“Persistence is the single most important word in success.” – Terry Matthews
He’s started 80 companies. He’s been directly involved in all of them. Terry Matthews was one of the keynote speakers at the Eastern Ontario Economic Showcase, along with W. Brett Wilson and Donald Trump.
Matthews started his talk with a quote from Darwin,
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Darwin
Matthews allocates his success to change and his ability to adapt. He says, “Act in times of change, or be acted upon.”
As Asia continues to prosper, global competition continues to intensify. India and China have been able create a strong presence in the technology industry, further increasing competition. Many have realized the strong resources available across the globe at a fraction of the cost -– the amount of organizations outsourcing, have clearly reflected this.
Matthews points out, in Shanghai, the highest paying jobs pay $18,000/year. How do you compete with that?! His key competitive advice: the first-mover advantage.
How does the first-advantage work?
Being the first to kick-off a new strategy to create a presence and build a reputation in an area no business ever has, creates an image the consumers’ mind. Successful strategies will be copied – naturally, everyone will want their piece of the pie. It’s important to remember pioneers will benefit from repeat business as customers loyalty remains to be a major advantage in the first-mover concept.
I had the opportunity to attend a talk with The Donald himself while he was in Ottawa yesterday. At the event, other keynote speakers included: W. Brett Wilson (Dragon on CBC’s Dragon’s Den, co-founder of FirstEnergy Capital Corp.), and Terry Matthews (Chairman of Mitel Networks, has started 80 companies).
Brett Wilson’s talk: Brett shared his definition of success. His talk was personal. All ears were in tune with every word his said. He spoke about work, money, family, and his personal battle with prostate cancer. In the end, he discovered the core sources of his happiness were entrenched in: his health, kids, and community. The standing ovation he received by 4000 + audience members reflected the quality and passion of the content he shared. Powerful speaker.
Donald Trump and Ottawa Mayor, Larry O'Brien
Near the tail end of the event, Trump graced us with his presence. Trump talked a bit about himself, real estate, his thoughts on luck, and more – with that “you’re fired!” kind of attitude. Funny guy. Here’s a bit of what he spoke about:
Real Estate Advice:
As real estate price tags have dropped dramatically during the economic downturn, investing in real estate has become more attractive. Trump imparted some wisdom on the subject, as he, as well, has been taking advantage of low prices. He only does deals based on seller financing. If no such option is offered — no deal for Trump. There are many advantages to seller financing, including:
1) No points
2) Low interest
3) No down-payment (or a reduced down-payment)
Success – The secret sauce:
“If you’re successful in one area, you can be successful in another because it takes certain ingredients to be successful.” – Trump
His recipe for success: lots of passion, ability to handle pressure, a dash of luck, and persistence.
Luck:
He started off the topic talking about a sadly accident-prone friend. The story made us believe in ‘unlucky’.
He then recalled a golf friend mention: “the harder you work, the luckier you get”. He shared an example from his own life. He talked about his struggles with repaying debt in the early 90’s, with bankers constantly calling:
One night during this time, he ended up attending a black-collar event where bankers would be present. He didn’t want to go, but did. He snuck in as he didn’t want the bankers to witness him arriving in a limousine, while they arrived in yellow cabs. Not to mention, he owed them millions. There was some bitterness inside. As he continued to network, he met a banker to whom he owed money to. They didn’t quite hit it off immediately. By the end of the night, they developed a friendship with one another and were able to negotiate terms in which the loan could be paid back.
He assigned the strength to get up and attend the party to work and persistent attitude, while meeting that banker and winning him over, to luck. He said that night saved himself from drowning in debt and he wouldn’t be where he is if it weren’t for that party.
Pressure and how to cope with pressure:
A friend had approached him for advice. She had an upcoming speech, where influencial people would be in attendance. She was extremely nervous and had even enrolled herself in a course to help develop her public speaking skills. He told her to forget about it – that it means nothing. He referred to recent natural disasters wherein thousands lost lives. In comparison, her speech meant nothing –- “nobody cares what you say”, he told her. Now, I wasn’t expecting that, but the intention of his way of thinking = to reduce pressure as much as possible and your mind will be able to focus on the ultimate goal. Find ways to take off the pressure.
“Many of the people I know, the smartest people, are not the most successful. You have to have the ability to handle pressure.” – Trump
I’m going guess that the most popular answers would include: sales, profit, and cashflow.
But what about personal gain? Experience, contacts, character development, and knowledge gained.
Why is Silicon Valley, California a region of such commendable innovation? Is the region populated with only ambitious entrepreneurs that never make mistakes? That would be great. Silicon Valley is made up of many intelligent, ambitious people, but – of course, everyone makes mistakes. Many projects fail, businesses fail. So how does Silicon Valley do it?
Not only is the culture of Silicon Valley promote innovation and the implementation of off-the-wall, risky ideas – they are also open to sharing mistakes made and lessons learned in business. During the process of creating something from scratch, omissions can occur, and do occur. Upon unfavorable implementations, entering a state of hibernation to avoid comments like, “I told you so” from cynical friends is not an option. Rather than hiding or fearing competitors moving ahead with knowledge of what ‘not-to-do’, the idea of the industry moving forward has been adopted. As competitors learn of ineffective strategies, leapfrogging becomes a great benefit for the industry as a whole and the consumers. Change and improvement is embraced with a sense of pride for start-ups that flop. I suppose you can say these flops are digested with a healthy dose of salt. The lessons learned hold a high importance, ultimately… making flops respectable…
A couple of years ago, during a conference with Mr. Michael Dell, the words that stood out most for me were: “Learn from your mistakes”. We’ve heard this before, realizing the importance of these words is major.
Personal gain, in terms of lessons learnt is something that can not be taught or fully understood through the exchange of words. Compensation in the form of experience as an entrepreneur and character development is often underrated with entrepreneurs that do not succeed with one specific project. Many may not realize that it is not unusual if it takes more than one try to finally create the winning product/service. All entrepreneurs I’ve had the opportunity to meet, persistence, passion, and discipline have been three common attributes – in my opinion, the three most important attributes.
A part of Silicon Valley’s success comes from the strong network of like-minded people and experiences shared. The skills that entrepreneurs bring to the table are valued and respected. Creating an open network, allowing entrepreneurs to embrace ideas and concepts that work and concepts that don’t, is essential to the success and development of a region.
The importance of learning from a mistake is not easy. I think it’s important we remember that, moving forward and using the knowledge, experience, and network gained to re-strategize is an opportunity to be capitalized on.
Universities across Canada and the United States have provided students the opportunity to boast their comprehension of business functions learned in the classroom through transferring their skills into management consulting for local businesses. These management-consulting clinics have been successful for years.
The value brought to the table with such initiatives are quite evident, in the sense that, small businesses are given a more affordable option and students are given the chance to put their minds towards challenging work.
For example, the TMC Consulting Clinic (www.consultingclinic.ca), in association with the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, is a new initiative, which will be run by undergraduate students (they work with a Head Mentor, Dr. Bruce Firestone). An Advisory Board made up of professors and volunteer professionals is also available to support the students and provide assistance as required. Not only does student consulting allow students to network and gain valuable work experience, local organizations that cannot afford to pay an arm and a leg for management consulting work now have an alternative wherein they receive quality work at a fraction of the cost.
One of the most valuable skills for an entrepreneur to posses would have to be the ability to sell. A brilliant idea and a well-written and well-researched business plan are important; however, would render useless without that certain flair it takes to get your product/service out the door. I had a chance to ask an experienced entrepreneur, Dr. Bruce Firestone, about his opinion on how we can all improve our selling skills, here’s what he had to say:
Question:
I’ve learned that selling is a big part in the success of a business. Why, in your opinion, is selling a challenge among people? And how can one successfully conquer this “fear”?
Answer:
“Selling is telling”. It is about telling an honest story and providing timely information to the right people.
Know there are only 3 possibilities to each selling scenario: Yes, No, or
Maybe.
Wherein, Yes > No > Maybe
Maybes can hurt a business, more than a “No”. Maybes can lead to assumptions which can ultimately hold up a business. The best way to get a definite answer from a “maybe” is to give people a deadline to reply. For example, “If you don’t reply by X day, it will be considered a NO”. Don’t take a “no” personally; take it as an opportunity to do something else.
So, what initiated me to sign up for… one of these?
Recently, in my Entrepreneurial Culture Class, we had a guest speaker, Ryan Anderson of Fuel Industries Inc., come in and speak about Social Media. He spoke about the changes in marketing strategies used and the intended outcome of marketing over the years. The major changes have been a result of increased media. Back in the day, brands had little or no significance; rather there was a one-to-one connection between suppliers and customers and there was hardly any selection in brands to choose from. This has changed over time. Now, brands are a way to differentiate a product/service. Competition to become the best selling brand is one fierce contest. Example: The fact the there are now 40-50 specialty television programs (from original 3), acquiring the attention of potential customers has posed a challenge and resulted in change. Now, there is constant competition for our attention.
Social media is a “happening” and effective form of marketing. I think it is a cool approach that all businesses should to get into. Strategies include the use of blogs, and wikis, social networking Web Sites, etc, which allow for easy idea-sharing. They allow for strategies which try to simulate the one-on-one relationship consumers once had with suppliers. The influence of this form of marketing has been significant. Businesses are able to utilize such tools to keep customers up-to-date with various topics concerning the business which would be of interest. However, most importantly, it’s a two-way street! Communication from customers or potential customers holds great significance – the best part, it’s cheap and quick to acquire. Customers are able to connect and share experiences with others and the business in an intimate environment, providing businesses the opportunity to recognize the relationship between themselves and PEOPLE (consumers) – the power people possess towards the future of their business.
The authenticity involved in social media outlets creates an environment which makes engaging with others more effective, by earning attention rather than demanding it. The manner in which you choose to engage in communication is important. Hugh Mcloud says, “If you talked to people the way advertising talked to people, they’d punch you in the face.” It’s amazing how simple and relatively cost effective the tool of social media is, yet it is underutilized.
I think web logs (or blogs) are an ideal form of sharing experiences and knowledge. Value is formed through the authentic the ability to share authentic pieces of writing that allow us to reflect upon current events or personal experiences with others efficiently and with minimal effort. Mr. Anderson gave us a briefing on a recent trip to Singapore, where blogs were big. The majority of students, in Singapore, had personal blogs, where they are able to keep of log of thoughts/ideas. In contrast, Mr. Anderson asked, by the show of hands, how many of us had personal blogs. Only 3 hands went up. These statistics seem to be alike throughout Canada. Through observation, it seems these numbers are gradually growing as the popularity of personal web blogs and the idea of being able to voice an opinion and being heard cultivates. Upon this thought, I think the question going through our minds is: how does a simple online presence (static websites) compare to social networking channels such as Facebook, MSN, YouTube, etc? Is it time your business get more involved in Web 2.0 innovations? I think it is a question we need to ask ourselves and reflect on how we use our time and what is winning our attention. As entrepreneurs, we must recognize styles of social media that work and that are well-earned in order to effectively talk to people (consumers) and listen to what they are saying.
Esha Abrol's Blog 