Rain: What a Paperboy Learned About Business... Things that made me think

The dinner table is the first place where children experience negotiation, meeting new people learn manners, ask questions, learn the art of conversation.  
       That dinner table we bought could be a good $50 investment.  Its tough working nights and trying to eat together but its probably worth it.

Referrals are powerful marketing tools.
       I have a business idea brewing at the moment that would benefit a lot from this.  In a small town where everyone knows everyone its probably even more key.

Parables are so good for remembering things.  I remember way more of Rain's stories than the business principals the were talked about afterwards.

He goes off on a bit of a tangent presumably to justify his pursuit of money.  Saying that the 'killjoys' got it wrong, 'The correct line is - The love of money is the root of all evil'.
       He could have at least got the quote right, it might even have got his point over better.  'The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil' - 1 Timothy 6:10

Rain: What a Paperboy Learned About Business

This was one of the three business books I picked up at random from the Library.  I think my only expectations of this book were that it would be mainly educational, a study of how paper delivery relates to big business and that it would have something to do with how weather affects business or outside factors affecting sales or something.  

The latter assumption was way off, the first was a bit closer to the mark but it did happen quite like I thought.  

The first two thirds of the book are the story of Rain the paperboy.  Either a fictitious character or based on Fox' childhood memories of delivering papers.  Either way the story sets up perfect situations for Rain to navigate through and give us a chance to analyze business principals.  

To start of with I thought this was a real kid with a strange name but as the story progressed it got me thinking, there's no way I would have done that as a thirteen-year-old.   I did have a paper route for a while but I was way more interested in cutting corners than customer service.  Maybe if English people tipped I might have had some incentive.

It would be interesting to see what teenagers thought of this book, if it would inspire some entreprenuerialism.  Maybe ill find it again in ten years and give it to my son.  

The book sounded like it was being read by Fat Tony from the Simpsons.  I felt like I was going to be made an offer I couldn't refuse by the end of the book.  Perhaps this is because the Mafia happen to be very creative in their business endeavors.  

One slightly odd point that was made in the book was in the chapter 'Crime and Punishment.'  Rain skips school and is punished by having to help out at an old peoples home, where he manages to get even more newspaper sales.  The point being made was obviously 'take advantage of all situations that arise' but just as obvious was 'you don't have to follow all the rules.'  In business maybe but I might have to talk my son through this one.  

I'll look at a few random things in the 'Things that made me think' post on this book.