Letters

Readers react to articles from the September issue of Inc., including Jerry Useem's "The Richest Man You've Never Heard Of" and "Treating Temporary Work as a Permanent Fixture."

The tale of billionaire Bill Bartmann's rise from failure to become the Oklahoma debt king really caught readers' attention in September. Readers also were drawn to stories on the temporary workforce, recession planning, and the debate over star employees.

Where Credit Is Due

One reader wrote to say that associate editor Jerry Useem's story on Bill Bartmann's rise to billionaire status after going broke in 1985 reminded him of boxer Rocky Balboa's refusal to accept failure in the movie Rocky. Many entrepreneurs easily empathized with Bartmann, as this letter demonstrates:

In 1985, Oklahoma had a remarkable number of businesspeople with negative net worths into seven digits, myself included. As your article illustrated, even financial disaster can create opportunities that would not exist otherwise. The worst of times has led many of us to the best of times. It's a lesson that every businessperson should remember.

Ken McBride
Chairman and CEO
American Eagle Title Insurance Co.
Oklahoma City

But more than one reader took exception with the way Bartmann fired 54 employees when he decided to restart his company, in 1990:

My story begins much the same as that of Bartmann. After I spent five years aggressively building a farming business in Iowa, it failed. I returned to Arizona in 1984 with a six-figure debt but not bankrupt. I mowed lawns to feed my family and began to pay off the debt. Now, 13 years later, I run a million-dollar landscape company in Phoenix. That's where the similarity ends.

I've never fired a single employee, much less 54, to promote my personal gain. If the 11th person swam up to a full 10-person lifeboat, I'd find a creative way to accommodate him, not "mercifully execute the person," as Bartmann calls it in the piece. I certainly don't have a net worth remotely approaching Bartmann's billions. I, however, sleep very well at night and don't require two off-duty policemen to protect me.

Rick Ersland
Owner
Ersland Touch Landscape
Phoenix
Recessional

Jill Andresky Fraser's " The Recession Is Coming! The Recession Is Coming!" (Finance, September) counseled small businesses to steel themselves for the next downturn now--while the economy and their ventures are thriving. One reader thought Fraser's advice was smart--but not nearly smart enough:

The advice to prepare for the next recession now is something I've advocated for quite some time. I can't help thinking that you've shortchanged readers, though, by restricting suggestions to financial and cash-flow considerations. You would have served your readers better if you had encouraged them to look at their marketing practices, too. I continually see companies that think they have "all the business they can handle." As a result, many are doing nothing but sitting back and responding to the demands of their current customers and new accounts that stumble onto them.

These companies instead should develop market focus, increase penetration of existing as well as new markets, and measure and improve customer satisfaction.

Michael N. Bernberg
CEO
A. Marks & Associates
Wheeling, Ill.

Temporary Adjustment

In " Treating Temporary Work as a Permanent Fixture" (Field Notes, September), Jerry Useem chronicled the creation of a new nonprofit, Working Today, an organized movement for the self-employed. Some readers question founder Sara Horowitz's focus:

While I applaud Sara Horowitz in her movement for the contingent workforce, I feel that as a whole, it's not entirely representative of the independent worker.

In my experience with creative professionals at Portfolio, an international creative-talent-placement agency, most freelancers care more about fair wages and collections than the usual benefits that go hand in hand with full-time employment. In fact, in a recent survey we did of our freelancers, fewer than 40% considered health and 401(k) benefits "very important," while more than 65% regarded collections and level of pay as very important.

I do agree with the assessment that our government has not responded to our changing workforce, but to translate that into the current push for a "temp union" is inaccurate and misrepresentative.

Shannon C. Malone
Market Manager
Portfolio
Chicago

Face-off: Stars and Gripes

In " Starstruck" (Face-off, September), Inc. columnists Nancy K. Austin and Dr. Steven Berglas debated the merits of star employees. Our reader response to date indicates the match was a draw. But one reader, describing himself as a "reluctant" star, thought both were a bit off:

I truly enjoyed "Starstruck," but I must say that Berglas and Austin missed the mark. While both columnists talked about standout employees and superstars, they never really hit on the fact that star employees stand out because they put themselves out there more. Sure, they're driven by success, but they also have the best interests of the company in mind. True star employees are those who do what they have to do to look out for the company and convey to other employees that they should do the same. This kind of motivation comes from the soul and is the true mark of a hotshot employee.