I’m kind of hooked on LinkedIn. There. I said it. LOL Seriously though, it’s a fantastic platform upon which to network, collaborate, and connect with other business owners, founders, entrepreneurs, and members of the Self Made Nation.
I’ve met some fantastic new people there, and I’ve already shared some of their stories with you here, and on “I’m a Millionaire. So Now What?” As you already know, I really believe in the power of storytelling, and the sharing of ideas and experiences with our peers.
It takes a village, right? And though we’re “self-made” successes, let’s face it, there have always been many other people who have helped us in one way, shape or form along our journeys.
Collaboration, ideas-sharing, mentorship. These are powerful drivers of business success. And this week’s podcast guest couldn’t agree more!
The Power of Collaboration
One of the first people I connected with on LinkedIn (when I really committed to the platform) was Emile Salem!
With 40 years of business acumen under his belt, he now runs Ottawa’s Collab Space - a co-working space focused on networking and mentorship.
I absolutely love his story - especially how young he was when he connected to his “inner-entrepreneur!”
His family immigrated to Canada from Lebanon with four kids in tow. Emile and his twin sister were born and raised here, and all the children had a strong drive to succeed.
As he jokingly says, he’s been self-employed since the age of four, when he was sub-contracted to help his brother on his paper route. His earnings? Ten cents and a bag of chips every Friday.
By age seven, Emile wised up to the fact his brother was bringing in the big bucks in this deal, and in true entrepreneurial spirit, he staged a coup, took over the paper route, and has been a serial-entrepreneur ever since.
Strength in Numbers
Passionate about the art of doing business, of taking an idea and growing it into a sustainable revenue generating company, he soon realized the “after” – the running of a perfectly healthy business year after year - bored him to tears. So, he spent the bulk of the next 40 years (and 40-plus businesses!) turning revenue streams and profit development into an art form across a variety of industries, and developed a cross section of successful business platforms and sales strategies for numerous business leaders.
He believes whole-heartedly in the power of collaboration, and how partnering with like-minded people drives business growth. Helping small to mid-sized businesses and start-ups succeed inspired him to launch Collab Space, a Collaborative Business Community in the west end of Ottawa.
As he says “Collab Space engenders the philosophy that we are all stronger together. Members appreciate the exceptional level of education and structured collaboration…and benefit from the strength in numbers by sharing ideas, resources and solutions.”
We spoke in July, and while the news cycle spins like a top these days, the fundamentals of entrepreneurship don’t change.
Here’s a bit of what we talked about.
Forty Plus Businesses? That’s NUTS!
“You know what? Everyone's dream was to make money in their sleep. [Not me], I got bored, there was no fire, no hurdles, no challenges. I wanted to constantly help other people with new ideas and new businesses and hence 44 companies that I've personally started! And all along the way, became a mentor to a lot of small business owners and new startups. People would come to me and say, ‘I have this idea. I don't know how to do it. I don't have the money to do it. Can you help me? I figured, okay, well, this sounds fun and interesting. I'll help you.’ So, it was more of, you know, helping other people launch companies as well. But because I did the work and it was my money, it was my company. Six months to a year in, when it got, self-sustaining, it was boring to me, and I usually just gave the company away to the person I helped or sold it or whatever. It wasn't about trying to make money but more of the fun of the heart of business and I just got really good at it. Then more people would approach me and so on - hence 44 companies that I actually got involved with. And then I decided, ‘Okay, enough is enough. I can't have so many companies on the go!’ So, I just became a mentor and said, ‘Okay, I don't want anything to do with the company. I just want to help you achieve your dream and as long it's fun, let's work together!”
From Failure Comes Growth
“I had some epic fails. And I'm not afraid to talk about them because I believe you need to have them to grow. I don't trust anyone who's never failed. Because you don't learn from your successes, you learn from your failures. I had one of my first high tech companies, and I'm not a techie by any stretch of the imagination, but I partnered with some people and started, you know, on internet networking company here in Ottawa back when the internet hadn't even started yet. And I invested a lot of money and I had no idea what I was doing, and I trusted too many people. And I failed and I went bankrupt. I lost everything and had to start over. It was a huge blow to my ego to my pride at the time, I think it was 23. We're talking almost 30 years ago, and that sunk me into a depression. I had to really learn to get out of that and to grow. But it made me who I am today. I've had multiple failures along the way. And I used to say, you know, failure is fun. If you want to achieve and do big things, you can't be afraid of failing big, you can't litigate your failures if you're going to do big things. So, I learned from that and realized failure’s an education to learn from, you're not going to grow or innovate if you're not failing. And I helped other people to come to that same mindset, and it's done a lot for me.”
We All Rise Upon the Shoulders of Others
“You don't have to have multiple partners in your company. But you do need to strategically align and partner with other like-minded businesspeople to grow. One quote (that I coined myself) is, ‘The only thing you're guaranteed to be successful at alone, is failure.’ Nobody in the history of the world who has been a big success, did anything by themselves. You know, pick a name like Bill Gates or someone who's a trillionaire. He didn't do anything by himself. He had much smarter people around him and that made him who he is. In any type of business, whether you're wanting to be the next Bill Gates or a small mom and pop shop in a local town, it's about surrounding yourself with like-minded people that can motivate you, support you, educate you. I love education. I love learning, I don't find the secular education systems provide entrepreneurial education of any quality. So, get out there and learn. Get out and try something! If you want to be a master chef and own your restaurant, go work in a restaurant that you visualize to be someday yours. I tell a lot of young students, you're going to spend money to go to school, and then you're going to try looking for a job. Well, instead of spending 20,000 to 400,000 for your MBA, go work for free for six months in a place that you want to own yourself. What is that costing you? Right? And learn from experience, learn from other experts, and then pick and choose what you like and what your style is, and how you want to make it better.”
We spoke in early July, so there are one or two things in the podcast episode itself that are dated. But while the news cycle spins like a top these days, the fundamentals of entrepreneurship don’t change.
I hope you can take the time and have a listen.
Also, I hope to see you at Double to Sell, this November, featuring the great Cameron Herold!
If you’re an entrepreneur looking to exit, or you’re at the helm of a thriving business or startup, I would love to talk with you about your stories! You can drop me a line here.
Plus, if you are craving like-minded conversation with growth-oriented business owners, consider joining me and eight other business owners, investors and entrepreneurs for our next two editions of Elevated Conversations are coming up in September – watch this space for more details!
“I’m a Millionaire. So Now What?” is brought to you by Double to Sell - Canada's Premier Invitation-ONLY workshop for business owners wanting a cash-rich exit in 10 years or less. For more information, or to register, please visit the “Double to Sell” website.