Young Men; In Business

by William Guest; J. D. Wells

1. Reputation. Probably it stands next to character, if a young man is to depend upon others for help in his work. Character is what one is in himself and before God; reputation is what others take him to be. A bad reputation certainly blocks the way to success. A good name among business men is the equivalent of capital. Every young man who is starting in business for himself must rely upon older men to help him on his way. They have watched others closely. They have seen successive generations of young men come to the front, and climb the hill of difficulty till they have reached positions of safety and honor, or go down to the abyss of dishonor and misery. In a word, watching others closely they have accumulated facts that make it easy for them to forecast the future of younger men with marvelous certainty. They are as sensitive to the outward appearance and the known or suspected habits of those who approach them for favors in trade as mercury to the changes of temperature. No young man can afford to have the reputation of being extravagant, or reckless, or mean, or untrue to his word. He cannot even appear to be such without danger to his credit, on which to so large an extent, as business is done, success must depend.

An acquaintance of my own came to the city a youth without capital. He was honest, frugal, industrious, and of firm will. Having begun business in a small way, and mostly on credit, he was invited by a friend—after business hours—to ride beyond the limits of the city behind a fast horse and with a fine turn-out. He accepted the invitation, but found the pleasure of the ride reduced to a minimum by the tormenting thought that he might be seen by some of the men who had given him credit.

In a new firm, with very large capital, one of the younger partners secretly bought a horse. A senior partner learning the fact quietly informed him by letter that his early extravagance would hurt the reputation of the house.

It may be a hit at our times, but I have seen it stated that business men sometimes inquire of persons seeking advanced positions whether they have already supplied themselves with such trifles as elegant jewelry and fast horses, hardly daring to risk employing them if these things are yet to be secured.

It remains a truth that needs to be made very emphatic that young men laying their plans for success in business, whether as subordinates or principals, must look well to their reputation.

Are they given to billiards? There are many reasons why they would do well to limit their indulgence. Of one thing at least they cannot afford to make light: conservative men older and wiser than themselves, on whose favor they must depend for a while at least, look with distrust on young men who indulge largely in this game, and especially in not very reputable places.

A young man drinks beer, wine, whisky or brandy with his dinner. This habit will grow upon him. His young blood needs no quicker rush than it has. If he gives it the force of such a stimulant when he is young he will be old before his time, and never enjoy the full confidence of men with whom he wishes to stand well and without whose favor he cannot succeed. He may not spend half his income in extravagance but other people cannot be sure of this, and he has need both to deserve and keep their confidence. Credit is the equivalent of reputation. It may be hurt by not saving at the outset and increasing capital. In that case one must pay more for goods than men who have better credit. Or he may not be able to buy at all of men who know him well and have the goods he needs. Then he must buy of others goods that will not suit his customers; and so his lack of credit or loss of reputation will bring him to speedy grief. The first bad year in the business would leave him like a vessel that hardly floats when the tide is at the full, but sticks fast in the mud at the first of the ebb.

2. Another condition of success is diligence. Mark the word. It is not the precise equivalent of industry. It implies choice, selection, delight. One needs to have true delight and enthusiasm in his business. Therefore the great importance of choosing wisely at the outset. We pity men and women who in their babyhood had inflicted upon them fanciful names, but this is nothing to the blunder of putting a son to a business in which through his whole life he can take no delight. His only relief is to set himself, with all possible energy and enterprise, to lift his business, supposing it to be right in itself, up to a plane so high that he can sincerely rejoice in his achievement, as very difficult to make but of great worth when it is made.

Diligence supposes a fixed purpose and constancy of effort, as well as enthusiastic devotion. When Isaac Rich trundled his wheelbarrow from the oyster-boat in Boston to the market-place three miles off, having invested all his worldly goods in what was before him, there was light in his eye and warmth in his heart though the day had not dawned. He was a poor young man from Cape Cod. He had made choice of his business for life. I do not know how long he followed it behind the barrow. Years ago he gave a million and three quarters of dollars to found a college in the city that itself yielded this treasure to his diligence and thrift. “The hand of the diligent maketh rich.” “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings. He shall not stand before mean men.” Let young men bind these divine proverbs upon their foreheads, and write them where they can be seen, as rules of their business lives.

3. Another condition of success is force, or energy. This comes often by heredity, transmitted from parent to child. In any case it is a precious gift, a great talent, for the right use of which every one receiving it must give account. From it, as a reserve power, one may draw at will to push on any work in which he takes delight. Call it the magnetic or electric power of the will, if you please. It may be like the same subtle fluid in destructive flash, or like it in the crisp air of a winter’s day, nerving one for almost tireless effort.