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My first lesson in profit-making came from my father, a master of the deal.
He offered to be the first customer for our new business launched right after high school graduation: Buckhead Bricklayers. My partner Charles Driebe and I did our best to estimate the work and materials needed to add on to his brick wall, but when we finished we realized we had lost our shirts.
Dad didn’t budge, saying, “This is a hard lesson, but one you’ll need to remember if you are going to be successful: build in profit before you start.” We never forgot again.