Written by John Lyons and Edward de Bono, the world’s leading authority on creative thinking, “Marketing without Money” explores how success has come to Australian entrepreneurs like Dick Smith, RM Williams and Gerry Harvey. With twenty in-depth interviews revealing the successful thinking behind Australia’s most talented self-made men and women, this book will make you rethink the way you do business.

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FOREWORD by Dick Smith

Dear Reader

I think success in my life has come from copying the success of others. That has meant asking advice, looking at what other companies and countries do and then following the best. In the electronics business I would travel the world learning and copying from the best of my competitors, because each had evolved into doing certain things a better way. While each company was generally about as efficient as the other, each had developed particular ways which were superior. For example, one had a very good mail-order system, so I copied that. Another had the best catalogue, so I copied that. I continually copied the best concepts and ideas and brought them together under one roof. I have made every mistake you can make but I remember and have learned from every one of them.

I had no idea that Dick Smith Electronics would ever be any bigger
than just one shop. I had no plans for that because it was beyond my comprehension. I actually had quite an inferiority complex because I had always loved electronics but all my friends had gone off to university and I was simply a radio repairman. I started selling electronics in a modern way, and expanded it to around fifty shops. At that point I realised it was getting too big and difficult to run. I rang Woolworths and they bought it for $25 million. Very simple.

With Dick Smith Foods, I could see the country is being sold off and
everyone is concerned about it, so I decided to take advantage of that. You satisfy people’s concerns and you do something worthwhile at the same time. That makes you feel good. If I wanted to make money, I would stick to electronics where you can make a fortune. You certainly wouldn’t be going into food where the margins are so low. I am an adventurer; I love having challenges and tilting at windmills.

Since I started the Variety Club Bash in Australia, Variety has raised
over $70 million in seventeen years to help kids. I had to find a way to get wealthy people to part with their money because if you simply phoned them up and asked for a donation, they would say no. Also, I’d always wanted to go in the equivalent of a Redex trial following the trail of Gelignite Jack Murray, and I knew a lot of other blokes did too. So I thought how can I get people to come with me on a car trial. Then I thought of the idea of allowing adults to generally behave and cheat like kids. They had two alternatives, either drive fast to win or bribe the judges by writing a big cheque for charity.

When I went into business, I had little money – only $610. No one
would lend me any money, but it taught me some wonderful disciplines. The difference between success and failure is a razor’s edge in just about everything. Even though a company can make huge profits, you can turn it to losses very easily.

In Marketing without Money, John Lyons and Edward de Bono have
captured the real-world experience and learnings of twenty of Australia’s top entrepreneurs – essentially how they successfully entered markets without money. They have aggregated, then distilled this knowledge to its essence, and have packaged it so that others may follow. This is vital practical knowledge for people who want to create their own future and the future of Australia, not be driven to it by others.

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