A Paperboy's Fable

A Paperboy's Fable: 11 Principles of Success, Deep Patel, Post Hill Press, 2016

This short book gives easy-to-follow rules for any entrepreneur to be successful. They are given in the form of a story.

Ty Chandler is your average high school student heading into his senior year. The usual summer jobs are taken. One day, he runs into the adult newspaper carrier for the local newspaper. The route is about to become available, and Ty asks if he can have it. He is now a paperboy; with less than a dozen customers in a 200-unit subdivision, there is plenty of room for growth.

From the beginning, Ty does things the right way. He invests in a supply of bright red newspaper bags, and resolves to place every copy, every day, right on the front porch, and not just somewhere in front of the house. Extra copies of the paper, along with an inexpensive greeting card, and a passport-sized photo of Ty, are dropped off, free of charge, at the homes of his "not yet customers" (not "non-customers").

Ty thinks nothing of going the extra mile. He notices that one woman has a couple of empty cough medicine boxes in her recycling bin. He goes to the local drug store, buys a couple of cans of chicken noodle soup, and delivers them, free of charge. Another elderly neighbor asks if he can clean out her gutters, or rake her front yard and bag the leaves.

His new after school lawn and garden business takes off, due to word of mouth advertising. He invests in a decent lawn mower, and a mini-trailer that can be attached to his bike. His morning paper route is also growing, along with school, and his customers expecting extra-special treatment. Can Ty keep this up until he goes off to college?

This book is short, and very easy to understand. If there is such a thing as a dying profession in America, "paperboy" is probably it. Any entrepreneur of any kind who can not find just one job aid in this book has a real problem. This is very much recommended, for everyone.