TYCOONS, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, media and marketing professionals, and venture capitalists in Manila got a taste of the cold, hard truths of business from Kevin O’ Leary, the billionaire business investor famously known as “Mr. Wonderful” in the award-winning business-themed program Shark Tank, during the latest leg of ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel’s Leadership Series, held recently at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza.
Kevin, a venture capitalist whose “big break” in business came when he sold a software company for more than $4 billion, became famous in pop culture on Shark Tank, where he heads a panel of “shark” judges who grill entrepreneurs who think they have a winning business idea and eventually either invest in the business proposals or reject them. He shared his insights from decades’ worth of both success and failure in business with his signature no-nonsense approach to mentorship, beginning with getting a business idea noticed.
The TV judge and mentor, who also authored two best-selling books on business, shared tips for expanding business and based on data gathered from his own companies, some of which could raise the eyebrows of traditional businessmen. One of this is to hire women CEOs, especially in start-up companies where time management and smart targets are integral to overcoming the first initial surge of sales and making it grow from “a $5-million company” to a “$25-million company.” He explained that women tend to set smarter targets, ensuring lower employee turnover and ultimately resulting in more savings and more profit.
“You know that adage, where if you want something done, you give it to a busy mom?” Kevin asked. “It’s true: 95 percent of my returns over the last decade is from private companies run by women.”
The event was moderated by award-winning ANC news anchor Cathy Yang, who also moderated the first edition of the ANC Leadership Series featuring British billionaire and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson in 2016. Cathy also had an exclusive one-on-one interview with Kevin where they discussed investing in the Philippine market, real-estate values,and more, which will air soon on The Boss on ANC.
O’Leary is the fifth international speaker brought to the Philippines by ANC, the country’s premier 24/7 all-English cable news channel. In the past three years after Branson, ANC also brought in former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; Mandalay Entertainment Group Chairman, CEO and Executive Chairman of the Golden State Warriors Peter Guber; and leadership guru Stephen MR Covey. Kevin is the founder of the O’Leary Financial Group, whose business interests include investments around the world, including start-up companies, shared these business principles for success:
- It takes 90 seconds, max, to win or lose potential investors. If you’re still talking five minutes later, you’re dead—because in life, in business, in politics, if you can’t explain where you’re going, no one will follow you.
- A good business starts from an idea that people will buy into. Nobody has a monopoly on good ideas (including PR ideas). Anyone can come up with a good idea—experience, success, net worth and connections have nothing to do with it. Those that want it badly will do whatever it takes to bring that idea to life. Those who make excuses will say, “I had that idea—I just didn’t have the resources to make it happen” when someone else steps up and delivers. Don’t ever think your idea is too small or you don’t have the ability to bring your vision to life. The only thing that can stop you is excuses. And if you find out that someone already took your idea, don’t stress; come up with something else. There will never be a shortage of brilliant ideas.
- If you don’t know your numbers, you deserve to burn in hell in perpetuity. The language of business must be measured and you must know your numbers if you want your business to go anywhere, even if you have a winning idea and the right skills.
- It’s important to know when to “let go” in business. Entrepreneurs can give a venture a three-year trial period. If you’re still not earning money in three years, it’s not a business. It’s a hobby. Know when to cut your losses if it’s not profitable.
- Businesses are not social clubs. Don’t hire friends or family unless you have the guts to fire them. You want the best manager to run the business. The minute your friend is your employee, they’re not your friend anymore. At the end of the day, it’s the business that matters. And for business to have longevity, be warned against nepotism and friendship in business, because you should always want to hire the best person for your businesses.
- Without risk, there is no reward. Take risks in business. And when success is found, pass it on and teach it to the next generation. When you’re an entrepreneur, you start a business, you create jobs, and that’s the best thing you can do for people. If you’ve been successful as an entrepreneur, you owe the next generation a road map, not just about your successes, but more important, about your failures to help them not to make a mistake. Waiting until you have several months’ worth of business and personal expenses in reserve will come if you encounter a bumpy launch. Taking that risk without the financial reserve planning is almost suicidal—a single hiccup could spell disaster and complete failure.
- Past success doesn’t necessarily guarantee the next idea will be a home run. While it helps, it isn’t always guaranteed. Seek honest feedback and opinions about your idea from outside your inner circle. Family and friends aren’t always going to be brutally honest in fear of discouraging or upsetting you. Feedback from your target market in the early stages can help you engage the breaks on a bad idea before you get too deep.
- So much of life is a negotiation—so even if you’re not in business, you have opportunities to practice all around. You should make routine transactions as challenging as possible for those around you on a regular basis. Know everything about the companies and people you are going to be negotiating with. Insist on getting the names of everyone participating in the negotiations. Leave no stone unturned; find out as much as you can.
- Whatever you pay attention to grows. Your business requires your full attention in the same respect. Everyone knows that one person full of great ideas, but nothing ever comes to fruition because they are chasing too many things. They spread their attention too thinly and no idea ever receives the amount needed to grow.
- Preparation. Preparation. Preparation. It seems that everyone has a start-up these days and this leads to investors and members of the media being bombarded with pitches every direction they turn. It doesn’t matter what you are trying to attract—an investment or press for your start-up—before seeking either, you need to make sure you are fully prepared. You might only have five minutes for a once-in-a-lifetime pitch opportunity and you are only in prelaunch media exposure-seeking mode once. Never assume you will receive a second chance.
- To create wealth, pair up with people whose strengths compensate your weaknesses. You aren’t going to be great at everything—it just isn’t feasible. The sooner you can identify your own weaknesses, the sooner you can put people in place to fill those voids. This is how successful organizations are built. Not only will you lose your mind if you try to do everything yourself, but your business will suffer. Align with other individuals who share your same vision and work ethic, but specialize in the areas where you are weak.
- The pursuit of wealth is a wonderful thing, but the thing is you must be honest about it. You must tell the truth. You must have the simplicity of purpose and unadulterated joy that your business career has brought you.
- Be not afraid to ask for what you want. You can sit there and think about what you want or you can go ahead and ask for what you want. It’s quite simple—and if you don’t ask for it, someone else will. Don’t be scared to ask for what you want. What is the worst that can happen? If you get turned down, then get back up and ask again. If you fear rejection, you are going to have problems. You need to be able to bounce right back up after getting kicked to the ground.
- You need to be flexible while pursuing opportunities. You may be an entrepreneur who has the passion and even the work ethic to succeed, but you may be obsessed with an idea that you don’t see its obvious flaws. Think about that. If you can’t even acknowledge your failures, how can you cut the rope and move on?
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the UK-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier organization for PR professionals around the world. Bong R. Osorio is a communications consultant of ABS-CBN Corp., SkyCable, Dentsu-Aegis Network and government projects among others, after retiring as vice president and head of the Corporate Communications Division of ABS-CBN.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.
1 comment
It’s pretty clear that Kevin O’Leary has been extremely successful in business. Therefore, when I apply these tips to my life my odds of becoming successful are increased substantially. Thanks Bong R. Osorio for another powerful and #inspiring post.