Your Survival Guy

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Meet the One Person Every Business in the World Needs

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Happy Memorial Day Weekend. Time for remembrance. Time for summer. Time to get to work.

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When I was a kid I had three different jobs: a paper route, cutting lawns, and scooping ice-cream. One person I met at all three was, “the customer.” At the first job, the paper-route, I didn’t see the customer every day, but I would if I missed a house, got bit by their dog, was late, or needed to collect money. At the second job, cutting lawns, I’d see them if I missed a spot, got stung by a bee from their bee box or needed to collect money. And at the third-one, scooping ice-cream, there was a never ending line of them out the door, especially on hot summer nights. I met the Little League teams, the vacationers, the daters, and the rest of small town Mattapoisett.

The best feeling in the world was knowing the customer was happy. And I would know that by how I felt inside. And, to me, that’s capitalism. It’s not Wall Street or leverage. It’s a simple, special relationship between you and the customer—someone I will make sure both of my kids meet at an early age. Because at the end of the day we all need the customer.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.

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