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Russ: This is the BusinessMakers Show, heard here and online at TheBusinessMakers.com. And this is that show that champions entrepreneurship, and believe me, we have a champion today, because I'm sitting here with two-time world heavyweight boxing champ George Foreman. George, welcome to the BusinessMakers Show.
George: Thank you. I'm happy to be with you.
Russ: Well, let's start here. Take us back to 1968.
George: Wow.
Russ: There you are, in the ring, at the Olympics championship. The way you celebrated after that victory was pretty darn cool, man, I gotta tell you. After that victory, did you ever envision yourself being such a successful entrepreneur?
George: I had no idea. It was a wonderful thing to win that Olympic gold medal. It was a dream come true. There I am, standing in front of the world. They say about a half a billion people were watching that day, and I had a small American flag in my room. I wanted to make sure they know where I'm from. It's just you – why not? And I waved that flag just so they could see where I was from, and then my life changed instantly. People said, "Oh, you stand for something other than yourself," and I've had to carry that, sometimes as a joy and as a burden.
Russ: Well, boy, you've certainly carried it very well, and that celebration was so pro-American. It was kinda different for the time, even different for these days. I wish more winners would do that.
George: Yeah, and it was strange because after I'd done so, everybody came to my beck, and I had a nice attitude, and they're not so – "What do you mean? How could you do that? How could you wave that flag?" and how could I not? I'd literally been rescued from the gutter –
Russ: There you go.
George: – and given a second chance at life, and that's what I was celebrating.
Russ: There you go. And don't you also think that being an American gives entrepreneurs an extraordinary chance to go out there and make something out of themselves?
George: So much so because America is the home of the second, third, and fourth chance.
Russ: There you go.
George: I've had more than one chance, and you can miss, miss, miss, and keep on missing. There's still – you got a lot of people out that will give you another chance.
Russ: Okay. Well, the reason we got on your radar and got you to spend time with us is that you got this new book out now, Knockout Entrepreneur. What motivated that, and tell us a little bit about the book.
George: You go through a period when everything is going well, things are going good, and everybody think, "Oh, surely I can make it. I can do this. I can do that." Then you look out and see bad news about things aren't going that well, and a lot of people lose heart. They become afraid. And it's only because no one tells the true American story, that there's nothing wrong with the bottom. When you're down at the bottom, you can see nothing but up. And this is the time when you – there are millions of people who pass you. I'm exaggerating some. Every day, what happened if you could sell them something, you in business? And most people just don't understand that everybody leave outta their home willing to buy something.
Russ: Yeah. George, there's so much in your book about personal initiative and about how, once again, no matter how far down you are, there's still an opportunity to pick up. It's a cause that we always champion here on the BusinessMakers Show, but man, oh, man, you're the leading cheerleader, the leading advocate, and you seem to really believe in that.
George: I really do because the good thing about America, and I'll say that because I've lived in other places for a long time, and you can get a chance if you're willing and makes a lot of friends. You gotta make lots of friends. It doesn't hurt to have a wealthy friend or two. You could always get a loan, because banks sometimes will turn their back, turn their head until you go and get something.
Russ: That's right.
George: But having a good friend sometime that you can say, "Man, could you just loan me $1,000.00?" And there are great stories in America where someone just had a friend that gave 'em a second chance, and that's what you try to promote.
Russ: Oh, yeah. You know, in reading the book, I was sort of taken by that occurrence that happened in the last fight. It was the fight with Shannon Briggs and the way that you handled what seemed to be a very unfair defeat in determination. I mean, I think everybody that was watching the fight, even the commentators on TV, thought you had it won for sure, but that's not what the judges said, right?
George: No, you wait – that's why I talk "Knockout Entrepreneur." Don't wait for a decision. It can go any way. But you want a good business, make certain you search for a knockout, something that they gotta buy, and the reason they gotta buy it because you gotta make them love ya.
Russ: All right. Well, I understand, after the first commentator that stuck a microphone in your mouth at the end of that fight, you were immediately selling the George Foreman grill. Is that right?
George: I didn't get a knockout that night. I waited around for a decision, and I was disheartened, and no one really wanna lose a boxing match, and I was sad for a second. Then the commentator asked me, "George, what happened?" and I thought, "Huh, I got national television here. I got millions of viewers. I'm not gonna waste this on what just happened. I'm gonna – on the past. I'm gonna talk about the future, and the future is the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine. I started to sell, and I forgot about me and started understanding that this is a family thing and a business thing.
Russ: I'd love to see that on video. How did the commentator react to your comment?
George: He was like, "What does that have to do with anything? What does that have to do –" And I said it again: "Look at me. I feel great. It's the George Foreman grill." He just couldn't understand that you can be disheartened about a loss, but you can also be encouraged about the win, the chance to sell, an opportunity to sell. Television is all about selling, nothing else.
Russ: Outta curiosity, at that point did you ever think about fighting again?
George: Oh, certainly. You think about it even now. I think I'll be 85 years old, thinking "I can do it. I know I can do it just once more." You never stop and feel like you can't do it again. And I wanted to fight again at the age of 55. Back in shape, in training. My wife told me no. I said, "Why? I can still do it." She said, "Isn't that the way you wanna leave the sport, feeling like you can still do it?" And so I had my chance, and I walked away at the right time, but it still comes back.
Russ: That's great. So tell me a little bit more about what motivated you to write the book.
George: Well, the book is about making certain that every friend and family member that you meet understand that you can do it. You really can do it. You can start a business, and you can become the best at it. Just believe in yourself. The General Motors, the Ford – that's the past. You can be the future of this country. All you gotta do is believe – find something that you believe in, and sell. Learn to sell. You will never starve. Plus, you'll become awful wealthy.
Russ: Okay. We gotta take a break right now, but when we –
George: This book is about that.
Russ: – when we come back, I wanna talk a lot about the George Foreman grill.
George: Okay.
Russ: Okay? This is the BusinessMakers Show, heard here and online at TheBusinessMakers.com.
[Aflac Commercial]
Russ: This is the BusinessMakers Show, heard here and online at TheBusinessMakers.com, and continuing on with George Foreman, kinda the guy that really championed the George Foreman grill, the Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine. Tell us that story. That's just unbelievable. I remember shortly – I guess it was while you were still fighting, actually. We started seeing these TV commercials, and it struck me as unusual and unique, and after I read the book, I was blown away with the success.
George: It's strange because even the grill itself – I had become the darling of Madison Avenue, doing commercials for Kentucky Fried, Meineke –
Russ: Meineke muffler, yeah.
And so we came up with this little – not as attractive as it is today, this grill, and I looked at it for weeks and months, almost six months. And they kept saying, "What do you do, George? You wanna do the thing?" And I said, "I haven't tried it yet," and my wife said, "Oh, it's great, George. Try it. I tried it. I used it. You put the burger on. The grease goes away, and it's still moist. The food is good." I said, "Really?" She said, "I'll fix you one."
Well, she did. My wife did. She said, "This is a great product, George." I said, "You think I should do it?" She said, "I know you should." That's how – that's the origin of me and the George Foreman grill.
Russ: So your wife obviously deserves a lot of credit for this.
George: And I put my signature on it...yeah, all the credit. She got all the money, too.
Russ: (Laughter)
George: But anyway, I put my signature on there because of my wife, and the thing worked. And then, originally, I only thought, "I'm gonna get 16 of these things." They said, "What do you want?" There isn't any money. Put your name on it, a joint venture, and I'm the major stockholder. And I said, "I want 16 grills." I thought that'll be impossible. I was gonna give a few to my aunt and my mom. All the people cook and take it to my training camp. That's all I thought would happen. The next thing you know, people would meet me and "George, we love you," and I thought, "They finally saw my punch." They said, "No, no, your grill." And they just started the word of mouth and started to sell 1 million, 2 million, and we sold over 100 million of those grills to this day.
Russ: Unbelievable. Well, the money, in the book you start talking about the checks. I think the first one was like $2,500.00 or something.
George: Yeah.
Russ: And then it went down a little bit, and then from then on it just skyrocketed.
George: Couldn't believe we got something. I found out – the word that entered into my vocabulary, "royalties."
Russ: Royalties.
George: – "residuals," and all those things. I said, "What in the world does that mean?" But for the first time, I saw something happen, and from that point on I started going for other things, too. The grill stuck. You know, you throw it on the wall, and it stuck, and it was a success, but we had to work hard. I went everywhere promoting the George Foreman grill.
Russ: Cool. We're now – I think it's okay to talk about this 'cause we have a business audience here on the BusinessMakers Show, and these people are really interested in success and numbers. But is it true that you've actually made a lot more money from the grill than you made from fighting?
George: The thing is, I made more friends for certain.
Russ: All right. All right.
George: There were people – I remember the time I beat Joe Frazier and became the heavyweight champion of the world. Everybody said, "Man, we love you," but Joe Frazier fans didn't like what I did to him. And then I lost the fight to Muhammad Ali. People were like, "You blew it, George." I knew they had bet on me.
So I couldn't win them, but when I got into the grill business, everyone who had one loved the grill, so I made more friends, and I've made a – success is judged to me this time about how many friends I made. Of course I made some money, but I spend money all the time. I've got cousins, you know.
Russ: Now, you mentioned the Joe Frazier fight. That was the sunshine fight.
George: Showdown, yeah, the –
Russ: Showdown. Sunshine Showdown. That was your first big victory, and you were the underdog in that fight, right?
George: That's true. Nobody suspected that I had in me to become heavyweight champion of the world. Joe Frazier, of course, took the match thinking this is easy money, and I was able to defeat him. Knocked him down six times. He kept getting up, though. I gotta admit, he kept getting up, and I was crowned the heavyweight champion of the world, the biggest day as a professional for me because I earned the title and some money.
Russ: Did it surprise you that you beat him?
George: I had been knocking people out all the time. Not as surprised to get a knockdown, but when I knocked Joe Frazier down, I remember thinking, "He's gonna get me now." Then I knocked him down again. I said, "Oh, he is mad." And I kept knocking him down. After six times, the ref declared me the heavyweight champion of the world, a thrill.
Russ: Now, you also tell a neat story about Angelo Dundee when he was still working with Ali, and something that he told Ali in the fight that made you respect him a lot and ultimately hire him, right?
George: That's right, and that's why I tell people in business, don't look for yes men, people that you like, go into business just because they're your buddies. Angelo Dundee – Muhammad Ali had kinda gotten confident, and he was standing around playing with me, of course, telling me, "I got him now; he's tired or something." I said, "Now I'm gonna get this guy. I'm gonna hit him hard. I'm gonna knock him out." And just as he was playing around, getting closer, Angelo Dundee screamed, "Muhammad, don't play with that sucker." And when he did, he threw his hand up, and I never got another chance.
Russ: So he realized, and he listened to Angelo, too.
George: Yeah, he listened to him, so I remember walking away thinking, "If ever I had a chance to fight for the title again, I wish I had Angelo Dundee in my corner."
Russ: And you got him.
George: Twenty years later. Can you believe?
Russ: Twenty years.
George: I talked him over. I had to just forget about calling me a sucker, all of the bad things, been defeated, but I had the right guy at the right time, and I won the title back with his help.
Russ: That's cool, and so there's a business lesson there that –
George: There's a business lesson.
Russ: Yeah, you don't go just find people that are like you and that you like.
George: No, it has nothing to do with who you like. Make certain that they have some integrity and you have your integrity, and you put that together, you got nothing but a winner.
Russ: Okay, great. All right, we're gonna be back with a little bit more with George Foreman after this. You're listening to the BusinessMakers Show, heard here and online at TheBusinessMakers.com.
[Aflac Commercial]
Russ: This is the BusinessMakers Show, heard here and online at TheBusinessMakers.com, and continuing on with the two-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champ and entrepreneur extraordinaire George Foreman. Well, George, perhaps one of the most interesting things about your boxing career is the way that you did come back, at the age of 45, and win a second championship. Do I have that right?
George: You got that right.
Russ: Now, there are a lot of people that probably thought maybe it just wasn't possible at 45, weren't there?
George: Strange thing, though. I continued to box until I was about 50.
Russ: Did you really?
George: Yeah, and people heard about 45, and they thought that ended it, but that was just the beginning. I won a heavyweight title. Then I started seeking bigger purses and defended a title. But I stayed in the business for a while because, hey, why not enjoy yourself? I had been called "the former," "the ex." I wanted to be introduced as the heavyweight champ of the world again.
Russ: Right. Did it feel different, though, in the ring at 45 than it did at 25? I mean, could you tell "Hey, I'm kinda slower and maybe bigger?"
George: Yeah. The second time around, it was all about business. Truly business. I played. I tell people, the first time was about fast women and slow cars, fast women and slow horses, I was betting wrong. The second time around, I had a family. My children. I represented my wife. Even a grandchild, can you believe that? And so I wasn't out there to try to hurt anybody. There was never a punch in anger. This was about becoming the best boxer in the world for the day, and becoming heavyweight champ of the world will fulfill that thing. I said I was going back to boxing to raise money for my youth center and become heavyweight champ of the world, and I did. I fulfilled those things.
Russ: And it certainly didn't hurt the business that you were developing at that time.
George: I was happy because there were a lot of people – when I got ready to get back in boxing, people – I just needed maybe just a few investors. I kept going around to friends, "Can I get five guys with $10,000.00?" Now, first I started off five guys with $100,000.00. I got there, and how about five guys with $10,000.00? And they kept telling me things like, "You're old. Do you know what you're doing? I mean, what are you – what can you show us?" If all of those guys, even the ones I'd invested and I had asked to invest had put in $100,000.00 each, they would've earned about 75 million bucks.
Russ: They woulda come out pretty well, wouldn't they?
George: Yeah, but you gotta believe in your friends. You gotta believe. When people come to you with an idea, don't just be saying, "What have you got?" Look inside of them. Sometimes some of us are filled with a lot of heart.
Russ: All right. Well, that's cool. Now, I understand we got a pretty big family going now, and even some sons, one in particular that's fighting now.
George: Yeah, five sons. All of my boys are named George, so it's easy to – if you say "George," you're not gonna – nobody'll know who you're talking about. But Monk, of course, he graduated school and from college and everything. I never even thought he was interested, and he said, "Look, I wanna be a professional boxer." I said, "Well, okay." My wife insisted that "If you help him, I want mine." First, she was discouraged. She didn't want it, so I got in and started helping him train, prepare for a boxing match. He's had a couple of matches, and I think he's gonna be a top fighter.
Russ: Wow, that is so cool.
George: I'll help him spend that money.
Russ: There you go. Now, before I let you go, we know that we have an audience a lot of times that has aspiring entrepreneurs, young people just getting outta school thinking "I wanna do my own thing." What kind of advice would you give 'em based upon your experience?
George: Well, make certain – if you wanna do your own thing, make certain that you know all about your own thing. Don't start your own thing and have to ask 100 people about "my thing." Know everything you can about it, and sometimes that means working along with someone, finding out as much as you can about that business, and then once you do, there are loads of people who'll help you.
Russ: Right. And I guess you gotta be pretty determined to stick with it through the thick and thin.
George: You get knocked down. You get knocked down. I became heavyweight champ of the world, not because I didn't get knocked down, but I kept jumping up, brushing my pants off, spitting in my palms, and say, "Okay, Round 2."
Russ: All right.
George: You just gotta get up.
Russ: All right, George, thank you so much for giving us some of your time on the BusinessMakers Show.
George: Thank you.
Russ: You bet. That's George Foreman, two-time heavyweight champion of the world, and you're listening to the BusinessMakers Show, heard here and online at TheBusinessMakers.com.