(9 of 10)
What the entrepreneur should do, many millionaires advise, is "launch an enterprise in a market where either nobody is doing anything or the leaders are not very good." As soon as his business begins growing sturdy and prosperous, the owner should either float a stock issue to expand it or sell it out to a bigger company that might be willing to pay generously for a well-established specialty business. With his profits, plus any borrowing he may need, the young entrepreneur can then buy control of a still more promising business.
One essential to success is a sure sense of timing. The right time to have broken into the computer industry or electronics or frozen food or Arizona real estate was in the 1950s; now those fields are crowded. Similarly, the bonanza days of mining and oil are probably gone. Other fields are invitingly open, however, and they can usually be spotted by keeping an eye on three things demographic changes, new legislation and the state of the U.S. and world economy.
Go Abroad. In a nation in which half the population is under 29, the future is unbounded for any business that caters to young people. The brightness of the youth market is reflected in the recent successes of surfboards, pancake houses, false eyelashes, and the Super-Ball, which can bounce for a full minute before stopping. At the other extreme, prospects are healthy for businesses that sell goods and services primarily to people over 65. The lengthening life span and the increase in social-security payments—plus the passage of medicare —will heighten demand for hospital supplies, medical equipment, nursing homes and retirement villages.
With the rise of the 35-hour week and four-week vacations, millionaires also detect tempting prospects in recreation. Among them: marinas and vacation homes. The growth of leisure and the youth market will also strengthen businesses involved with education, including secretarial schools and accounting schools. Oakland Lawyer Michael Rafton tapped that market: In 1960 he put up $31,000 to buy a struggling company that had been making big cargo boxes, switched it into the manufacture of portable classrooms, and last year sold out at a huge profit. The demand for time-saving conveniences can be turned into wealth. Chicago Millionaire Charles Stein, 37, got started by squeezing oranges into juice and selling it to hospitals and hotels. Los Angeles' Al Lapin, 38, and his brother, Jerry, 36, became rich by brewing coffee that they sold from wagons in office buildings, later built and franchised a string of pancake houses.
Opportunities are also plentiful abroad. The Europeans, for example hanker for more and more U.S.-type goods and services. Recently, Americans abroad have begun to launch everything from "heel bars" for Europeans with worn-down shoes to recruiting firms for U.S. businesses seeking European managers for overseas. In many parts of Latin America, Asia and Africa, the risk-taking businessman will find waiting markets for housing and manufactured goods, can get attractive investment guarantees from the U.S. Agency for International Development.