y greatest disappointment as a father and grandfather of grown children and grandchildren — and I’ll wager anything that it’s your greatest disappontment as well — is the frustration of trying to help them lead happier and richer lives by passing on to them the wisdom and experience that my advanced years have brought me only to have what I say to them fall on deaf ears. They just won’t listen.

Why won’t they listen? Well, I think it’s obvious — I’m their father. Or grandfather. So what the heck do I know?

You know, as the Bible puts it, the elderly are honored by everyone. And listened to by everyone. Except by the members of their own family.

Frustrating? You bet.

If this rings a bell with you, then I’ve got a solution for you. One that’ll help you help them.

But a bit of background first.

Harry Shapiro, my father, came here from Europe in 1911. He couldn’t speak a word of English and he never went to school. Not here or in Europe. Yet by time he was 30, he was a millionaire.

For years people asked me to write a book about how he did it. Well, I finally did.

It’s called Harry Shapiro’s Legacy, and it’s a how-to book, containing 30 business maxims on how to make a living beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.

In a nutshell, here’s what Harry intuited, never having gone to school.

For any business to be successful, it’s has to do three things. First, it has to attract prospective customers. Next, it has to convert prospective customers into new customers. And finally, it has to make it easy for new customers to become old customers.

Now the first one’s easy. Any company can do it. By advertising, through good public relations, by holding frequent sales, and so on. But the second and third are much, much more difficult.

And that’s where Harry Shapiro’s Legacy comes in. You see, it’s all about how to convert prospective customers into new customers and how to make it easy for new customers to become old customers. All in very simple terms.

For example, Harry Shapiro’s Legacy explains how to set and maintain a successful company policy. How to guarantee that small customers will stay with you when they become big customers as many of them do. How to deal with accountants and attorneys so that they can’t kill your bottom line. And how to start a successful business on just a shoestring.

But there’s more to Harry Shapiro’s Legacy than that. It’s really a book for all seasons where making a living is concerned.

And here’s where you come in.

You see, it doesn’t matter whether your child or grandchild is starting a business, is already running his or her own company, is working for someone else, is looking to change jobs, or is looking for a new job, Harry Shapiro’s Legacy is just what the doctor (me) ordered.

Why? Easy.

Knowing how to convert prospective customers into new customers and how to make it easy for new customers to become old customers will:

		Increase your grown child’s or grandchild’s chances of success a thousand-fold if he or she is starting a new business.
		Produce an ever-increasing bottom line if your grown child or grandchild is already running his or her own business.
		Make your grown child or grandchild virtually layoff proof, because no employer in his or her right mind is going to let such an employee go. No matter what. Also, because a Harry Shapiro's Legacy expert contributes substantially to a company's bottom line, your grown child or grandchild is a prime candidate for a partnership or stock options or a key to the executive washroom as an incentive to stay put and not leave to take another job.
		If your grown child or grandchild isn’t happy with his or her current job and wants to change it, or if he or she is currently out of work and looking for a new job, again Harry Shapiro's Legacy is just what the doctor ordered. You see, if he or she knows how to convert prospective customers into new customers and how to make it easy for new customers to become old customers, which is what Harry Shapiro's Legacy is all about, that knowledge will come through in any job interview he or she has, thereby virtually guaranteeing him or her the offer of a position.

OK. Now where do I come in?

Well, I’ve found that while my grown children and grandchildren won’t listen to me, they will listen to others. And so will yours.

So here’s my idea. Why don’t you let me be one of those others by letting me talk to them through my book?

Let me pass on to them the business “sachel” (A Yiddish word that’s pronounced say-kh’l; loosely rhymes with “playful.” Its Hebrew meaning is “understanding.” In English it means “native good sense, common sense, shrewd judgment, wisdom, pragmatism, street-smarts”) that I learned from my father — a poor, unschooled, immigrant kid who spoke no English at all when he came here, and yet who became a millionaire before he was 30.

So if they want to start a successful business on a shoestring, let me show them how.

If they’re already running a successful business, let me show them how to make it even more successful.

If they’re already running a business that’s just limping along, let me show them how to make the bottom line explode.

If they’re now working for someone else, let me show them how to make themselves virtually layoff proof.

And if they’re now looking for work, let me give them what they’re going to need to find a job offer.

You know, come to think of it, if you’re a parent with grown children, or a grandparent with grown grandchildren, what better help could you possibly give them if they’re struggling to make a living than a copy of Harry Shapiro’s Legacy? It’ll make all the difference in the world for them.

Be well. And may God Bless you.