One of the hidden pleasures of being a long-term survivor of the entrepreneurial life is that you are afforded the luxury of being invited to participate in any number of interviews, focus groups, surveys, etc. I was recently asked to take part in a survey consisting of 20 questions posed to a group of 50 entrepreneurs. The purpose of the survey was to search for common traits possessed by successful entrepreneurs. For those of you who are consistent readers of the N2Growth Blog I thought you might enjoy having the opportunity to look inside the mind of its author. Following are the questions that were posed to me and my corresponding answers…
Q: What do you eat for breakfast?
A: I only eat breakfast if I have a breakfast meeting scheduled, otherwise I skip it.
Q: What was your nickname in high school?
A: I actually had a few all of which I’ve grown out of and none I which I care to admit to…
Q: What was your first job?
A: The summer of my 5th-grade year I picked strawberries in the morning and split firewood in the afternoon.
Q: How often to do exercise?
A: I make an effort to exercise daily. On a good day I’ll get in a run, and when pressed for time I’ll settle for some push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, and flutter-kicks. It allows me to burn off stress and have some alone time for thinking…
Q: Who was your mentor?
A: I didn’t have any single mentor, but have had the benefit of receiving help and direction from many extremely talented people over the years. The person most responsible for shaping how I think today is clearly my wife and I wouldn’t be the man I am today without her love and support.
Q: How many hours a day do you read?
A: 3 to 4 hours every day. Reading is a passion of mine and I consume as much information as possible. Most of my reading is done via the Internet these days, but I still read some of the major periodicals as well…
Q: What motivates you?
A: I have always been motivated by helping others achieve their goals and objectives. Any success I have had has come from helping others achieve their own success…
Q: What is more important: the idea or the execution?
A: Great ideas are a luxury, certainty of execution is a necessity. The best idea in the world without a successful implementation is utterly useless…
Q: Worst day of your life?
A: Laying in a hospital bed after a stroke not being able to remember certain things from my past. That being said, anytime I’ve hit a low in my life it has always turned out to defining or redefining moment to make major needed changes.
Q: Do you pray?
A: I pray every day and often multiple times throughout the day.
Q: What was your biggest mistake?
A: I’m a big believer that success is born out of the lessons learned through failure or near failure. I have had numerous failures over the years and those that say they haven’t experienced failure are being less than candid. My largest and most painful failures occurred earlier in life whenever I chose to decision outside of my value system.
Q: Worst business idea you ever heard?
A: I see about 40 business plans a week and regrettably most of them are ill-conceived at some level, but the worst one of all time was clearly the frictionless toilet.
Q: What can’t you live without?
A: While it might serve as a sound bite for some, without a doubt my faith and my family are things that I could not live without.
Q: What is your favorite way to relax?
A: Running followed closely by sleeping.
Q: What is the best part of being the boss?
A: Making tough decisions and watching them play out.
Q: What is success to you?
A: Living my faith, making my wife smile, watching my children make great decisions and helping clients achieve their goals.
Q: What is the best investment advice you ever heard?
A: First, understand the conventional wisdom and then carefully assess where it’s in error and then “arbitrage” the difference. The best opportunities present themselves via market gaps exploited through innovation. Don’t follow the rest, but rather chart your own course.
Q: Is there any reason to get an MBA?
A: Education is a life long endeavor and should not end with a graduate degree. If you have the time for an MBA then it certainly won’t hurt, but it clearly isn’t a prerequisite for success.
Q: If you could be anything else, what would it be?
A: I wouldn’t choose to be anything other than what I am. I feel blessed to be in the position I’m in and you couldn’t pay me enough to change…However, if forced to put forth some type of answer I would be a high school teacher.
Q: What is your advice to young entrepreneurs?
A: On the business side of things: Create your business around something you’re passionate about, build a competitive advantage, and push that advantage to extremes. On the bigger picture: Remember that your business is not who you are, but simply what you do…Don’t sacrifice your family or your values in pursuit of economic success.
