Chapter 12. Exclusively for Entrepreneurs
The moment you start valuing yourself,
the world will start valuing you. ― Sandeep Maheshwari
One of the most prominent issues of the past 30 years has been
the definition of the “American Dream”.
Going to work for the purpose of money
and fame is no longer the main purpose.
Today, passion at work has become the top factor,
higher than the tangible rewards.
A lot of people always think
that they can’t feel completely satisfied with their work
if it’s done by someone else.
If given the choice to be the president of the company
they work for or the owner of their own small business,
they would definitely choose the latter.
Starting a business has become a big American dream.
Patience is a key element of success. ― Bill Gates
As someone who has started his own business,
I can attest to it being what it is.
However, John Mack Carter,
owner of Good Housekeeping magazine,
once told me:
“99% of people in the world have to work for someone else“.
I agree with this opinion,
which is why I put this chapter at the end
instead of the beginning of the book.
The first thing you must do is examine your motivation,
because by doing so,
you will determine which group of people you belong to.
If the purpose of your own business is just
because you are “tired of being told”,
because you want to be more “free”,
or because you are belittled or underestimated,
then forget about running your own business.
Those are not reasons to start your own business,
but just reasons to run away from your current job.
If you want to make “lots of money” that’s not a good reason either.
It’s a good and worthwhile cause,
but if it’s your primary motivator,
it won’t be enough to get you through the tough times.
I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that,
but I knew the one thing
I might regret is not trying. ― Jeff Bezos(Founder of Amazon)
Before starting our firm,
I was an attorney with a prestigious Cleveland Law Office,
but I knew I couldn’t continue my legal career.
I like negotiating contracts,
don’t like drafting them,
and a steady salary is not enough to keep me in the law office.
I feel frustrated by the thought
that I am wasting my time
and energy building an inappropriate career.
I believe the thought “if I don’t try,
I’ll regret it” is also one of the driving forces behind most people
who have successfully built a new business.
Starting a business requires financial and professional security.
But more than that,
it is to have enthusiasm from the heart.
Five years ago,
a friend of mine started a new business
that has grown into a very successful clothing company.
He recently told me that if he knew
what it was like to start a business two years in advance,
he would never have done it.
We didn’t have such difficulties,
but I could understand what he was saying.
In the process of building a business,
difficulties seem to pile up and are insurmountable.
And at such times,
only the enthusiasm from the heart can motivate you to move forward.
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ASK YOURSELF WHY
When something is important enough,
you do it even if the odds are not in your favor. ― Elon Musk
Starting a new business is not the time to fool yourself.
However, it is easy to get caught up in the maze of your own notes,
your business plan and your company advertisement,
the daydreaming of your own words and numbers.
You must be able to “build a business” clearly and succinctly.
Is it a “hard” or easy idea?
In the beginning,
the danger is that everything is still an illusion,
and that these illusions can block the ability
to ask the right questions
and provide the necessary key answers.
What relationships?
It’s not about money
or connections.
It’s the willingness to outwork
and outlearn everyone
when it comes to your business.
And if it fails, you learn from
what happened
and do a better job next time. ― Mark Cuban
How does your idea relate to the market,
time,
and customers?
What advantages does it have over competing products
that are already available?
Many consulting businesses have failed
because they did not come up with good ideas.
What amazes me is that people always assume
that someone will pay them for their expertise
when their expertise is not necessary
and they have never succeeded in convincing future clients.
If I build the International Management Corporation (IMG) today
the same way I did 20 years ago,
I am not sure that it will succeed,
and certainly will not be as successful as it is today.
Why failed?
When building a business,
what problems may you encounter?
Can you overcome them,
if not, how to solve them?
Understand your ability in the field you intend to build
The new businesses most likely
to succeed are those
that have a connection to what the owner has done before.
In my case, IMG wasn’t exactly a new business
but an extension of what I had done for the law office.
The dream of opening a restaurant
is the most common thing people think of
when thinking about starting a new business,
but it is also a project with the highest failure rate.
The restaurant is a precarious business
that requires a very calculated purchase
and must have a good mind for calculation.
In addition, you must also be a person
who likes and is good at communicating,
willing to work long hours.
Yet a lot of people talk about opening a restaurant
because they want to “do something else”
and their only ability is to be a good cook or gourmet.
What is the feasibility factor?
We once received an offer to represent a world air race around
the same time as the 1984 Olympics.
The initial investment was three million dollars,
and it was partially funded.
All issues are quite complete,
detailed and presented in detail.
The only thing left is to run the race,
which requires the cooperation of half of the world’s airlines
and the necessary licenses to use the space.
The reality is that the possibility
of implementing this project is very obscure.
A good idea at a reasonable cost may
still yield nothing because it can’t be done.
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STARTING A SMALL BUSINESS AND KEEP IT SIMPLE
If you just work on stuff that you like
and you’re passionate about,
you don’t need to have a master plan with
how things will play out. ― Mark Zuckerberg
Most entrepreneurs who are just starting out are more concerned with
how much money they will make than how they will make it.
Set realistic goals by arranging realistic action steps discreet actions,
each action step being linked to the next in some logic.
As you prepare to move to the next stage,
be clear about what you have to do next.
If you do not go to the next stage from this stage in
just a few specific action steps.
I have always believed
that the more money a new business needs to build,
the less chance it has to grow.
In some respects, this is a personal view
and a bit biased of my own because
when I started my business,
I had less than 1000 dollars.
In fact, in an industry,
capitalists love to fund new businesses.
But this has created a series
of myths in the business world
there are a lot of people waiting in line to sponsor you
and the problem is
that you just haven’t met them yet.
However, when you meet them,
you will probably find
that they are not as enthusiastic about sponsoring as you think,
or if they are,
it is because they want to receive the majority
of the revenue of the business.
Many new businesses never start,
not because of bad ideas or a lack of talent,
but because they failed to raise capital.
However, I believe many new businesses really don’t need
as much capital as those business builders think.
If they are willing to start small,
prepare well and anticipate every eventuality,
then they have a better chance of success.
I don’t want to overemphasize the importance of starting small
and keeping it simple.
But the reality is that when I started my career,
I also always believed
that I could not do anything with less than a million dollars in capital.
How can I represent the top three stars in the golf industry
without having seven to eight employees
and offices in the UK and Japan?
In fact, a million dollars will be very useful
for the start-up process,
but it is not necessary to have it.
There are many great success stories in America
that all started from small beginnings.
Be clear about what you really need
when you start building your business.
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BE FLEXIBLE
Research indicates that workers have three prime needs:
interesting work,
recognition for doing a good job,
and being let in on things
that are going on in the company. ― Zig Ziglar
It is very important to realize
what business you are capable of operating in.
As I mentioned, new divisions of our company are born out of our mobility
the most obvious example being our company’s marketing consulting department.
We recognize that the fact
that we sell our clients’ services
to other companies is in effect advising them on
how to use those clients.
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SHARE YOUR SUCCESS
The most powerful words in the universe
are the words you say to yourself. ― Marie Forleo
Most new businesses are interested in getting revenue above costs,
but the reality is that this is very difficult
for a new and small business.
Try to convince your employees
to take a low salary
for the sake of the company’s growth prospects,
for their own future,
when the company grows they will earn more than anywhere else.
I think there’s nothing wrong
with this as long as you keep your promises.
If an employee makes a significant contribution to the company,
they deserve more than the satisfaction of a job well done.
In business, a person’s income is like a record.
No matter what form their income comes in: a raise,
bonus or extra perks,
it is still important that people feel directly involved
and are compensated commensurate
with their contribution to the company.
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DOUBLE INITIAL COST
The level of success you achieve will be in direct proportion
to the depth of your commitment. ― Roy T.Bennett
Years ago, I asked a friend who was building a new business
what he expected the total cost to be for the first year.
He said it was about $75,000.
At that time, I advised him to double that number.
When starting a new business,
it is common not to take into account the costs incurred. Typically as
The cost of pens and pencils
for an office in a month will not be much,
but for a year it will be a large number.
Most businesses have to have remote jobs
and need expenses for business trips,
parties,
and this also requires a lot of money.
The cost of electricity
and water is also something that is easily surpassed.
Over the years,
I’ve found that if you double your operating expenses
as you originally planned,
that’s exactly what you need to build a business.
Recently, I met that friend again.
He told me that at the time he felt that I spoke arrogantly.
And he confessed:
“But when I closed the books at the end of the first year,
the total initial investment was $149,000.”
Double but don’t triple
Most people
who want to start a new business tell themselves
that they need to wait
until they have enough money saved up.
For these people,
$10 million is still not what they need.
When calculating your business plan,
if you manually figure out the maximum numbers
for the spending columns,
your plan will probably never come to fruition.
“Leadership is an opportunity to serve.” ― J. Donald Walters
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INCOME BEFORE / ORGANIZATION AFTER
The key to success is to develop a winning edge. ― Brian Tracy
Good organization is essential for business success.
But a brand-new company coming up
with a grand five-year plan even
before making its first dollar is a myth.
Determining the direction is one thing,
but planning in the style of “putting the plow before the buffalo” is quite another.
Advertising paper calling for sponsorship is completely contrary to reality
I would be really happy
if I never had to see a sponsored flyer.
Only the people who wrote them can believe them.
Most of the adverts I’ve read
or been asked to sponsor have shown the wrong time perspective.
It’s surprising how many people don’t consider the importance of cash flow
when planning the first year.
If the first sale is made during the first week of business,
the earnings of the deal are usually only calculated after 90 days,
and so on until the second or third sale.
Therefore, the amount of money needed
for a business is actually many times higher than
what is expected on paper.
I came across a lot of business ideas
that I thought were valuable,
but frustrated me because the income
and expense backup numbers made me lose faith in the people
who made the offer.
I suspect these same people don’t trust their own businesses,
but only seek to obtain funding
for the enormous expenses.
I’ve also seen sponsorship flyers in
which the manager paid himself more than he made.
I think by asking someone
to give the company two million dollars,
the manager could raise his own salary by $50,000.
I know for sure I’m not the one to give that number to him.
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ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS
The key to success is often the ability to adapt. ― Anthony Brandt
Working for yourself is the best way to get paid for your worth.
However, this also means knowing how to use your own time.
Most traders have to work 24 hours a day to work
or think about work.
But how they spend that time is
what makes the difference between success and failure.
That’s why, “Work hard.
Work long hours, and work wisely.”
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SHOULD NOT DO GENERAL BUSINESS
I believe people have to follow their dreams.
I did. ― Larry Ellison
Few people scrutinize their motives for pooling with others.
Usually, we feel comfortable
when we have someone to share our responsibilities with.
However, any joint business brings more problems than we think.
Of course, there are many cases
where these investors complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses
and help bring in great profits for the business.
But when it comes to business flexibility,
it is this cooperation that becomes the worst enemy.
It is no coincidence that most of the most successful businesses in the world
are run by lone entrepreneurs.
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DON’T CONTRIBUTE CAPITAL
If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep,
you will work until you die. ― Warren Buffett
Small capital contribution in a private company is insignificant.
Contributing to someone else’s new business is a personal matter,
but what I want to emphasize is the real value
they get from that contribution.
If you share capital with another company,
you cannot bring this contributed capital
to the bank as collateral for a home loan.
You also cannot easily sell this share as this is limited b
y the main shareholder of the company.
We took advantage of the misconception of the partnership concept
to get profits for our clients.
When our clients are offered a capital contribution in a new business,
I always ask for costs associated with this capital
or at least a condition that we can resell this capital at any time
what our clients want.
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FEAR OF FAILURE
Leaders, true leaders,
take responsibility for the success of the team,
and understand
that they must also take responsibility
for the failure. ― Donal Trump
Fear of failure is as common
as the desire to succeed.
In fact, if you know how to exploit,
It can become a driving force for growth.
But for many it becomes a barrier.
Learn to use fear,
not let it use you.
This is of course a problem
for all entrepreneurs in business.
That is why I chose this issue to end the book.
In the summer of 1976, Gay Drut, a French hurdler,
found himself in a position no one wanted.
England was France’s only hope of achieving a track
and field medal,
and it was the burden of having
to bring national pride that affected him.
Drut then told me that before the Olympics
he spoke many times with our client Jean Claude Killy
and that he was truly indebted to Killy for the gold he had won.
He explains: “Jean Claude said that
I was the only one who knew how to make the body
and mind peak at the Olympic races.
Then he told me that after I had done
that I had to say to myself:
‘I did everything to prepare for the race.
If I win, everything will be wonderful,
but if I lose,
whoever is my friend will remain my friend,
whoever is my enemy will remain my enemy,
and the world will remain the same.’
I repeated the sentence,
before the qualifiers,
during the break,
before the semi-finals and the final.
I kept repeating that sentence over and over
until I got to the podium to receive the gold medal.”
Conclusion
Business is competition of scale and organization.
And the most important thing in business is
to understand its paradox:
The more you think you’ve done well
and are complacent with the results,
the less satisfied you should be.
I have long been passionate about creating a champion miracle people,
the top 1% they always overpower their opponents,
performing at their highest level at times most important.
Of course, their talent
and great faith in their talents are important
but not the deciding factor.
Over the years,
I have observed three points commonly found in the world’s top stars.
They can be applied in both business
and the sports arena.
I have applied them to my own business as well,
and they are the source of most of my efforts
and determination.
The first is a feeling of dissatisfaction
with one’s achievements.
They consider all successes and victories
to be the driving force
that drives them towards bigger,
more difficult ambitions.
The second is the ability
to peak while competing,
taking yourself to higher leagues.
Top sports stars are always trying
to perform at their best every time.
The final point is the ability
to eliminate opponents.
This is called the “killer instinct,”
but this only tells you about their results,
not their thoughts.
So, if this book makes you feel satisfied
with your own business acumen,
then you probably have a lot of work
to do to keep up with the world.
Money and success demand attention.
Ignore either and you will have neither. – Grant Cardone