How My Father Built a Successful Business Only Working 3 Months a Year

He only worked three months out of the year.

He spent the other nine months in Costa Rica, enjoying the beautiful weather and beaches with his family.

Born in Brooklyn during the Great Depression to a dirt-poor immigrant family, he lost both parents at an early age and dropped out of middle school to be able to support himself.

Yet despite all that, he built a successful business that supported the kind of life he wanted to live: three months working in New York City, nine months in Costa Rican paradise.

That man is my biggest role model and greatest hero -- my father.

The American Dream, and Beyond

My father truly was the epitome of the American Dream. He was a first-generation American born in 1926 who was forced to make a choice when his parents passed away: survive or die.

Through a combination of hard work, grit, and a gift for salesmanship and spotting opportunities, he chose not only to survive, but to thrive.

After serving in World War II, he became a door to door salesman, selling a product that was revolutionary at the time: the ballpoint pen.

Although he was successful, he realized that his success was limited by the fact he could only knock on one door at a time and there were only so many waking hours he could work.  

So he thought to himself, “Why can’t I sell these all over the United States via the mail?”  

Everyone thought he was insane.

“Norman, you're going to sell a product to total strangers around the country, you're going to ask them to prepay for this product without being able to see and touch it, and you’re expecting them to trust that some guy located in the Bronx is actually going to ship this to them?”  

“Yes, exactly. I will offer them a money-back guarantee if they are dissatisfied for any reason or no reason at all.”  

Armed with only his vision, confidence and determination, my father founded Fertig Products, Inc. in the Bronx in 1946.

Times have changed and we’re all accustomed to ordering things on Amazon with two-day delivery.  But when my father launched Fertig Products, mail order was largely unknown, barely utilized and lacked even very simple infrastructure.

For example, credit cards weren't even invented until, 1950 which meant the basic task of collecting payments was challenging. I recall my father telling me that when his company launched, he was surprised that people would mail him US Postage Stamps as payment.  

Could you imagine sending Mr. Bezos postage stamps for your order and seeing the Amazon Prime box arrive two days later?

With tons of hard work and persistence, my father’s business grew.  At its peak, he had more than 100 employees and a huge warehouse filled with the latest computers, phones and shipping technology. It’s a real rags-to-riches story that gives me inspiration and motivation to this very day.

But what fascinates me the most about my father is how he never lost sight of his priorities and used his business to live the lifestyle he wanted.

The Three-Month Work Year

I was born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica and moved to the US at age 10.

Growing up, I lived in Costa Rica nine months of the year and in New York City the other three. I found this unusual, but later realized the reason for it.

My father decided that he prioritized quality of life over income.  Consequently, he set up his business with that purpose in mind.

Since he was in the mail order business, at a time when there was no internet or websites, his primary marketing and sales vehicle was physical catalogues.  

His entire year would compress down to several key decisions: which items to carry, how to price them, and how to market them (photography, written copy).  

For the daily operations and fulfillment side, he created a machine of incredibly loyal employees to whom he gave opportunity and changed their lives.

During his three months in New York, my father did all the creative work (which he was uniquely qualified to do). For the remaining nine months of the year, he outsourced everything to his team so he could live in Costa Rica and enjoy the weather, the beaches, the mountains and his dream life with his family.

As a child, I thought my father didn't work. From the outside, he was always available and spent an incredible amount of time with my sister and I. However, now that I am fortunate enough to have a somewhat parallel entrepreneurial existence, I know better.

I know he was able to cram all of his work into a three-month period, accomplishing more in that dedicated time frame than many might stretched out over twelve months.  But that doesn’t mean he didn’t work during the other nine months. In fact, he did some of the most important work during that time, although it looked like pure recreation.

His “vacation” time was actually the engine that powered his creativity.

He thought about what might sell the following year in the catalogue, pricing and photography ideas, how to write copy that would convert, and other things that were core to his business.

My father did exactly the same things for his catalogue-based mail order business that we entrepreneurs wrestle with today for our online digital marketing and e-commerce efforts.

He created a repeatable and sustainable system that allowed him to be creative and enjoy his life while cramming the traditional “work” into a short and highly efficient three-month stretch. Furthermore, he created a machine that executed the actual operations and fulfillment with precision.

I am forever indebted to my father.  

He was a fantastic role model, a successful entrepreneur with total self-reliance and confidence, a visionary. He came from absolutely nothing yet provided me the luxury of a private school education which led to double Ivy League diplomas and total commitment to “pura vida”, the Costa Rican motto roughly translated to “pure life”.  

Following My Father’s Footsteps: The 55-Day Experiment

I have worked diligently to create a similar machine whereby I create periods of “play” to allow myself the time to be creative.  Usually these periods, although regular and routine (my friends and followers know I travel a lot), are typically shorter duration in the several day to two week time frame.

However, after a significant and unexpected change of life plans, I am excited to dig deeper, much deeper, and get very introspective and creative.

I’m on a quest to discover if I can achieve what my father did: live a lifestyle that aligns with my priorities while successfully running my different businesses.

I’m about to embark on an epic 55-day journey across six countries and two continents starting July 5th, 2017.

To follow along, please follow my Instagram stories @imrichardfertig, my YouTube channel, and my personal website: www.richardfertig.com.

Please subscribe to me here at Forbes.com to stay updated on the lessons I’ve learned and how you can apply them to your business and life. In my next blog, I am going to discuss WHY I am taking this trip from a personal perspective and what I expect to accomplish, so please stay tuned…..