Sean Combs: Why You Must NOT Underestimate the Power of Resilience in Business!

Hi, I'm Evan Carmichael. Welcome to another edition of Modeling the Masters. 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 going to look at how a boy who was born on the streets of Harlem and who nobody thought would amount to much turned his life around and became one of the most well-known musicians, producers, and entertainers. This is a story of Grammy Award-winning entrepreneur Sean Combs and the top 3 lessons that you can learn from his success. Sean Combs was born in Harlem, New York City to Janice and Melvin Combs. Combs' early life was a far cry from the luxurious existence he has grown accustomed to since. At the age of 2, Combs' life would change forever. His street hustling father was gunned down, leaving Janice to raise Combs and his sister on her own. Fearful of the increasing danger Harlem posed to her children, Janice moved the family to Mount Vernon, New York. This, she believed, would provide the children a safer environment in which to grow up. Without the support of her husband, Janice was forced to work 3 jobs in order to not only provide for her kids, but to be able to give them the best education possible. After graduating from high school, Combs moved to Washington, D.C. to attend Howard University, where he pursued a degree in business administration. His attention slowly began to shift from inside the classroom to outside on the streets. His entrepreneurial instincts started to kick in, and soon he was producing weekly dance parties and running an airport shuttle service. However, at the age of 21, Combs decided to create a company of his own in the entertainment business. With help from Arista Records founder Clive Davis, Combs was able to create his own music label, Bad Boy Entertainment. A few of the acts he had previously signed to Uptown, including Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G., and Craig Mack, signed on to Combs' new company, allowing Combs to hit the ground running. In its first year, the young label released Mack's Flava in Ya Ear, which proved to be a huge success. This was followed with albums by B.I.G., which also went on to become multi-platinum. In 2002, Combs was named one of the 40 richest people under 40 by Fortune magazine. With a current estimated net worth of over $300 million, Combs has become something of an American icon and, against all odds, one of the country's most successful entrepreneurs. By trusting his entrepreneurial instincts and by having the courage to follow them, Combs was able to go from the streets of Harlem into becoming one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the entertainment industry. To help you explode your business, here are 3 action items that you can learn from Sean Combs. Action Item #1: Work hard. Model success will help ensure that you're focusing on the right tasks, but you still have to do the work. Starting and running a business is one of the most challenging things you'll ever do in your life, so commit to giving it your best. Don't give up when things don't go your way. Focus on helping your target audience and giving them incredible value. With hard work and time, you'll get there. Never one to shun hard work, Combs was willing to do whatever it took to get his business off the ground and keep it there. He was a workaholic even from his early entrepreneurial days at Howard University and always made his business ventures his number one priority. Eager to succeed at Uptown Records, Combs often sacrificed both his academics and his social life in order to rise in the ranks of the business world. He frequently shuttled back between New York City and Washington, D.C., trying to balance both school and work. It was his dedication and hard work that marked his rise to the top, which was one of the most rapid ascents in the history of the music industry. According to Combs, "I came in to win. This is why I stay up late while other people are sleeping. This is why I don't go out to the Hamptons. I've never been surprised about what's happened to me." I've put in hard work to get to this point. It's like when you become a lawyer. If you're busting your ass, you're not surprised when you get your degree. This is my plan. When I'm in the studio making a hit record, I'm not trying to make a hit record. I'm making one. This is what I studied. This is why I stay up 20 hours a day. I'm trying to be somebody. I didn't come into this business saying, 'I'm gonna look like the biggest black man in music.' I was like, 'I'm gonna be the biggest. I'm gonna go down in history as being one of the best music men and businessmen in entertainment.' Action Item #2: Take Risks. If you're waiting till you have all the information you need to make a decision, you'll be too late. You don't have to be a gambler to be an entrepreneur, but you have to be willing to take calculated risks. Bet on yourself and have the confidence to know that you can succeed at whatever you do if you put your mind to it. From the very first day Combs began his internship at Uptown Records, he He had it in the back of his mind that one day he would start his own company. He wasn't even thinking on the scale of Uptown. Combs wanted to be bigger, as big as they come. And he knew that in order to get there, he couldn't do it alone. With the likes of Clive Davis and the Notorious B.I.G. at his side, Combs set out to achieve his goals. He did it by pushing the limits of what was expected. To this end, Combs set out about revolutionizing the music industry by exploring new territory. In a fresh concept, Combs had his 1997 hip-hop hit single "It's All About the Benjamins" reworked by Rob Zombie and David Grohl to create a hugely successful rock remix. He also surprised many by sampling music from the likes of David Bowie and The Police, mixing them with his light rap rhythms. Combs was never afraid to take risks, whether it was with his music or with his other business ventures. From his music to his clothing lines to his restaurants, Combs has been a risk-taker who sets high goals and takes extraordinary steps to achieve them. He seeks out unexplored and new territories and tries to make them his own. According to Combs, "I admire Andre Harrell and Barry Gordy the most, the people who came up from the Black community. The people that I'm going to be greater than are Steven Spielberg, David Geffen, and Clive Davis. You have to invest in executive talent in order to one day own or be part of a Fortune 500 company. I'm more mature now. I understand it's alright to need people." You gotta mix it up. I give it to Madonna for changing her styles, never being too predictable, going in different directions. Keep on pushing the boundaries and reaching for higher heights. If you try, if you give it your all, you go with what's in your heart. Accional #3: Focus, focus, focus. Entrepreneurs love getting distracted. New opportunities will constantly bombard you and it's easy to get excited about them. Long-term success comes from committing to an idea and carrying it through until you've reached your goal. Focus your energy and have the courage to say no to new ideas that don't support your current business. Between all his business ventures, marathon runs, and his family, if it wasn't for Combs' ability to focus on one important thing at a time, he would have succumbed to the pressure long ago. In 2003, Combs made up his mind that he was going to run in the New York City Marathon, one of the top annual long-distance running events in the US. Comprised of a 26.2-mile course through the 5 boroughs of the city. A first for Combs, his goal was to raise $1 million for the New York City school system. For 8 straight weeks, Combs trained around the clock to be ready for the race. At mile 12 of the race, Combs' leg seized and his physician was unsure if he could continue. But Combs remained focused on his goal. He had managed to raise $2 million in donations, double his initial goal, and he was not about to let his supporters Or the Children of New York City down. He made the mental decision to commit to his goal and finish the race, no matter what the cost. This is what he did 4 hours later. According to Combs, I'm a very focused person. Right now I'm in a real strong creative zone. You know, musically I'm in the zone. Fashion, designer-wise, I'm in that zone. I'm in a zone right now. I'm like Jordan in the fourth right now, ladies and gentlemen. You can't really know where you're going in life as a person let alone a culture or community, if you don't take the time to sit back, evaluate, and analyze the successes and the mistakes. Try to figure out how to learn from them and move forward by setting goals and agendas for yourself. So remember, work hard, take risks, and focus, focus, focus. To finish up this video, I wanted to share one of my favorite true stories about Sean Combs and some of his best quotes. Sean Combs has branched out into a lot of businesses, but one thing he said he was always afraid of was acting in front of people. He believed that you must change to become better, even as a person. This could be why he's changed his name so many times. However, when it came to acting, he was not as confident. He first appeared in several guest roles and then made his big screen appearance as a drug dealer in Made. After working hard on his acting, he appeared in another movie with Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry called Monster's Ball. But he would not stop there. He worked hard on his acting and appeared on Broadway in several productions, then created his own production company where he began producing several reality TV shows, all of which were hits. Whatever Combs seems to put his mind to, it is successful because he works hard to learn everything about the business. Thank you for joining me for another edition of Modeling Masters. If you like the video and you want to see more, please give it a thumbs up below. It makes me want to do more of these videos for you guys. I'd also love to hear what you have to think. If you wanna leave a comment under the video, I always check those out and it means a lot to me when you do. So thank you and we'll see you on the next episode.