We are exceedingly fortunate to live in a free market economy here is the US. Not only do we enjoy greater political and economic freedoms, but the competitive market means better products at lower costs, and the ability for employers to offer incentives to motivate their employees (and ultimately have a better company). From an entrepreneur’s standpoint, someone could start with virtually nothing and create a successful business simply by creating something that enough people want but aren’t getting yet. Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman said, “There is no alternative way, so far discovered, of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system.”
Of course, there is almost never a situation where success comes without hard work. You can find hundreds of success stories of people in America who have gone from a dream and a few bucks to a successful business, seemingly overnight. But along the way most of these entrepreneurs invested tremendous energy (both mentally and physically), took considerable risks, and made significant sacrifices to grow their business.
Consider RightNow, founded by my wife and I. Not only did we invest energy, take risks, and make sacrifices for the good of the business, but so did many of our employees. Having employees who worked hard and took pride in the company was important to us, and we knew that making them owners in the business was the right thing to do.
Consequently, we gave an ownership interest in RightNow, in the form of stock options, to every single employee for the first 10 years (and we continued to provide stock ownership opportunities after that for all employees). The result was employees whose interests were in line with those of the business and the shareholders, ultimately creating an incredibly aligned, energized, and motivated team that could take any hill.
There is great satisfaction in working on a team where interests are aligned and there are financial rewards. From RightNow, dozens of millionaires were created, with a wonderful ripple effect. The stock given to employees was ultimately worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and now those proceeds are being used to create other businesses in the Gallatin Valley and elsewhere.
RightNow is just one of many examples where the virtues of a free market economy have created success, benefitting states and communities for generations to come. Hopefully we can continue to advance the free market cycle in Montana, allowing entrepreneurs to properly motivate their employees and encouraging a competitive market that brings about even more success stories for our state, and prosperity to more people.
