THE PULPIT: James Dobson, entrepreneur extraordinaire
James Dobson is best known as a leader of the Christian right, a stalwart Republican who opposes gay rights and abortion, and as a widely-read child psychologist.
But he should also be known as a successful entrepreneur.
In 1977 he started Focus on the Family with a $38,000 grant from Tyndale Publishing, the publisher of his parenting books. This year he’s starting Family Talk using donors’ money that includes a $1 million gift from Focus.
Dobson founded both organizations using other people’s money to bet on a sure thing. Entrepreneur experts say it doesn’t get any better than that.
“A classic entrepreneur wants to leverage someone else’s money,” said Tre Cates, a Boulder resident who coaches small-business startups on how to be successful.
Dobson’s approach is similar to that of George Eastman, the founder of Kodak, who shifted his financial risk to his family and a rich friend; and Sam Walton, who started Wal-Mart using money from his in-laws.
“A venture may fail, but if the founder doesn’t have any of his or her own money invested, all that is lost is the time involved and whatever collateral personal reputational damage there might be,” said John Kimberly, a professor of entrepreneurial studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Founding a nonprofit, as Dobson has done twice, has advantages over founding a for-profit concern, Cates said. In a nonprofit, people donate and that is the end of it, but in a for-profit, the money comes from investors who gain a say in operations. “When you take on other people’s money,” Cates said of a for-profit, “you give up something for it.”
Dobson’s founding of Focus might seem like a leap of faith. But Dobson was already a successful author by 1977, having published his first book, “Dare to Discipline,” seven years earlier. When Tyndale put up money to start “Focus on the Family” radio, it certainly understood that Dobson would have a built-in audience from those who read his books, and discussing his works on air would catapult book sales.
Fast forward to 2010, and Family Talk seems like a slam dunk. Thanks to his “Focus” radio listeners, Dobson has a ready-made audience of millions for his “Family Talk” broadcasts.
Dobson has touted how he never took a salary at Focus and won’t at Family Talk. Experts I spoke with say that’s a good marketing plan.
For high-profile people like Dobson, a salary is not where the bulk of their income is generated, Kimberly said. Dobson makes millions in book royalties, speaking engagements and public appearances, in part because he promotes his books on radio to millions of listeners.
“To say you are forgoing salary doesn’t mean you are taking vows of poverty, and it may send a very positive message to potential customers,” Kimberly said.
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For more of my interviews with entrepreneur experts on Dobson, go to my blog, The Pulpit, at www.thepulpit.freedomblogging.com.
