Business Ideas - 3 Lessons From Brett Wilson

Hi, I'm Evan Carmichael. Welcome to another edition of Modeling the Masters. Today's post is brought to you by American Express. They recently launched a Facebook page called Amex for Business Canada that has a lot of resources, tips, tools, information for entrepreneurs that I hope you'll go check out. Now, I believe that the fastest and most effective way to grow your business is to model the strategies of people who've already done what you're trying to do. So today we're gonna look at how an engineer discovered that engineering wasn't his passion and he wanted to be a businessman. Against the advice of his friends and family and everyone around him, he left his high-paying job to go back to school, get an MBA, and enter the business world. He went on to become one of the richest people in Canada. This is the story of Brett Wilson and the top 3 lessons that you can learn from his success.

Brett Wilson, a Canadian engineer, businessman, and television personality, is best known for his appearances on CBC's Dragon's Den. After growing up in a middle-class family, his father, a car salesman, and mother, a social worker, Wilson went off to college to study engineering. He would get his bachelor's degree in engineering and go to work for one of the oil companies in Western Canada. However, after a few years of working as an engineer, he discovered that he wanted to do something else— business. After going to school to get his MBA, Wilson would join 9 of the friends to start an investment club. They each put in $200 and invested in the stock market. They would soon each get back $221, but more importantly, understand how the stock market worked, how commissions worked, how to buy and sell stocks, as well as learn to research and watch market trends. It wasn't much money, but this small investment club got Wilson moving and drove him to wanting to do more in the business world. He would go on to work for an investment bank, but his entrepreneurial spirit was still not satisfied. He would bide his time, network, make contacts, and learn everything he could so one day he could start his own business. Finally, he would create his own investment advisory firm and later team up with 3 partners to create a brokerage firm, FirstEnergy Capital, that would offer investment services to the oil and gas industry. Today, FirstEnergy Capital has handled more than $150 billion worth of mergers, acquisitions and asset sales. Wilson has been named one of the top 20 dealmakers in Canada and one of the top 10 mergers and acquisitions specialists in Canada.

By following his gut and by not listening to the people who didn't believe in him, Brett Wilson was able to go from an engineer to a highly successful entrepreneur. To help you explode your business, here are 3 action items you can learn from Brett Wilson.

Action Item #1: Stay the course. Most people have ideas to start businesses, but they don't take action. It's scary, it takes a lot of courage, you might fail, and it's outside the normal corporate world that most people are used to. It takes a lot of guts to start a business, and in many cases your friends and family won't understand why you're doing it. They may tell you you're crazy and you should get a comfortable job so you don't have to worry. If you're passionate about being an entrepreneur, don't let the naysayers get you down. Focus on why you're running your business and keep jumping over the hurdles put in your way until you reach the success you're after. Wilson believes that real entrepreneurs have to stay the course, even when your friends and family don't think what you're doing is a good idea. Wilson started out his career as an engineer and had a good job in the oil fields, but was missing the passion. When he wanted to change careers and focus on business, his family and friends tried to convince him that he had a good job and should stick it out. He then took a management test at his engineering job and failed it. They told him that he was not management material. Wilson had to prove everyone wrong, so he left his job and started following his passion. According to Wilson, "It was hard not to enjoy the success we were having." doing a deal a day. It was enthralling to be at the office. I got as caught up in my career as any investment banker could be. I worked for about 3 years as an engineer at one of the big oil companies. I discovered that I wasn't passionate about engineering. I was passionate about business. Despite being told by one of my first employers that I wasn't management material, I enrolled in the MBA program at the University of Calgary. I was the first graduate to major in entrepreneurship. After I started my business, a company named Wilson Mackey, my dad asked me if I was still looking for a job. Entrepreneurs have to be willing to stay the course even when those closest to you question what you're doing. Action Item #2: Watch and Learn. When I started my first real company, a biotech software business, I was 19 years old and didn't have a clue what I was doing. I was in over my head and didn't want to fail. "My aha moment came when I realized that I wasn't the first guy to try to sell software. So I researched companies like Microsoft, McAfee, and Intuit to see how they got started. By looking at how Bill Gates grew his company, he became my mentor even though I had never met him. You can learn a lot about how to market your business and build your company by following the success clues that those before you have left behind." Wilson had completed his education in both engineering and business, but the course he found most valuable was Consumer and Buyer Behavior. Today, he believes this course taught him the proper way to market and how to brand businesses. His most valuable skill is watching and learning—watching what other businesses do to create brand awareness and how each successfully competed for capital. He desperately wants others to understand these behaviors and spends a lot of time trying to pass this information along to other aspiring entrepreneurs. According to Wilson, "It doesn't matter if you're a doctor, scientist, engineer, or lawyer. The tools of marketing are invaluable. I sometimes think people overworry this 'take me under your wing' notion. People can be mentored by simply observing carefully. For example, I've been mentored by Richard Branson in the marketing world and a variety of business people in terms of their business acumen. I watch and learn, and I'm still watching and learning." Action Item #3: Grow during hard times. When times get tough, entrepreneurs often scale back, question if they're cut out to be a business owner, and often go looking for a job. When the economy is doing poorly, the successful entrepreneurs look at it as an opportunity for growth. They realize that their competition is likely not invested in marketing or new innovations, and that there's a lot of talented people who are looking for work. To grow through tough times, you need to get closer to your customer and develop new products and services that can help them solve important pains that they are facing. Wilson grew his business through the hard times by being innovative. He believes that entrepreneurs should focus on building a culture of innovation. Always look for ways to be better, improved, more efficient, and do things more intelligently. If you can't find a solution, create one. If you're constantly innovating, you'll have some failures, but your successes will help you not just get through hard times, but grow through them. According to Wilson, innovative thinkers are constantly asking the question, "How can we make things better?" No matter what stage you're at in your career, what industry you work in, everyone around you can benefit from new ideas. Don't be afraid to think outside the box. Just because something works doesn't mean it can't be better. Don't expect not to be afraid. Real courage is being scared to death and going ahead anyway. Hard times are an opportunity for growth. Struggle doesn't so much build character as reveal it.

So remember, stay the course, watch and learn, and grow during hard times. To finish up the video, I wanted to share one of my favorite true stories about Brett Wilson and some of his best quotes.

When Wilson was young, his father set him up a job cutting a neighbor's lawn all summer long. Wilson said he knew a friend that was making $3 for each cut and thought it was a good way to make some extra money for the summer. He mowed the lawn twice a week for a total of 30 cuts. At the end of the summer, he went to collect his summer wages and she handed him a $10 bill. Wilson was flabbergasted. He expected $90 instead of the $10 she'd given him. He would later be quoted as saying, as he looked back on his life, "I didn't negotiate a price up front." I learned a lot about communicating and being upfront and establishing mutual expectations. In hindsight, a great learning experience and for a great cause, the widowed neighbor.

Thank you for joining me for another edition of Modern Landmasters. If you like the video and want to see more, please give it a thumbs up below. I'd also love to hear what you have to think if you want to leave a comment under the video. Also remember to check out the MX for Business Canada Facebook page, and we'll see you on the next episode. [MUSIC] [MUSIC]