1. ©Mike Southon 2013 All Rights Reserved -1-
Presentation Summary
By Mike Southon
Copyright ©Mike Southon 2013
All Rights Reserved
Not to be reproduced without permission in writing
Mike Southon can be contacted at:
mike@mikesouthon.com
www.mikesouthon.com
Twitter: @mikesouthon

2. ©Mike Southon 2013 All Rights Reserved -2-
Something About the Beatles
This presentation uses the example of The Beatles to show how people can be entrepreneurial,
starting and growing businesses.
It also explains how to be enterprising in large organisations. This is sometimes called
‘intrapreneurship’, and encourages people to take calculated risks in process-oriented
environments
The classic mantra of intrapreneurs is “never ask for permission, only ask for forgiveness
afterwards”
Unsung Heroes
All entrepreneurs have in the background some ‘unsung heroes’
Nobody has heard of Robert Devereaux, but he was Sir Richard Branson’s brother-in-law,
responsible for much of his early success.
So why be an entrepreneur, or be more intrapreneurial in your own organisation?
The reasons people give are:
• Make money
• Make a difference to myself and my family
• Make a difference to the world
• Have Fun!
• Freedom
• Because I have to
The best reason, however, is ‘to create wealth’
(The definition of the difference between ‘money’ and ‘wealth’ is given later)
The Seven-Year Cycles
We tend to work in seven-year cycles, as follows:
• Between 21 and 28: to try as many things as possible
• Between 28 and 35: you should make a serious attempt at something
• Between 35 and 42: you might want to try something different
• Between 42 and 49: you are often at the peak of your powers
• Between 49 and 56: represents maturity and self-awareness
• Between 56 and 63: you might want to plan your legacy
• Between 63 and 70: you become a true mentor
My First Advice for an Aspiring Entrepreneur (or Intrapreneur)
• Entrepreneurship is about teamwork, not just ideas. You should find a foil, someone with
the opposite set of skills to yourself. If you are introvert, someone extrovert, if you are
good with ideas, someone who is good at completing tasks; if you are poor with money
someone who is good at budgeting and cost control....and vice-versa.

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Paul McCartney and John Lennon
Great example of two people finding their foil: Sir Paul McCartney the extrovert who enjoys
playing live, John Lennon the introvert, much happier in the studio.
Audio: ‘Getting Better’ from ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
McCartney: “I’ve got to admit it’s getting better, it’s getting better all the time”
Lennon: “Can’t get no worse”
A Critical Moment
Entrepreneurs are characterised by critical moments, which they seize. (“Carpe Diem”)
Regular people just watch critical moments drift by....
For the delegates, hopefully this presentation features a ‘critical moment’, which will change their
life or their perspective on work in some way.
For the Beatles, February 9th
1964 was a ‘critical moment’. I Want to Hold your Hand was
number 1 in the USA, despite several other records failing beforehand. This enabled them to
appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, where 20 million people were expected to watch
Video: The Beatles Performing ‘All My Loving’ on The Ed Sullivan Show
In fact, the TV audience was 73 million, the largest in history.
The UK’s Most Successful Entrepreneur, Today
Video: Sir Paul McCartney Performing ‘All My Loving’ in the USA in 2002
If you want one reason to be an entrepreneur, then consider the middle-aged man in the audience
who bursts into tears on hearing the song.
If you get that level of connection with people, your customers, your co-workers or someone who
has benefitted from your efforts, then that is a good definition of ‘wealth’.
The ‘Original Beermat’
Three things elements when formulating a new idea:
• Elevator Pitch
• Mentor
• First customer
The Elevator Pitch
A good elevator pitch has these 5 ‘P’s:
• Pain What problem do you solve?
• Premise Exactly what do you do?
• People Who is in your team?
• Proof Do you have a successful customer story?
• Purpose Why are you doing this, rather than anything else?

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The Beatles’ Elevator Pitch
• Pain Rock and roll stars like Elvis Presley would not play outside the USA, and
The Beatles’ Idols, if they did play in Liverpool, were difficult to go and see
Audio: ‘Viva Las Vegas’ from ‘Viva Las Vegas Soundtrack’
• Premise
“The songs you like (American rock and roll) for a price you can afford, in your local club”
Good attributes for a successful Premise:
1. Be Local
2. Be Reliable
3. Be Nice
• People The Beatles, a great team only after they replaced two members
Audio: John Lennon: “We were four guys...” from ‘The Beatles Anthology, Volume 1’
Talent Dynamics – a Psychometric Test
www.talent-dynamics.com
The Seasons
We are all used to the seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter
The economy is the same
We are in the ‘winter’ of recession will soon enter the ‘spring’ of recovery
The key is to have cash in a recession, not debt
You need someone on you team with the right profile, a good finance person
The Talent Dynamics Profile
There are eight profiles, and therefore eight different ways to be a successful entrepreneur:
• Mechanic (like James Dyson) good at delivery, like an inventor or engineer
• Creator (like Richard Branson) good at generating ideas
• Star (like Oprah Winfrey) good at self-promotion and sales
• Supporter (like Jack Welch) good at building and managing teams
• Deal Maker (like Rupert Murdoch) good at negotiating win: win outcomes
• Trader (like George Soros) good at identical transactions
• Accumulator (like Warren Buffett) good at accumulating cash
• Lord (like Lakshmi Mittal) good at understanding cash-flow
In general terms, we can be defined as more or less introvert/extrovert and intuitive/grounded.
• Proof In 1961, The Beatles were the most popular live band in Liverpool
• Purpose Part 1: To Make Money! (Part 2 comes later....)
Audio: ‘Money’ from ‘With The Beatles’

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Find a Mentor.... who Can Open Doors
The Beatles appointed as their manager Brian Epstein, who ran an electrical store in Chapel
Street, Liverpool, which had a large record department. He smartened them up, putting them in
suits and behaving more professionally on stage.
Brian Epstein’s big promise was to get them a recording contract, using his connections.
Audio: Brian Epstein: “I secured them an audition….” from ‘The Beatles Anthology, Volume 1’
Be Prepared for Setbacks
The Beatles were turned down by almost every record company, including Decca, whose A&R
(talent) manager Dick Rowe famously said: “…guitar groups are on the way out”.
In Dick Rowe’s defence, The Beatles audition tape was nothing special.
Audio: ‘Searching’ from ‘The Beatles’ Anthology, Volume 1’
The Beatles’ First Customer
Audio, Brian Epstein: ‘Well The Recording Test came and went…’ from ‘The Beatles Anthology,
Volume 1’
George Martin, at Parlophone (a minor label at EMI) was the only person to ‘get’ The Beatles
He liked them personally, even though he didn’t think they could play that well and had no idea at
that time that they wrote such good songs.
George Martin, a classically trained musician, arranger and composer, became their musical
mentor, playing on several of their records.
Another Critical Moment!
After a minor hit in the UK (Love Me Do got to No 17 in the charts), George Martin arranged for
them to come into Abbey Road Studios to record their album…in one day! (11th
February 1963).
Rather than a collection of cabaret-style songs, they decided to do their live set. First Paul
McCartney has to get them ‘in flow’ by going: “One… two… three... FOUR!”
The precise moment when Beatlemania started was when they sang:
“How could I dance with another?” and the audience responded: “OOOO!’
Deal with the Competition
If you are a successful entrepreneur, then people will copy you. The Beatles faced fierce
competition from other bands, including The Dave Clarke Five, The Hollies the Rolling Stones
and The Monkees.
Revolver
The album Revolver was released in1966 with innovative tracks such as Eleanor Rigby and
Tomorrow Never Knows; most pop bands of the time found it impossible to compete.
The Competition was Beaten – or was it?
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys set out specifically to make his album Pet Sounds better than
Revolver and Rubber Soul
Audio: ‘God only Knows’ from ‘Pet Sounds’
There was controversy about this track at the time; the first use of the word ‘God’ in a song title

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Audio: ‘Unreleased Backgrounds’ from ‘Pet Sounds (1990 CD reissue)
What ‘being in flow’ sounds like! If one of your intrapreneurial teams is in a meeting room
sounding like this – leave them be!
Be the Best You Can
The Beatles privately acknowledged that Pet Sounds by Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys was at
least as good as Revolver. Their response was: “wait till he hears Sgt. Pepper”, their next project,
which innovated even further and is now their best-selling album.
The Best Song Ever Written For Entrepreneurs
The Beatles in 1967 were at the peak of their powers.
As well as releasing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band they released Strawberry Fields
Forever/Penny Lane, arguably the best Double A-Side single ever.
Amazingly, it was the first Beatles single for five years not to go to Number 1, beaten by Release
Me by Englebert Humperdinck.
All You Need Is Love
They also released a song that perfectly describes entrepreneurship.
Video: ‘All You Need Is Love’ from the ‘Our World’ television broadcast
Nothing You Can Do that Can’t Be Done
The lyric from All You Need is Love is a perfect statement of entrepreneurship
“There's nothing you can do that can't be done,
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game…it’s easy.”
©John Lennon and Paul McCartney 1967
Business in general, and entrepreneurship in particular is a very simple game with simple rules,
even though it can involve hard work and long hours.
Another Critical Moment
In 1967, just after the release of Sgt. Pepper, the Beatles manager and mentor, Brian Epstein died
from a suspected accidental drugs overdose.
The Beatles at the time were in Bangor, following their new guru, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
With typical successful entrepreneur over-confidence (which some might call arrogance), they
decided to manage themselves and manage their own affairs.
They set up a wide range of entrepreneurial activities, under their new umbrella company The
Apple Corporation, including a record label, a film company, electronics and a retail store.
These companies were very badly run, and soon began to lose large sums of money. Their next
project, a TV film called The Magical Mystery Tour, had some great music but was a critical
disaster.

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Out of Flow – Conflict
Their next album, The Beatles (more commonly called The White Album) had more great music,
but by now they are no longer working as a team, and personal conflicts are making the recording
process very difficult for each of them.
Back in Flow
The last project The Beatles worked on, the Abbey Road album, was, happily, a much more
pleasant experience, with them working together well as a team.
Audio: ‘Come Together’, from ‘Abbey Road’
The Beatles’ Legacy
Today, the Beatles’ brand is as strong as ever, and their legacy is secured.
This is due to the efforts of the person I consider to be the ‘fifth Beatle’ – Neil Aspinall.
Neil Aspinall was Pete Best’s friend, a trainee accountant. Neil was hired to be their first road
manager, paid £1 from each Beatle to drive them around in his van. Later, he toured with The
Beatles and eventually ran Apple Corporation.
Neil realised that if he secured The Beatles’ legacy, then they would not only generate significant
revenue, but they would also be remembered forever. His first legacy project was The Beatles
Anthology, a beautifully illustrated book with associated television series, DVD set and CDs.
In 2006, Cirque du Soleil opened a Las Vegas Show, called Love featuring Beatles re-mixes and
studio conversations, produced by Sir George Martin’s son Giles.
In 2009 saw releases of digitally re-mastered versions of the Beatles back catalogue, and the
highly successful computer game Beatles Rock Band, which although designed for 13-year-olds is
beautifully designed and thematically perfect in every respect.
In 2010, Apple Corporation (after several legal battles with Apple Computer) finally licensed The
Beatles’ Music to be available on iTunes. Part of the deal was that there should be a large
marketing budget to promote The Beatles to a whole new audience of young people.
Be Nice to People
Forming the team, and later having to let people go for the greater good of the organisation are the
most difficult elements of entrepreneurship. This process should be done in a friendly and open
way, as much as possible.
Paul McCartney admits in The Beatles Anthology that he could have been nicer to Stuart Sutcliffe
when engineering his take-over of the bass guitar position in The Beatles.
When The Beatles Anthology was released, Pete Best fairly received a significant share of the
proceeds, as he had played on several tracks, including the ill-fated Decca audition songs. The
cover of The Beatles Anthology 1 features an early poster of The Beatles, but Pete’s face has
deliberately ripped out to show Ringo’s underneath.
Pete Best responded later with his own album 8 Hayman’s Green, which has artwork featuring
the restored section of that early poster.

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The Difference between ‘Money’ and ‘Wealth’
Roger Hamilton www.rogerhamilton.com defines this as follows:
Money is defined by what you have in your pocket, your bank account, or at the bottom of your
corporate spreadsheet. Wealth is what you would have if your money disappeared for some
reason; this is your reputation, what you know, whom you know and how nice you have been to
people along the way.
Guanxi
The Chinese describe this personal reputation and trust as your guanxi, which Wikipedia defines
as follows:
At its most basic, guanxi describes a personal connection between two people in which one is
able to prevail upon another to perform a favour or service, or be prevailed upon. The two people
need not be of equal social status. Guanxi can also be used to describe a network of contacts,
which an individual can call upon when something needs to be done, and through which he or she
can exert influence on behalf of another.
In addition, guanxi can describe a state of general understanding between two people: "he/she is
aware of my wants/needs and will take them into account when deciding her/his course of future
actions which concern or could concern me without any specific discussion or request".
In 1970, after The Beatles split up, they had little cash and were being aggressively pursued by
the tax authorities, as their business affairs were so badly managed at that time.
The Beatle who built up his ‘guanxi’ quickest was George Harrison, who organised a charity
concert The Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, long before Live Aid.
How to Build Up Your Guanxi
Three simple rules:
• Always treat people like you want them to treat you
• Always help people, without going broke in the process
• Always tell the truth
And In The End…..
Almost the last track The Beatles recorded on Abbey Road was the aptly titled song ‘The End’
In this track, Ringo Starr gets acknowledged, with his one and only Beatles drum solo. Then the
other three Beatles play lead guitar in rotation; first Paul McCartney, then George Harrison and
then John Lennon, three times in total.
Audio: ‘The End’, from ‘Abbey Road’
Video: ‘Closing Cinematic’, from ‘Beatles Rock Band’
Then there is ‘The Meaning of Life’ and the moral of this presentation:
“And in the end the love to take is equal to the love you make”
© John Lennon and Paul McCartney 1969

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About Mike Southon
Mike Southon is a serially successful entrepreneur, best-selling business author and a Financial
Mail columnist in the Mail On Sunday.
Mike built and sold his own company in the 80s and worked with seventeen different start-ups in
the 90s. Two of these companies later went public, while three went broke!
A Fellow of the Professional Speaking Association, Mike speaks at over 100 events every year all
over the world, to a wide variety of multi-national audiences, everyone from students to board-
level executives.
Mike is also a very experienced conference moderator and facilitator, having interviewed over
100 people on stage - including Sir Richard Branson for his new book Screw Business As Usual.
Recent speaking engagements include GDF Suez (Spain), The Metabridge Conference (Canada),
The University of Bristol, the PDSA, Rolls Royce, Tourism South East, Aylesbury Vale District
Council, Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and Finance Wales.
Mike is co-author of several best-selling business books, including The Beermat Entrepreneur,
Sales on a Beermat and This is How Yoodoo It, a collection of his Financial Times columns.
He is also a very experienced entrepreneur mentor, having provided face-to-face mentoring for
over 1,000 people in the last ten years.
Mike is proud to be Ambassador for the Federation of Small Businesses and Entrepreneur in
Residence for the City of Liverpool. He is also a Freeman of the City of London
Mike Southon can be contacted at:
mike@mikesouthon.com
www.mikesouthon.com
UK: 07802 483834
Outside UK: +44 7802 483834