When people ask me how to learn to raise capital, I refer them to numbers 1 through 7 above, ex- plaining that raising capital requires each of them in one way or the other. Most businesses do not get off the ground be- cause the entrepreneur does not know how to raise capital, and as rich dad said, "Raising capital is the entrepreneur's most important job." He did not mean that the entrepreneur was constantly asking for money from investors. What he meant was that an entrepreneur was always ensuring that cap- ital was flowing in, either through sales, direct marketing, pri- vate sales, institutional sales, investors, etc. Rich dad would say, "Until the business system is built, the entrepreneur is the system to keep the money flowing in. At the start of any busi- ness, keeping the cash flowing in is the entrepreneur's most important job." The other day, a young man came to me and asked, "I want to start my own business. What would you recommend I do before I start?" I answered with my usual response: "Get a job with a company that will train you in sales." He replied, "I hate sales. I don't like selling and l'don't like salespeople. I just want to be the president and hire salespeople." Once he said that, I simply shook his hand and wished him luck. A priceless lesson that rich dad taught me was, "Don't argue with people who ask for advice but don't want the advice you're giving Communications Management 345 them. End the discussion immediately and go on minding your own business." Being able to communicate effectively with as many peo- ple as possible is a very important life skill. It is a skill worthy of annual updating, which I do by attending seminars. As rich dad had already told me, "If you want to be а В quadrant per- son, your first skill is being able to communicate and speak the language of the other three quadrants. People in the other three quadrants can get away with speaking the lan- guage of only their quadrant, but those in the В quadrant can- not. Simply put, the primary-and possibly only-job of those in the В quadrant is to communicate with people in the other quadrants." I have recommended that people join a network market- ing company to gain sales experience. Some network market- ing organizations have excellent communications and sales training programs. I have seen shy introverted individuals come out as powerful and effective communicators who are no longer afraid of rejection or ridicule. That thick-skin mind- set is vital for anyone in the В quadrant, especially when your personal communication skills are not yet polished. My First Sales Call I still remember my first sales call on the street along Waikiki Beach. After spending about an hour working up the nerve to knock on the door, I finally got in to see the owner of a small tourist trinket store. He was an older gentleman who had seen new salespeople like me for years.