After a super busy week I didn’t want to do anything but just veg out for at least one day over this past weekend. I went to Goodwill the other day and picked up some DVD’s (yes, I shop there, what of it?). I had always passed by that section until a few titles caught my eye. One of them was Catch Me If You Can starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. This was the story of the life of Frank Abignale Jr., played by DiCaprio, who in a five year span managed to commit some of the largest check fraud in history. He was eventually caught by Carl Handratty, played equally well by Tom Hanks. He did primarily be impersonating an airline pilot cashing fake payroll checks. If you haven’t read my bio, I have a vast DVD and music collection. I’m always drawing references from pop culture. Ask any close to me and they’ll say I’m always drawing a parallel in our conversations to something I saw or read. Nonetheless, as I was watching this incredibly acted and filmed movie it was the last line that mentioned the fate of Frank Abignale Jr. that got the wheels turning.
It stated that Frank became the authority on check fraud. THE AUTHORITY. After watching the film no one could argue that. Now, I’ll say right away that I don’t endorse fraud or crimes of any kind. However, as a lifelong learner that line gave me pause. How do you become the authority on that level? Frank parlayed that into a lucrative, legitimate career. I noticed several practices young Abignale did that transformed him into a screen worthy story.
He Leveraged His History
Frank’s father ran a stationery store and they were very close. No doubt he learned some things from him, which he later used when he absconded the country and was printing checks on a four-color Heidelberg printer. His background is what made his errant profession a somewhat easy transition.
What skills did you grow up with? Did your parents have businesses or profession in which you helped out? Skills you acquired early in life can help you choose a business that will make running it easier. Many people switch careers over and over again throughout life trying to find what they enjoy or are good at. If you don’t enjoy your profession, jumping around certainly is necessary. However, if you enjoy what you do and you’ve been doing it for years why switch it up? Every time you start a new profession you’re starting from the bottom again. If you were an electrician with 10 years experience it would be insane to switch to medical. Don’t widen the hole go deeper. Because Frank leveraged his printing background it allowed him to expand and actually make significant money from it.
So many people today are trying to be a jack of all trades because they fear that picking a single niche will cause you to miss out on other business you’re capable of doing. You could look at it that way. Or you could realize the truth. When you’re the authority in a single field everyone comes to you. Think about specialty surgeons. Patients fly all over the world to them, because they are the only one who can do it right. You only get that way by digging deeper into your craft not by widening your skills. Invariably as you take this route you’ll encounter obstacles and failures along the way. Learn from what allowed Frank to overcome his.
He Didn’t Give Up
Frank was getting rejected left and right. He had no money and was running out of bad checks to write and cash. But, it didn’t deter him. He had a new story for every teller he encountered even getting so desperate he tried pulling out one of dad’s old tricks. No matter how many times he got rejected he kept at it. They say one of the greatest skills any entrepreneur needs to succeed is the ability to overcome adversity.
I have a daily affirmation quote on the Seize the Brand Instagram page and it brings out that in order to succeed you have to have a single-minded mentality to push through all adversities to see your company through. There are going to be setbacks, there are going to be challenges and there are going to be failures. Every time they happen learn from them, push through them and come out on the other side better and stronger than before. Frank did and in time he found his in.
He Found A Formula That Worked
The innocent kid act wasn’t working. He knew he needed another way and his mind was trying to find an answer. Then it walked right in front of him, the airline pilot. A new profession brimming with buzz and respect. Doors were opening for them, kids wanted their autograph, heads turned. No one would question someone in a pilot’s uniform. And they didn’t when Frank became one. It worked so well that the Branch Manager who callously turned him away as a desperate kid shook his hand and thanked him for his business.
There’s actually two lessons to be applied in this one. 1. Find a business model that works. It must be easy to do and easy to duplicate so it can grow rapidly. Frank went to bank after bank cashing check after check. It was almost child’s play. 2. Successful businesses make all doubters jump on the bandwagon. As I mentioned in the previous subhead, you’re going to face adversity. Some of that will be the chatter of doubters and haters. All of them will be asking you for a job when they see your model works. So get to it!
He Was Patient
Frank had a winning model, but he couldn’t rapidly expand as of yet. He needed another way to cash checks since he knew personal checks had a time limit before the jig was up. So he began making payroll checks. Making one look authentic wasn’t easy. It took lots of time and some money since he had to buy those Pan Am toy airplanes for the sticker to put on the checks he made. But that’s what you need to be as a business owner, patient.
Even if you get some overnight success, building a sustainable business is a long game not a short one. There are too many examples of businesses that started hot and went out with a flash. Maybe they expanded too rapidly. Maybe there were internal issues that caused them to implode. It could be a number of things, but you need to learn from that and play the long game. Overnight successes are sensationalized in the media today, but it’s not true. Most overnight success cases are people who spent years mastering their craft, going through failures underground until the model worked and ignited like wildfire. It only does that when the model is solid like Frank’s was. When his patience paid off on his payroll checks you saw him with a bathtub full of airplanes and a floor full of fake payroll checks. Be patient until your chance to expand rapidly comes and when it does it will be easy to do because you’re proven system of delivery works.
He Continued to Master His Craft
Frank didn’t stop leaning more. He learned how banking works. He learned the meaning of the numbers on the checks. He learned whom to target in the bank. He learned flying terminology to make it easier to pass as a pilot. He never stopped learning. Notice though that Frank didn’t jump into another field rather he went deeper into his field. By doing that it allowed him to grow his ill-gotten gains from $1 million-$4 million.
Despite the initial success you might experience you cannot stop getting better at what you do. So many companies do that and eventually die. Listen to The Common Cents Show Podcast segment on Fantastic Failures and you’ll continually hear a list of businesses that rested on the laurels initial success and stopped innovating. Innovation is basically experiential learning applied to services and products your target wants and needs. This is the realm where expansion takes place and incredible revenue gains. As you continue to get better at what you do you’ll see new ways of applying it to your business. When that happens your target will continually buy from you. As you do you’ll be able to do what Frank did next.
He Branched Out To Similar Fields
Frank could see his window closing as an airline pilot. However he knew his could apply his duplicating skills to another related field, duplicating graduate certificates. This allowed him to branch out into a new field of “medicine”. While people were chasing down a fake pilot he was now a fake doctor. Now one could argue that this is a new field he was going into, no it wasn’t. Frank merely made a lateral move. He moved from a well respected, high-ranking pilot, to a well respected, high-ranking doctor. Mind you this was possible because he was able to apply his skill in another way.
One of the components of business growth is innovation. To learn what they other two are you’ll have to follow me on Facebook. That’s where I post my tips and strategies. Apple started with computers, but they didn’t let that stop them from leveraging their technology expertise into other related forms. Where would we be without the innovation that they started? We wouldn’t have smartphones, tablets and so many other gadgets that have transformed our lives for the better without innovation. To do so you have to continue to push yourself and see what holes you can fill in the marketplace. When you find those holes you can leverage your skills to make the transition a lateral move rather than starting from scratch again. Even if you do, you still need this crucial skill that Frank had.
He Had An Incredible Work Ethic
When faking it no longer worked for Frank after he was engaged he had to roll up his sleeves and study. You don’t find this out until the end. We all think that he somehow managed to fake his way into passing the bar exam. No doubt he tried to find a way, but when push came to shove and he saw no alternative than actually doing the work he did it and did it well. That in itself is an incredible feat. Most lawyers go to a university, then to law school and then after all that take the bar exam. Frank bypassed all of that, passed the exam and became a legitimate lawyer.
As a business owner you gotta put in the work. I remember Chris Do of The Futur talking to a few mentees about hard work and he asked them how late do you stay up at night? Most of them went to bed at a regular time and he said they wouldn’t succeed until they put in the work. He mentioned he’s up till 1-2AM each night putting in the work of building his business. It worked. The Futur is now an online education powerhouse in the creative field. It didn’t get to be that way without the hard work he and his team put into it.
Many have this illusion that when you work for yourself you spend a few hours a day on your business and the rest of the time is spent travelling the world, driving expensive cars and eating caviar. Not at first! When you work for yourself you go from 8 hours days to 14-16 hour days. Your paycheck drops significantly. Sometimes you don’t even get to pay yourself because that money has to go to keeping the business afloat. But if you put in the work in the early days you can reap the rewards later. Frank did.
In The End He Became Sought Out
Yes, Frank got caught. Our actions have consequences that catch up with us in time, always. However, he had something that no one could take from him, the ability to spot fake checks a mile away. That skill was so valuable the FBI commuted his sentence after less than 5 years because they needed him.
There are businesses so good at what they do they turn business away. Others are so booked that people will actually pay more than their asking rate to get them. Are you so good at what you do people seek you out? In order to become a sought after expert, like Frank, you have to specialize in something and master it.
Frank turned his criminal career into a legitimate one that made millions, creating checks that couldn’t be duplicated. You can also be sought after if you apply the principles Frank used into your career. When that happens everyone will try to catch you—if they can!
