Berlin Success Story - Las Vegas cabbie makes it big
Ralph Syberson, a cab driver who re-located to Berlin from Las Vegas, was determined to make it big in his newly adopted city.
Determined to show Berliners what good old American hard work can do, Ralph spent his first 6 months in Berlin alternating between Charlottenburg's VHS and long nights at the Stabi studying city maps and memorizing the names of obscure Berlin streets.
Hard work paid off and within a fairly short time he knew every back street, every alley, canal crossings and each of the recently re-directed one-way streets, and nearly all the dead ends the city had to offer.
He didn't stop there. He learned the history of every street, details of their construction, famous scandals they endured, and other small colorful tidbits that even old-time Berliners had to stop and ponder over.
Ralph was a glossary of times, dates, facts - all joyfully related to each and all who stepped into his cab.
Before long, he was profiled in Zitty. Then a listing in Wikipedia. Soon after, came the Google entries. Richard Quest of CNN arrived one day to do a seg for The Business Traveler. Soon, with a Blueberry installed in his Cab, bookings were pouring in from Travelocity. Ikea offered an exclusive contract for his services.
In short, Business was booming. So, where to from here?
No brainer: he went the good old American way, he "franchised" - leased a fleet of cabs, trained new drivers, ran promos with iPods, and signed an exclusive deal to serve Starbucks in his cabs.
Within three years, Ralph had a whole fleet of taxis. His empire had grown to the point that he no longer needed to take the wheel. Now glued to a desk, putting in 16 hour work days, uninterruptedly mulling over possible enlargements to his empire, juggling appointments with the scores of accountants, business associates, and investment gurus who filtered in and out of his high rise office overlooking the Potsdamer Platz - such was the good life Ralph enjoyed.
All this made a vivid impression on Chumberly Wade, the British writer assigned by Doubleday to ghost write Ralph's autobiography.
Ralph detailed the secret of his success for his "co-author" - hard work, absolute attention to detail, never letting up. Alles klar?
The writer from Doubleday took this all in. A bit puzzled, he asked Ralph, "if you're working so hard, when do you get a chance to enjoy the fruits of your labors? What's in it for you? Is this the kind of life you really enjoy?"
With a sly smile on his face, Ralph got up from his desk, and walked over to the window, drew aside the drapes, revealing an unobstructed panorama of the city. He motioned the reporter to join him marveling at the view and pointed across the way to the private parking lot housing his taxis.
"There, friend, is your answer. Life is a cab array, old Chum"
MerriMann 20.03.2007
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