Bill Bartmann is Glad to be Free after Facing a 600 Year Prison Sentence!

Bill Bartmann was indicted on 57 federal felony counts in 2002; Attorney General, John Ashcroft alleged that he was guilty of making fake transactions to shell companies in order to falsify his balance sheet.

Bill Bartmann said, “Ashcroft’s action was after two grand juries voted not to indict. I didn’t know if it was a slow new week at the Justice Department or whether he hoped to find the next Enron-type scandal. All I knew was that I faced a cumulative 600 years in prison if convicted.

Bill Bartmann went into survival mode as he faced the situation head-on. He chose to be honest with his family and not try to sugar coat anything. “The natural inclination is to attempt to shield the ones you love,” said Bartmann, “but your desire to protect will produce the opposite result. Silence allows them to conjure up the most dreaded of possibilities.”

It was a very painful experience for Bill Bartmann, his wife and two young daughters as they witnessed all 89 days of his trial. His wife and daughters watched as the government produced more than 1,000 exhibits and called 53 witnesses in their effort to show Bartmann as a crook. “I produced zero exhibits and called no witnesses, because I had not broken the law,” said Bartmann. “My family also got to hear first-hand when the jury found me not guilty on all 57 counts.” A public statement was later made to confirm that Bill Bartmann had not committed any fraud.

Bill Bartmann was not guilty; however, he was devastated. The lifeblood of his company consisted of credit lines; those lines vanished at the hint of fraudulent activity. Bill Bartmann was a billionaire and the 25th richest person in America one day; bankrupt the next.

Bill Bartmann took steps to accept responsibility for his own actions. “People like winners, not whiners,” said Bartmann. Though he was not guilty of any crime, Bartmann was the head of a company employing 3,900 people, all of whom lost their jobs. “Accepting responsibility for a failure didn’t make me a bad human being – it instead made me a real human being.”

Bill Bartmann is not one to give up, no matter how bad things get. He didn’t wallow in bitterness and self-pity when the bankruptcy judge had a crew come to his home on Christmas week to chainsaw a hunk off his pool house; it was just a few feet over the one acre of land she would allow him to keep in bankruptcy.

Bill Bartmann would not have been able to move on and bounce back to success if he continued to relive the bad times. This is why he closed this chapter in his life and began writing the next one. Bill Bartmann concentrated his energy on building a thriving business of teaching entrepreneurs how to remove obstacles that stand in their way to success. His new book, Bailout Riches, has reached Amazon #1 world-wide best-seller status. The book shows ordinary people how to capitalize on the current government bailouts.

Bill Bartmann believes it is better to forgive others for their wrong doing rather than focusing on revenge which only produces negative energy. He learned that Attorney General, John Ashcroft would be at a book signing in Chicago while he was in town. Bill got in line, wearing a name tag that simply said, “Hi, My Name is Bill.” When he got to the head of the line, Ashcroft greeted him, saying “Hi Bill, where are you from?”

Bill said, “I’m from Tulsa.”

“Oh, really? We had a big case there a couple years ago.”

“Yes, I know. It was mine.” The color drained from his face as Ashcroft recognized Bill Bartmann.

“Mr. Ashcroft, you know now – and you knew then – that I was innocent. Your actions cost 3,900 people their jobs, and cost me $3.5 billion, not to mention enormous anguish on the part of my family. Mr. Ashcroft, I came here for one reason – to forgive you.”

Bill Bartmann turned and left before Ashcroft had a chance to react. He wasn’t concerned with his reaction; he did it for his own peace of mind and mental well-being.

Bill Bartmann says that when your world comes crashing down around you, your attitude toward failure will determine if you recover and become successful again. “Nature is all about regeneration,” said Bartmann. “You’re the most developed product of evolution up until this moment; you have the capacity for renewal.”

Bill Bartmann is the author of Bailout Riches: How Everyday Investors Can Make a Fortune Buying Bad Loans for Pennies on the Dollar. The book recently became an Amazon #1 world-wide best-seller. Bill Bartmann has been named “National Entrepreneur of the Year by USA Today, NASDAQ, Inc Magazine, Ernst & Young and the Kauffman Foundation.

Bill Bartmann Tips: Business Partnerships

Is a partnership right for you? Creating a partnership for business can be a very good or a very bad decision. It is important that you understand how to form a partnership and how to avoid partnership problems before they destroy your business.

If you are considering an opportunity to enter into a partnership, then you must realize that a partner will offer something of value to your business. Also know that a conflict with a partner can seriously impact your business.

A business partnership is like a marriage; you cannot just fire your partner, as you can an employee. Your partner has an ownership interest in your business. Severing a partnership is a legal action, like divorce, and it can be very expensive, even leading to bankruptcy.

You must make this decision wisely; be sure that you are entering into the partnership for the right reasons. A friend or family member does not make one a good choice for a business partner. They must bring something of value that you need to run the business, whether it be money, knowledge & skills in a specific area, or attributes essential to your success.

Another key rule to entering into a partnership is to never go into a 50/50 partnership. Someone has to be in charge. If there should be a disagreement on a business decision, where the authority is 50/50, you will have come to an impasse where you will experience in-action.

It is fine to agree to a 50/50 revenue split, but one side of the partnership must be at least 51% managerial. This must be decided on upfront and understood that one of you will make final decisions. The one who has the 51% managerial position will promise to ask, seek council and respect the opinion of their partner before making the final decision.

Another important document that needs to be included in your partnership agreement is a Buy/Sell Agreement with a separation clause describing how one will buy the other out if one should want to leave the partnership for any reason. Whether it be due to disagreement or just because one is moving on to do pursue something different, it is very important to have a separation agreement in place ahead of time.

A business partnership has a greater chance of being successful if it is properly set up with a complete partnership agreement in place. The agreement must delegate who is in charge, the economics of the business, and the separation clause.

Some of the biggest businesses today began as partnerships; partnerships can be successful. But, be careful and make good choices at the beginning. A partner must bring value to the business and you must enter the partnership for the right reasons.