This month's letters to the editor.
A Closer Look Under the Hood
I admire entrepreneurs who have vision and guts like Malcolm Bricklin ["Would You Buy a Chinese Car From This Man?" July]. But I find Bricklin's financial setbacks disturbing. For him to declare bankruptcy and then retreat to his ranch or his 5,000-acre hideout is irresponsible and costs the rest of the work force. Visionary or not, Mr. Bricklin is certainly not an entrepreneur one should look up to. Since I'm struggling to keep my small business afloat, I'm taking a salary of less than $40,000 a year. Maybe I'm not a great visionary or a great motivator like Bricklin, but I have integrity.
No, I would not buy one of Malcolm Bricklin's cars. Bricklin's current quest is nothing new. His entire career has been a string of flops, and many would call his bombastic style deceptive. So why would Inc. give this guy any more publicity, and on the cover no less? I thought Inc. was about success, not opportunistic dropouts.
Trouble in Paradise?
The so-called trouble with lifestyle entrepreneurs is in the eye of the beholder ["The Trouble With Lifestyle Entrepreneurs," July]. There is an underlying
assumption in this story that a high standard of living is the same thing as monetary wealth. By this criterion, Sandra and Rory Burke and other entrepreneurs like them in New Zealand are somehow less successful than
their stressed-out, overworked U.S. counterparts.
Prime Minister Helen Clark should rethink how she calculates standards of living. By many reasonable measures other than money, the Burkes are extremely successful. We wish nations would measure gross national happiness, not just GNP
Yes, the "tall poppy syndrome" is rife here in New Zealand--the fast growers are cut back in a quest for uniformity. The previous national administration was trying to change that. It even awarded knighthood to Angus Tait, a New Zealand entrepreneur, in an attempt to change the fear of failure and create role models. Despite Prime Minister Clark's desire for growth, she killed her predecessor's plans.
As an entrepreneur based in New Zealand, I've had my own share of difficulties. The New Zealand public generally is risk-averse. Being the first to do digital fonts and one of the first online publishers isn't a good thing if you want your peers to acknowledge you do a good job. It took nine years from the first press coverage of my font software in the U.S. to the first coverage in New Zealand. There is also a lack of patriotism: "Made in New Zealand" seems to be valued only when products are highly successful overseas. There is a need for a change of mindset, which Clark's cabinet is not willing to initiate.
With seeming chagrin, you note that only 240 New Zealand businesses employ more than 500 people. But considering there are only four million people in New Zealand, that number is proportionate to the number of large companies in the United States. With a population of 296 million, the U.S. has 17,367 companies with 500 or more employees. Given that New Zealand's population is 1.35% the size of America's, New Zealand would be up to par with about 234 big businesses.
I wanted to get out of Toronto for a year or so and decided to attend an executive M.B.A. program in New Zealand--and I stayed for 12 years. Companies in North America tend to grow larger, but that's not always better for the customer. Now that I've returned to Canada, I miss the character of the services and products in New Zealand. Over there, I felt like a valued customer buying something special, but in North America I am just part of a market for some mass-produced product. I would take my Auckland café over a Starbucks any day.
Not all New Zealand businesses are run by lifestyle entrepreneurs. There is a very different dynamic in some New Zealand industries--the country's small but rapidly growing biotech sector, for instance. These companies are just as hard-working as any U.S. start-up, perhaps because they must do business globally to succeed. Many New Zealand biotechs (including Protemix, Neuren Pharmaceuticals, and Living Cell Technologies) have operations in the United States.
Living in New Zealand sounds great!
Where do I sign up?
CAFTA and Its Costs
Just like NAFTA, illegal labor, outsourcing, and foreign worker visas, CAFTA is another quick fix that costs American jobs and communities ["It's Son of Nafta!" July]. Economist Larry Davidson says the deportation of jobs in the textile and auto industries creates more jobs in the long run. But where and for whom? Eliminating tariffs on Central American goods won't benefit American workers, many of whom are already being asked to provide their services at a Third World rate.
