Thanks for posting this. I imagine this will become relevant to our discussions for our congregation regarding economic start-ups in our community.

There is a misconception out there that successful entrepreneurs are free wheeling idealists. While that may be true of people who try their hand at their own business, successful entrepreneurs tend to be some of the most organized and disciplined people that are out there.
I know that I claim to be a scientist in the science threads, but I also have an MBA and own my own company that I founded three years ago.
I don?t have much direct experience with the Amish, but I can easily see that they are probably organized and disciplined. That is what I see.
Dave

From the article:
“I run my business according to God’s way and plan,” Miller says.
Seems like their way of doing things is Godly, and the fruit of their labor is quality output for which they can charge a premium.
Compare that to Circuit City, or the latest fried burger incarnation.
Captcha: Pairwise Headquarters

I would also add that more money is probably put back into the business and there would be less demand for needless consumer goods eating up their income.

Kevin, I agree with what you said but I agree with my interpretation of what you said, not necessarily your interpretation.
Conversations on this site makes it clear that ?God?s way and plan? could mean ?only Christians, no one of color, circumcised and who have been dunked in water in front of people once they are at least 12 years old?.
Dave
Captcha: development pedicure, I think i have my next line of business!

The Amish do all kinds of things right, but I wouldn’t overlook that there is a lot of brand equity associated with being Amish. That could be significantly reducing their need to do marketing and could also be giving them pricing power in goods that would otherwise be commodities. I know lots of smart and hard-working small business people who couldn’t make it, though I suspect many more of them would have if they had this kind of asset behind them.

I think Phil hit the nail on the head – low overhead costs.

As Dave said, the Amish are disciplined and well organized, much along the lines of the classic family farm many decades ago. Running a small business is a community affair for them, and they support each other as much as possible. Also never underestimate their level of skill and craftsmanship. Their products are excellent and carry the appealing idea of something hand made and locally produced. They are entrepreneurs, localists and communitarians of the first caliber, despite a few of their other problems. Lastly, they work like maniacs.

As someone who considers themselves to be somewhat business oriented; I think you find a lot of the same themes that make the Amish successful, in Chick-fila. Qualities such as no debt, slow growth, commitment to quality, and other traditional business values.
It is always difficult for companies in the West (especially when the go public) to keep the same culture and values in the face of constant earnings statements, and shareholder demands.

Ryan,
The realities of small business is that there are well know secrets to success. I don’t mean to overly pick at one of your statements, but i will anyway
Having low debt is neither good or bad. It depends on the economy at the time. Debt allows you to capitalize on good economies better, and generally have a more difficult time in bad economies. That al is overridden by whether you have designed your overhead structure outside of the debt load so you can be profitable in a down economy.
There are no truisms (that i have seen) in business but to be ready to adapt to the cricumstances of the the situation optimally. A high debt company can be the best in some times and markets. Right now, low debt companies tend to be better. Having the flexibility to change your debt/equity ratio is the key.
There is so much more specialist knowledge in this….
Dave
Captch – stuns administrator, I could not agree more.

It seems also important to keep in mind that there is only a certain amount of overlap between how the Amish are succeeding and how typical American business people define success. The Amish seem to be about locally-rooted, sustainable, peaceable, generational, cummunitarian living. Low failure rates may be a part of this (which American business people value) but I doubt there is all that much overlap with other ways American business people and large non-local chain retailers like Chic-fila define “success” or have it defined for them. The Amish may have more points of similarity and therefore points of advice for locally-owned small retailers who are more holistically rooted in the well-fare of their communities. In sum, there seem to be fundamental differences between the actual definitions of success for the Amish, and locally-owned retailers on the one hand, and mass chain retailers and businesses on the other.

I think you missed my point DRT. I was simply commenting on what makes the Amish fruitful at business, not weighing in on leverage ratios in business models. The Amish have found sucess simply by traditional proverbial wisdom and principles.
And I would take umbrage with you saying that having low debt is not good or bad. Last time I checked a 100% of companies that fail have debt, and zero of the companies that file for bankruptcy have no debt.

Ryan,
I we will have to agree to disagree on the debt issue. As we speak, I am considering closing a company that has no debt. It is simply a decision of where to best put resources. Recognizing opportunity cost is a key decision. There are other fixed cost than just debt in most businesses.
Dave

Many good comments here. I particularly agree with:
- The Amish are very hard workers
- They support each other’s businesses
- They don’t waste money on unnecessary expenses in their daily living, so it would make sense that this attitude would flow through to their business operations.