there sure are a lot of successful businesses out there

Well.

The obituary of Rowland Schaefer the other day reminded me that there are a shitload of businesses out there in this great big world of ours.

And sometimes surprisingly making money.

Rowland?

He founded the ever present mall retail store called Claire’s.

<no idea who original ‘Claire’ was … apparently he changed stories a lot when asked who Claire was>

Ok.

Before I get to Claire’s.

I have pretty much seen every type of businesses’ balance sheet and business model throughout my career so I know how easy it is to make money <assuming you know what you are doing>.

That said.

From the outside looking in I cannot tell you how many times I scratch my head wondering how some businesses even exist.

I am silly.

But I am also an admitted cynic of all new business startups <even when I see the numbers>. I am also an admitted crappy entrepreneur. I am too pragmatic … and cynical. That is the reason I thrive working with existing businesses fixing them.

Anyway.

The point here is that business can thrive anywhere and any time and in any in any industry. And I mean any industry.

I have driven across the United States several times and am astounded by the random stores <and signage for said businesses> littering the landscape. There are dozens, nay, thousands of antique stores, swimming supplies, doll outlets, tech support, etc. stores scattered around the business world.

I have visited random cities around the world. And I am astounded by the number of storefronts, or in Europe more often, the street vendors, littering their landscape.

All are open for business.

And they are there to stay.

Will they make millions? Probably not.

Will they make their owners a good living & life? Probably.

Will they still make me scratch my head wondering how they exist and continue to exist? You bet.

Look <and these numbers will be in the realm of rightness but probably not exact>.

About three quarters of all U.S. business firms have no payroll. Most are self-employed persons operating unincorporated businesses, and may or may not be the owner’s principal source of income.

There are something like 25 to 30 million businesses in the good ole US of A.

Around 20 of those million are firms with no payrolls. Just good ole entrepreneurs going about their business <and lives>.

And then there are about 6 to 7 million with payrolls <they represent about 97% of all business sales/receipts>.

So.

Just because I seemingly know my business shit … I don’t really know shit.

There are so many ways to make money in the business world it can make your head spin.

I am probably tainted by my bigger business experiences.

I am tainted by “we need to show growth every month” and “what will stockholders say” or even the simple “if we are not growing – in some perceptible tangible way – there is something wrong.”

Most business people simply say “how do I make a good living for me and my family.”

Constraints, or pressures, from an outside financial community to those people aren’t growth but rather ‘paying the bills.’

This is a paradigm shift for someone wacky like me.

But it is a healthy one for me to think about.

And you know what? Rowland <getting back to Claire’s> got this.

His business thinking was pretty simple.

He focused Claire’s on the teenage and preteen markets.

He focused a retailing experience that appealed to these age groups, with bright colors, kid-scale prices and fast-changing merchandise to encourage frequent visits.

He focused on location to drive traffic <malls> and therefore saw little need to advertise.

He focused on the little picture <and ultimately managed the big picture>:

“The fashion business isn’t perilous for us. We get our money and get out. But if an earring goes out of style in New York or Los Angeles, it will be a while before it goes out of style in Des Moines, Iowa.”

He focused on margin <all that little crappy stuff for kids to buy was ninexpensive to make and each little item gave a really nice profit margin> and small space <equivocating to small staff and small operations expense>.

He focused on annual earnings not monthly <the fickle tastes of fad-conscious youngsters sometimes produced mixed results, making the stock at times a roller-coaster ride—albeit one that trended strongly upward over the years>.

Here is the crazy thing.

If Rowland had come to me in the beginning with this idea I probably would have told him he was nuts. I would have shook my head <sagely of course> and suggested he couldn’t even maintain a business.

And I would have been nuts.

Ok.

It is possible once I saw the numbers and thought my way through it I would have become slightly less cynical but still most likely would have given it a less than 50% chance of survival.

How wrong would I have been?

As of October 27, 2012, Claire’s has 3,469 stores in 36 countries: 1,947 in North America (United States & Canada), 1,141 in Europe (United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy), and 381 franchised and licensed stores elsewhere in the world (Japan, Middle East, India, Mexico, Turkey, Ukraine, Greece, Malta, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Venezuela, and Dominican Republic).

I would have been wrong in a very very <very> big way.

Personally <and professionally> I like these reminders.

It reminds me that while I may know some business shit I still don’t really know shit.

It reminds me that there are some things I am good at … and some things I should avoid like the plague because I am not good at it.

It also reminds me that <using USA as an example> 25+ million people are smarter than I am.

They have a business.

They know how to make money doing so.

And they are making a living.

Oh. And I bet, in general, they are pretty happy.