What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Developing a Highly Successful Company [Hardcover]

Barnett C. Helzberg Jr. (Author), Barnett Helzberg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471271144 | ISBN-13: 978-0471271147 | Publication Date: March 21, 2003 | Edition: 1

Expert advice for those who want to create a solid company
Through hard work and determination Barnett Helzberg built his small family owned business-Helzberg Diamonds-into a successful company that caught the attention of Warren Buffett. Buffett was so impressed with the business that in 1995 he decided to purchase Helzberg Diamonds through his holding company Berkshire Hathaway. Helzberg shares his thirty years of experience in running a successful business and outlines the steps needed to prosper within a challenging business environment. Through "helpful hints" and words of wisdom, Helzberg offers a proven road map for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to build a solid company that will stand the test of time. What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett is a comprehensive guide that will help readers get their businesses on the right track.
Barnett C. Helzberg Jr. (Kansas City, MO) was President of Helzberg Diamonds, Inc. from 1962 to 1995, a period during which he expanded his family-owned business to 143 stores in twenty-three states. His business practices have been a key ingredient to the success of Helzberg Diamonds.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Your book is terrific"--Warren Buffett

"This is 24-carat advice - a real gem for any aspiring entrepreneur."--Harvey Mackay, author of the #1 New York Times best-seller, Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive

"Who better to teach us all about managing and growing a business than Barnett Helzberg? His honesty and up-front perspective on management and business principles should be required reading for a wide audience."--Henry W. Bloch, Cofounder and Honorary Chairman, H&R Block, Inc.

"What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett is based on thirty-nine years of hard work and experience. It is interesting and instructive, and I highly recommend it."--Bob Dole

From the Inside Flap

Through hard work and determination, Barnett Helzberg built his small family-owned business–Helzberg Diamonds–into a successful company that caught the attention of Warren Buffett. Buffett was so impressed with the business that in 1995 he decided to purchase Helzberg Diamonds through his holding company Berkshire Hathaway–an act that any business owner would consider the ultimate compliment.

Although the chances of receiving a phone call from Warren Buffett are small, the chances of developing a highly successful company are better than you may think. All you need to succeed is a burning desire and the right set of entrepreneurial skills. In What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett, Barnett Helzberg shares his thirty years of experience in running a successful business and outlines the steps needed to prosper within a challenging business environment.

Divided into six information-packed sections–Managing, Decision Making, Hiring, Inspiring, Communicating, and Focusing–What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett provides a step-by-step approach for developing your own entrepreneurial business sense. Filled with over seventy-five gems of entrepreneurial wisdom, each contained in short, readable chapters, this comprehensive guide offers a proven road map for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to build a solid company that will stand the test of time. Through real-life experiences gleaned by Helzberg on his journey as well as honest insights of other seasoned entrepreneurs, you will receive an unparalleled education on what it takes to get on the right entrepreneurial track and stay there.

• Some of the valuable lessons you will learn include how to:
• Keep and build customers
• Overcome and grow from your mistakes
• Hire the right employee(s), lawyer(s), CPA(s), or other professionals
• Recognize great work and motivate associates
• Listen and negotiate
• Understand the business you’re in

Entrepreneurs come in every shape and size, and arise under a variety of different circumstances. Some are made from the moment they open their first lemonade stand. Others are born out of necessity–inheriting a family business or getting laid off. Whatever your situation, What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett will show you how to transform yourself into the entrepreneur you’ve always wanted to become.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471271144
• ISBN-13: 978-0471271147
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #941,350 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful!, March 1, 2004

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Developing a Highly Successful Company (Hardcover)

In a book that is more almanac than business history, author Barnett C. Helzberg Jr. includes a bit of narrative, but this is not a discourse on what he learned as he developed his Kansas City jewelry store empire, not a case study and not a look at how the sale of his company to Buffett went (which might have been a dandy negotiations yarn). Instead, it is basically a sound collection of sayings, aphorisms and - now and then, it must be said - platitudes about what he knew before Buffett came along. This is not, therefore, a book that We recommend necessarily reading from cover to cover. Instead, keep it handy. Pick it up when you are stuck for ideas or guidance, and peruse it for experience and sense. If all the thoughts are not particularly original, that is part of their appeal. Like a Polonius of the Plains, the author is never at a loss for a nostrum. He reaffirms the sound, traditional principles that guided the steady and sure growth of his business. It worked for Warren; it may well work for you.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WhatIlearnedfrommy brother before he sold to Warren Buffett, May 7, 2003

By 

richard helzberg (Marin County, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Developing a Highly Successful Company (Hardcover)

Likely one of the reasons Barnett had such success is that he had the strength or character and ego to hire people he thought were smarter or better at the assigned task. When he got home from college I was his little brother and he was my mentor, but he has always had mentors, always wanted to learn from others. He, in turn, mentors others, and this book, straightforward and candid, does the same, and for anyone in management, there will be useful ideas and tools.
I must disclose that I did receive a free book from the author, inscribed!

Richard Helzberg

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Sitting at the Feet of a Guru, September 28, 2003

By 

Roger E. Herman (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Developing a Highly Successful Company (Hardcover)

If you're an entrepreneur-at any stage of the development of your business(es), you're hungry for the secrets of the successful trail blazers who have gone before you. The opportunity to learn from someone who built a strong enough business to sell to the legendary Warren Buffett would be particularly valuable. This book offers that coveted opportunity.

The author did not build his business all by himself. His father and grandfather preceded him in building the three-generation family business of 143 retail jewelry stores in 23 states. A well-led executive team made it all work beautifully. Helzberg Diamonds set the standard for customer service, earning the loyalty of thousands of customers who contributed to the success of the enterprise.

Helzberg starts his book by telling us that he's a plagiarist. He's collected ideas from many other people, used them to grow his business, and shares them in page after page of philosophy and advice. The book is organized into six sections: Managing, Decision Making, Hiring, Inspiring, Communicating, and Focusing. Each section is a collection of short chapters that deliver this effective CEO's secrets, illustrated with examples from what he and his company accomplished. Each chapter's advice is complemented by a sidebar entitled "Mining for Diamonds"-pithy statements that provide powerful guidance for any business leader. Quotes from a wide range of gurus, mentors, and leaders, offer an additional dose of thought-provoking and inspiring words.

The book is easy for busy entrepreneurs to read. The chapters are short enough to absorb during a break-coffee, bathroom, or deep breath-and tightly written enough so you can glean the concepts quickly. A list of recommended readings and an index add value to the volume. The only feature that might have improved this treasure would be a complete listing in one place of all Helzberg's "Mining for Diamonds" advice. Too bad, you'll have to go through the book chapter by chapter to mine those gems for yourself. The experience will be worthwhile...and probably repeated a few times to gain the full impact of this down-to-earth, almost homespun, recipe book for entrepreneurial success.