I recently re-watched “The Founder” movie about McDonald’s.
A year ago, I wrote a scathing blog post about what a douche Ray Kroc was, for scamming the original McDonald brothers out of what was theirs. (It’s currently one of my highest viewed posts…hmmm.)
However… I’m now revisiting that story with fresh eyes.
I even purchased Ray’s autobiography, “Grinding It Out,” and will read it while pretending he was an ethical guy selling healthy food (not junk)… Maybe I can learn something!
The original McDonald’s brothers had a great system, and a product people adored, but they couldn’t figure out how to leverage it. They were drowning.
Ray Kroc could see the genius in it, and he urged them to franchise it, but he couldn’t figure out how to make a profit either.
With all the fast growth McDonald’s was experiencing — having customers swarm the restaurants, receiving checks from new franchisees at every turn — at the end of the day, Ray Kroc was still broke and couldn’t keep up with the bills.
How could this be?!
(Every single home business owner reading this can probably relate, and has probably been there at some point.)
…It’s because Ray Kroc was in the wrong business.
He was trying to sell the wrong thing.
In my opinion, the real genius in the movie was the financial guy who said, “You’re not in the burger business. You’re in the real estate business.” (That was Harry Sonneborn).
You think you’re selling X, but really you’re selling Y.
For a long time, I thought I was selling writing and editing services… but that’s not true. I sell systems that helps my clients become hugely profitable. And writing/editing/copywriting happens to be a big part of that system.
Go figure.
Instead of selling fifteen-cent hamburgers, Ray Kroc needed to own the land on which franchisees would build their McDonald’s locations.
That’s where the big money would come from.
With a small, slight tweak, he could change everything. He could begin making FAR more profit than he was previously making.
…Fake milkshake powder, junk food, and scamming the brothers out of their royalties notwithstanding.
As much as I despise McDonald’s, they’re everywhere… they’re a multibillion dollar company. [Making people, sick, fat, and miserable, but I digress…]
They’ve done what healthy, organic restaurants haven’t done.
For years, I grappled with this whole concept: “If making huge profits requires fucking over someone else in some way… I won’t do it.”
That was the “ethical” side of me refusing to scam anyone… even if it meant me being broke.
But here’s the thing: being broke is a form of scamming YOURSELF.
AND, you don’t have to scam anyone to create a thriving business!
A mentor once told me my “beef” with Ray Kroc (no pun intended) probably had more to do with some internal issue I was trying to resolve inside of me, than anything else.
I took that idea to heart… and decided to stop judging and hating Ray Kroc.
Because by doing so, I wouldn’t learn a damn thing, let alone improve my own situation.
He’s long-gone, probably reincarnated… his karma isn’t my business.
What I’m here to do is help truly healthy, ethical business owners make slight tweaks to their business, that will result in massive profits.
Whether it’s setting up a simple funnel, adding a new funnel, tweaking an existing funnel, writing ongoing content, or making edits to your content… small shifts lead to big results.
You can do this without screwing anyone over.
Now, more than ever, is the time for healthy, ETHICAL, conscious, forward-thinking business owners to be profitable.
If you’re drowning, trying to stay afloat, you’re not fully available to serve those who need, and want, what you’re offering.
What’s the one tweak — the one small shift — you can make that will change everything for you?
Talk soon,
Michelle
Anti-Marketing Manifesto
Michelle Lopez Boggs is a copywriter, copywriting mentor, and author of "The Anti-Marketing Manifesto: How to Sell Without Being a Sellout." She's helped her clients sell millions of dollars' worth of products and services online by using the MEI(S) principle — motivate, educate, and inspire, and sell. 