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ATTAINMENT
ISSUE #1 - February 1997
A N A B I O G E N E S I S P U B L I C A T I O N
ISSN 1092-3012
The premiere publication that assists with startup financing, production and marketing.
The premiere publication that assists with startup financing, production and marketing.
Is honest hard work all you need to succeed? Julie Petersen takes us to Greece in this column, to give us a fresh look at American business, and an enterprise system which is loudly proclaimed as being 'free.'
I love visiting Greece. The blue skies, white sand, and fantastic cuisine are enough to beckon anyone seeking a relaxing vacation or scenic business trip.
But there's another reason I love to visit Greece, and that's to gain a fresh point of view on our American culture. Greece never seems to run out of surprises, and if you visit with a sense of humor, and an open mind, you are sure to come home with a pocket full of stories so fantastic and implausible, it will keep your friends in stitches for weeks.
To See Ourselves as Others See Us
When you insulate a house, you reduce the overall range of temperature fluctuations within that house. Similarly, when you regulate a capitalist society, you reduce the overall range of activities that can take place within that society. Visiting Greece gave me a greater insight into our own free enterprise system, and how illusionary our freedom really is.
In Athens, tourists are easy prey for runners. Runners are usually men in their 20s who are working on behalf of hotels trying to fill their rooms from the masses of tourists that flow into Greece from ferries and trains. The runners board the trains at the seaports and 'work' the trains, with eye-catching pamphlets, and slick sales stories, to entice tourists to stay at the hotels they represent. These runners get a percentage of the hotel fees, if you stay at their establishment.
The unwary tourist is in for an uncomfortable night if he or she doesn't realize that these runners have a tendency to embellish, or misrepresent, the kind of accommodation you'll actually be getting. Caveat emptor. Those glossy pamphlets that show comfortable hotel rooms with clean beds and bathrooms often have nothing to do with the dorm-style rooms with down-the-hall toilets that are prevalent in the city. That's not to say that all runners are dishonest. We talked with several of them, on our ride from the coast to Athens, and our accommodation was honestly represented by the runner whom we finally chose. Not all our companions were so lucky. Lulled into naive complacency by our own American society, where a lot of the regulatory activity, and consequently, the thinking, is done for us, they fell prey to false claims.
Should we then conclude that Greece is a society of hoodlums and our way is necessarily better, and 'that would never happen here?' That's a question worth exploring, and to do so, I'll talk about some of my experiences in the Athens marketplaces.
Setting Up Shop in Greece
![[Athens Stair Vendor Image]](../Pics/ShoeVendor.jpg)
Stair Cobbler in Athens Market
Vendors in Athens marketplaces have well-organized, clean, busy, little shops. But they're not the type of shops to which we are accustomed. They consist of staircases, windowsills, curbs, or barrels turned upside-down to make tables on the sidewalk. [In this photo, a cobbler shares his staircase shop with his trusty watch cat.] Streetside vending, on this scale, is not tolerated in our society. Regulations about access, throughways, emergency vehicles, existing storefront vendors, safety and health, prevent all but the most carefully monitored markets from existing here.
Certainly, there are good reasons for this, but what does it mean in terms of starting a business in America? It means that there are a lot more financial and legal hurdles to getting started. If you can't vend on a street, and your enterprise must have good visibility to succeed, you have to commit to leasing a storefront, buying insurance, paying utilities, getting various licenses and more. No matter how many Get Rich Quick hucksters tell you you can get started for $10 (or less), the truth is that it takes about $150,000 to get started in most basic businesses. If we told you otherwise, we would be doing you a disservice as a provider of information to help you get started. Fortunately, in many cases, you don't have to come up with all the money at one time.
So, the truth is, there is a trade-off. If you are willing to take responsibility for yourself, and check out the claims of vendors before purchasing a product or service, then you can enjoy greater societal freedoms in terms of access and startup costs. If, on the other hand, you depend on society to regulate everything for you, providing a clean, safe environment, you reap benefits, as well, but at the cost of access, and the ability to get started on a budget.
The Work Hard and Win Ethic
![[Athens Window Image]](../Pics/WindowShop.jpg)
Window-based Store in Athens Market
My personal opinion is that we've swung too far in the direction of regulation for startup businesses, and that, in spite of its benefits, it prevents a lot of hard-working citizens with good ideas from earning a living on their own. Poor management is often sited as the cause of new business failures, but what if those new businesses could get started on a smaller scale, with fewer opening costs? Then perhaps they could weather the early stages longer, while they learn the ins and outs of management, and succeed on lower profits, because their operating expenses are reduced.
Summing Up
Our experience in Athens was a good one. We didn't get cheated or taken in, because we took time to talk to hawkers, and to evaluate their claims and establish their integrity. Yes, it takes a little extra time, but it can be done.
Just as regulation comes with a price, so does reduced regulation. As a business owner are you willing to take more responsibility for your purchases? Are you willing to evaluate the products that you buy, and buy quality, rather than depending on hearsay, popular opinion, or exaggerated advertising claims? Only by accepting more responsibility can we open doors to greater opportunity.
There will always be a fine balance between providing opportunities, and protecting the safety and rights of consumers. Looking at other cultures is a way to look at our own, and provides us with new ideas that we should consider when shaping our business future.
Other articles in this issue:
The Online Store: Setting Up Shop on the Web
Hanging Out Your Shingle: Finding the Right Office Space
The Alternative Office: From Garages to Sailboats
Promoting Your Mousetrap: An Anecdotal Look at Consumer Buying Habits
Selling Your Software: Even if You Hate Doing Business
Book Review: Launching a Business on the Web
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