Review: Make Your Own Rules

A Renegade Guide to Unconventional Success:
Life, business, the world, and even politics should not be handled as if it were a blueprint, map or road traveled by others in the past.

Businessmen, doctors, even attorneys often refer to those considered experts or knowledgeable in their fields before designing, planning and creating their own formula for their business, procedures for running their office or precedents for beginning their own legal practice.

Wayne Rodgers is definitely individualistic, creative and his own person not mirroring or modeling his life, businesses or career on those that came before him in the same field.

Life is not a cutout or paper doll that is recreated or duplicated in chain each one replicating the previous one. Buttonholing yourself into the same small opening without relying on your own specific needs and thoughts makes you like everyone else. To truly succeed in anything you need to be yourself.

Wayne Rogers presents his own perspective, not blueprint or carbon cutout, using his creativity, ingenuity, and persistence in a groundbreaking book that shows that seeing things differently from others and finding answers that do not mirror or mimic how it was done in the past just might be the route or key to success.  What makes this book truly stand out or unique is that you hear the author thinking out loud every step of the way as he closes each deal, enters each room to being his talks or negotiations, explains how he does his homework and finds out what he needs to know about those involved in the deal or whom he is going to work with.

In sports, the players study and check out the opposing teams. Why not in business states the author? Bigger is not always better. Like buying a diamond that might be quite large in size but has more flaws of imperfections than a smaller one worth more. “Size stifles innovation,’ states Rogers.

From the Big 3 in the auto industry, government regulations, major corporations and more, this book focuses on what you need in order to create your own business by making your own rules.  He discusses that larger organizations often discourage creativity. People trade off independent thinking for monetary gain and security. As you read the book listen to the author’s voice as he shares his life and business experiences, ventures and inside discussions with you first hand. Along the way, he expands on general principles and lessons he profited from leading to his success.

By cultivating relationships and keeping his mind alert to new opportunities and dealing with the right people and assured that they had some major stake in the game. Imagine owning a restaurant, vineyard, convenience stores, real estate, film distribution, and of course my favorite Kleinfelds. There are no boundaries to his success. Better yet, his inexperience and lack of prior knowledge of how these businesses operation would deflate some and discourage others but not Rogers it fueled his success and ignited his drive.

The small businessman is willing to take that first step, the risk to start an enterprise. He is the one who creates most of the jobs in today’s work market or workforce. A creative person or innovator: Imaging starting your own business and having no idea how to begin running it. Adventurous to say the least and a bold undertaking for anyone even Rogers. Adding the details, what he learned from the ground up, the problems, obstacles and more you can learn first hand along with the author just how he did it by reading Chapter 2.

As we continue our journey to success on a valid and vital point or criteria is finding people you can work with and trust. To me, this is definitely one of the primary factors for doing anything whether in business or in life. You are not going to get along with everything but you need to make sure that those included in your venture have “honor and integrity.” Read the story of Felix Zandman, Holocaust survivor to truly understand.

Financing a business needs to be creative. Reading this chapter you understand how to put a deal together, choosing the right people, understanding the intricacies of financing your business, where to go and how to determine those to include and making the right investment. Of course, one salient point is that you must and ask questions. Never take things at face value. In Chapter Five he explains the art of questioning, casting off conventions, followed by Doing your Homework.

The many lessons he recounts in each chapter will enlighten the reader to his inner thoughts, understandings, success, failures and drive to succeed, in a world where you need to question, keep on top of things, take an active part, not leave it to chance and of course as he states many times, “Think Out of The Box.”

Together with best-selling author and journalist Josh Young, Rogers collaborated and discussed the direction that this book should take, the type of information that readers would want to learn about and Rogers true accounts of reaching his goals and opening up the many diversified businesses and endeavors he became involved him. Meeting Wayne in Philadelphian Young began working on this book in August of 2009. Josh Young specializes in collaborations with notable entertainment figures and has certainly help Wayne create a five-star book.

Rounding out the final chapters of this book the author reminds the reader that the best place to go to advice is to the consumer. Relating how the consumer changed how he did business in real estate. Doing door-to-door research he learned quite a bit from the primary consumer in real estate the woman of the house. Dealing with master bathroom concerns, to creating two separate ones for each person, problems with the architect this is one chapter that real estate agents, people buying homes or condos definitely want to read. Added into this chapter is why good customer service is imperative in both the hotel and restaurant business and he cites two really interesting examples. The first was the Carlyle Hotel in New York and the Burbank Hilton, the second.

Finally, he enlightens the reader who how show business laid the groundwork for his success in business. Read Chapter 8 to find out how and why followed by making the most of the banking system in Chapter 9. As a total fan of Say Yes to the Dress, I would be remiss if I did not expand on Chapter 10 Wedding Dresses and my favorite bridal store Kleinfeld. Kleinfeld was literally being run into the group by the owners and being dressed up by the owners for a quick sale. With the help of a dear friend named Ronnie Rothstein and Mara the original owner, things would change and Kleinfeld would be brought back to life. Mara would run the fashion side of this business and Ronnie the business side. Researching the business getting to understand Kleinfeld’s place in the wedding dress business and the fact many generations of brides come their for their wedding gowns, with the right customer service the business could turn around.

Doing their homework, studying the inventory, deciding what needed to be changed, the problems and the risks that would be taken well, you can guess the glorious rest. Of course, the right location, investors, staff, and access to public transportation are vital. Just how he did this and what turned around this great bridal store you need to read Chapter 10 for yourself. Bridal gowns are always in and sell even when the economy is slow.

What is really great about this store if you have ever been in there or watched Say Yes to the Dress is their customer service and how they stick to the bride’s budget and go out of their way to make sure that each bride gets the exact dress she wants and leaves smiling. So, read this outstanding book, learn about his successes and understand the basis of the free –market system as he explains it in the Epilogue and starts on your very own route to making your own rules for success in whatever you decide to do.

Told in the author’s own words leaving the reader with one final and important note. Starting a business and to operate it as freely as you can, will have complications with big government, big business and big labor who are making it more difficult. Educate yourself, do the research, be more creative and be able to adapt to the increasingly fast changes around you. Keep your own “Individual Freedom.” This is one book that I will definitely keep on my shelf and not lend to anyone else. Great information, well written, easy to understand and stories that are real and true to life. Remember: Create your own business, your own rules and your own blueprint for success!