Book Highlights - Lou Pearlman, Frankl, Burgers

06 Sep, 2024

Which boy band did you like more, the Backstreet Boys or NSYNC? And I know the answer isn't "neither" because if I play the song "I Want It That Way" right now, you won't be able to help yourself.

This video is proof

I was a Backstreet Boy fan as you can tell, but to this day, I still know most of the songs from both bands by heart.

Why am I telling you this, you might ask?

Well, behind the wealth, fame and music that revolutionized a genre and made lasting impressions on pop was one man. Lou Pearlman, the creator of both Backstreet Boys AND NYSNC.

Lou Pearlman has a derogatory meaning now that we know about his shady Ponzi Scheme that he pulled with his blimp company, but let's take that out of the equation for a second.

Not only did he create one CRAZY POPULAR band, he created TWO. That within itself is mind blowing.

But what does Lou Pearlman have to say about Lou Pearlman?

What's HIS story? There's a Netflix documentary out now on Lou called "Dirty Pop" that caught my attention.

Trailer of "Dirty Pop" Documentary

About 5 minutes in watching it, the documentary mentions that Lou wrote a book... A book you say??

I immediately paused the show and went on a deep dive.

Come to find out, there IS a book that he wrote. ​Bands, Brands and Billions​.

The problem, it's no where to be found. Unavailable EVERYWHERE...Well now I just want to read it more.

So I started my search and put some feelers out to my fellow book worms.

​The Read Mind​ came through with a PDF version of it. BOOM! Let's go!

I'm a physical copy kind of guy, so I'm still waiting for it to pop up on thriftbooks.com, but until then, I printed out about half of the PDF and I'm digging in and today I'm sharing it with you.

I'll leave you with this before I let the books do the talking; Lou was an incredible entrepreneur and did some WILD things even at a young age. He was legitimately negotiating seller financing when he was in middle school.

His entrepreneur background is really impressive and while there are a TON of lessons to learn from him with what NOT to do, as I'm reading this book, I'm also seeing many lessons from him every entrepreneur SHOULD hear.

Books Of The Week

• ​Bands, Brands and Billions​ By Lou Pearlman
• ​​Man's Search For Meaning​ By Viktor Frankl
• ​The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger​ By Lynsi Snyder

1. I want you to understand that I started out with nothing. I didn’t have a wealthy benefactor, and I didn’t have a magic wand. The things I did are things you can do too. My parents were blue-collar. hard-working people. I did have a few wealthy relatives, but they wouldn’t help me until they saw that I could make things happen on my own.
2. That bothered me as a boy, and it stayed with me. Dad fell into a soft trap. It wasn’t the worst job in the world. He wasn’t miserable. But he didn’t get much enjoyment out of his work life. He stayed in the dry-cleaning business because he had a family to support and bills to pay. I understand what happened to him, and I’m grateful that he took his family responsibilities seriously. He was a good man, but from the time I was old enough to understand his situation, I was determined to avoid that trap. I never wanted a nine-to-five job. My goal was to make a living doing what I enjoyed.
3. That is one of the greatest luxuries in life—to make a living doing something you love. It certainly isn’t guaranteed. I’m sure you know people who work just to pay the bills. That happens when people don’t take control of their lives, decide what it is they want to do. and then pursue it with passion.
4. By now I hope you understand that I wasn’t born with a silver guitar pick in my mouth. I’ve built my businesses from scratch, through creativity, hard work, and drive. So, I’ve got some real-world tips to offer about the makings of a business entrepreneur. The lessons in this book apply to every type of enterprise not just an entertainment business, but any business. In the pages that follow, I’m going to tell you about the most important aspects of being an entrepreneur:

• Developing the ability to see new business opportunities where others don’t
• Making your business fly by selling the idea to investors and the marketplace
• Building your management and staff
• Managing risk wisely and effectively
• Guerrilla marketing
• Finding and raising money
• Dealing with challenges and lawsuits
• Knowing when to get out of a market
• Building your businesses on your dreams

1. Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation. You cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can always control what you will feel and do about what happens to you.
2. The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved.

1. “Keep it real simple. Do one thing and do it the best you can.
2. ”Harry was an entrepreneur at heart, and he saw that the American economy was now booming. He dreamed up an idea for a new kind of business. Americans were growing increasingly mobile. Gas was cheap, and Americans loved their new Chevys, Chryslers, and Fords. Harry imagined creating a new restaurant that would offer fast but quality meals for people on the go.

Until next time...

Readers are leaders,