An Australian businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Samoan village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna.
The Australian complimented the Samoan on the quality of his fish and asked, “How long did it take you to catch them?”
“Only a little while”.
The Australian then asked, “Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”
“Because I have enough to support my family’s needs”.
The Australian then asked, “What do you do with the rest of your time?”.
“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, watch the footy, hang out with my wife, and stroll into the village every evening to play cards with my buddies. I have a full and busy life, buddy.”
Promising the fisherman the world
The Australian laughed and said, “Mate I can help you out. Spend more time fishing and with the proceeds you will buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you will buy several boats. Eventually you’ll have a fleet of bloody fishing boats. And instead of selling your catch to a middleman you sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You control the product, processing and distribution. You’d need to leave Samoa and set up base in Sydney to run your expanding enterprise.”
“How long will all this take?”
To which the Australian replied, “15-20 years.”
“What then?”
The Australian laughed even louder and said, “That’s the best part mate. When the time is right you announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very, very, fucking rich. You will make millions.”
“Millions! Then what?“
The Australian replied, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village in Samoa where you’ll sleep late, fish a little, play with your children, watch the footy, hang out with your wife, and stroll into the village every evening to play cards with your buddies“.
