men. Women know this and it was a business challenge in meeting the orders for these types of shoes in the colors that were offered. The factories in Thailand were working overtime to meet the demand for these shoes.