The Mexican Fisherman and the Businessplan
An American businessman was at the pier of a tiny coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, "Only a little while."
The American asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman smiled and said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life."
The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and can help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the profits from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling to a middleman, you would sell directly to a processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually New York City where you would run your expanding enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But how long will this take?" The American replied, "Fifteen to twenty years."
"But what then?" The American laughed and said "That’s the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO, sell your company stock to the public and become very rich—you would make millions."
"Millions? And then what?"
The American answered, "Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep
late, fish a little, play with your grandkids, take siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where
you would sip wine and play guitar with your amigos."