Theo Paphitis: This One Simple Business Principle Will Change Your Career!

Why do you want to compete with somebody on a level playing field?

My main motivation was always to be the best. Sitting in the bath for hours on end playing with your rubber duck is not going to give you that eureka moment.

What's going to happen if you're average at something? You're going to deliver average output.

Confidence is not something that you can teach people. They've got to either have it or they haven't.

Did I Start work just to make money? Yes, I did.

He's a British retail magnate and entrepreneur.

He's best known for his appearance on the BBC television program Dragon's Den.

In 2014, he had a net worth of £210 million.

He's Theo Paphitis, and here is my take on his top 10 rules for success.

The main thing I try and tell all my friends, family, kids is do your homework. Why do you want to compete with somebody on a level playing field and be exactly the same, have the same chances of winning as the next guy? Well, you already know you're at a disadvantage, so you need to change the odds. You need to tilt the odds in your favor, which means you need an advantage. Because otherwise the next guy is going to beat you. Now of course, if you go to a casino and stack the cards in your favor, what happens? They throw you out, beat you up, even worse. Even worse. Even worse. In business or in life, it's called doing your homework and being prepared. And it's what you're expected to do. Stack the cards in your favor. There's no shame in that. It's not illegal. It's exactly what you need to do in your life. You do not want to compete the same odds as everyone else, because those of you statisticians here— is there a few statisticians? No. Okay, nobody does numbers in Oxford. Good. That's probably the other thing I was good at, numbers. Um, you'll find that it averages out. So do your homework, prepare yourself, make sure you've got the advantage because it just doesn't come. And for me, every time I'd go into a deal or do— I have to achieve something, I would work so hard, I would stack the cards in my favor to give me a chance of winning. And even then, sometimes you lose because that's a fact of life. You'll make wrong decisions. It was said earlier, the person that says he never made a mistake, never made the wrong decision, is a person that has never made a decision, or is a bloody liar. So you will get things wrong, but make sure you stack the cards in your favor.

My main motivation when I started off in business was not to make money. My main motivation was always to be the best, to be successful, to have a better life than the one I'd had up to that particular time. Um, now money was going to be a byproduct, which I acknowledged, and money was going to be the barter tool that was going to give me some of those things. But actually counting the money I have never, ever, ever done. Do you know how many people have asked me, did you have that eureka moment? Well, actually, it's a very rare commodity. Sitting in the bath for hours on end playing with your rubber duck is not going to give you that eureka moment. It might shrivel you up a bit, and your rubber duck as well, but it's unlikely you're going to have that eureka moment. For me, I've never really had an original idea. I look at other people's ideas, and I execute them. If I stayed in that bath, I'd be so shriveled now.

So your tip is to beg, borrow, and steal off other people?

I think my tip is more be inspired by other people.

Find out what you're good at. Why would you go and do something that you're average at? What's going to happen if you're average at something? You're going to deliver average output. Find the thing that you're good at because that gives you that advantage over the next guy, next girl. You're on this world for an incredibly short period of time. That's what I've learned. It's like, it's not even a pinprick on a rhinoceros's ass, your lifespan on the world. It's that short. Don't waste it waiting to die. Find that thing you're good at. Find what your passion is. Don't go and do a job or do something you hate or do not enjoy for the money. That's miserable. That's not success. Well, wherever you reach in that, in that ladder, that's not success. Success is finding the things that you're passionate about, enjoying what you do. Those are the things that are going to make you exceptional.

Entrepreneur will take calculated risks without the fear of failure. Now that's a very special trait. That's incredibly special trait to be able to do that. Sounds very simple. Calculated? What's that mean? Does he add it all up? He does add it all up, but he's not worried about failing. He's confident. Confidence is not something that you can teach people. They've got to either have it or they haven't. It takes a long time for people to gather those sort of skills, the whole combination of skills. When I was little, we used to live on a 4th floor tenement block, and I saw on TV people jumping out of aeroplanes with parachutes. That'd be great. So I looked down from the balcony and thought, I'll make a parachute and I'll jump off the end of the balcony. So it was school holidays, my mum was at work, I was very young, but I got one of her big double sheets, attached some skipping rope to it, Started making a harness, went out the balcony, looked down, and went, "Oh my God." I thought, "Okay, I really want to do this, but if it doesn't work, I'm in trouble. I know what I'll do." We had a 5-pound bag of potatoes, so I attached a 5-pound bag of potatoes and sent it over the edge. It went down like a lead balloon. Splattered on the floor and the potatoes went everywhere. The parachute didn't open because it was a sheet. It was never— I never knew the laws of physics at that age. But the point was, I didn't do it. I used the potatoes first. I calculated, and obviously I didn't try to attempt it again. And entrepreneurs do a lot of that, you know, they do calculate things. And then they'll do things. But people like to call them risk-takers. That's not the case. Inspiration comes from many different ways. One man can't be everything to everybody, and I think leading from the front is important. Making sure that people realize that you care about them, making sure that people realize that actually you want them to be a flower in your garden. But it's not always possible. Sometimes they've got to go and be a flower in somebody else's garden. So, you know, you've got to be realistic about it. But being approachable is like the most important thing for me, that anyone can approach me, anyone can speak to me, and people know who I am, not just as the boss, but know me as Theo. I know that sounds a little bit arrogant, but I knew I was going to get that deal.

It's just whether I was going to share it with Peter or not.

I was always going to do it. I'll match Peter's offer, but mine's conditional. Okay. And it's conditional that the pattern stands up.

Imran was offered the money he needed, but the ruthless Dragons were demanding much more of his business than the original 15% he wanted to give away.

I'm a little uncomfortable with the amount of equity we're looking at here. If we can maybe look at 17.5% each, that's something that I would be prepared to do. So we're looking at around 35% as a combination.

When eventually Peter and I made the offer, I could see in his eyes he was going to negotiate. I actually really enjoy it when people come back and negotiate. You should challenge everything. I challenge everything in my life. I challenge my staff, I challenge everybody. When they tell me something, I want to make sure they've got it right. Now, somebody offers me something, I want to make sure that's the best price.

We are taking— I'm taking a flyer here, but I would be willing to meet you halfway.

Okay.

And offer 20%, and if Theo's I'm taking a flyer, that's why. So that would mean that you'd get £140,000 today, you get Theo and I, but for 40%.

As well as your finances, your expertise is something that really sort of attracts me in the individual aspects that you can bring to it. And on that basis, I would be happy to do the deal.

Do not be afraid to experiment. Or be true to yourself and say, you know what, I don't know what I want to do, so I'm going to do a bit of daydreaming. Daydreaming is really, really good. Anybody tells you otherwise is a fool. Daydream, especially in the early years, because without those dreams, there can never ever be a reality of what it is that you want to do. You know, inspiration is a great thing, and I think about reading the newspapers watching TV, seeing what other people are doing. Some people like to just watch and be envious and jealous or ignore it.

For me, I watch people being successful, and for me it was inspiration. The last thing I really want to leave you with is money. Is that, is that what we all think success is? We all think money is about success. Is that what we all want to do? Leave university, get a great job, make loads of money? You're all bloody quiet, aren't you?

Money.

Is it about money? Did I start work just to make money?

Yes, I did.

I did. We were poor. We had nothing. Absolutely single-parent family, lived in a council flat. So the thing that drove me, I needed money. I needed to be successful. Success gave me money. And then one day I woke up and realized I had more bloody money than I needed, and I was still very young. So what was I going to do? Stay in bed? No. Do I need more money? No. Do I need success?

Yes. I need the challenge.

I'm doing something that I'm passionate about. I want to get out of bed. So the money becomes a byproduct. It's a scorecard. It was mentioned earlier. It's a scorecard. All it is, at the end of the year, you fill in this thing called a tax return.

Well, some people do.

We won't mention them. But you fill in this thing called a tax return, and it shows how good you are, how successful you've been in making money. That's it. It's a scorecard. It's not— that's not the reason you will get out of bed. So find that passion. Find the thing that makes you jump out of bed in the morning and you can't wait. To go and do it and enjoy your lives.

Thank you guys so much for watching.

We made this video because Steve Madeiros asked us to. If there's someone else you'd like us to profile, leave a message in the comments below.

I'd also love to know which of the 10 rules meant the most to you and why. Leave it in the comments and we'll join the discussion. Thank you again for watching. Continue to believe and we'll see you soon.

My family have never been in business before. My mother was a seamstress, my father was a musician, my uncles worked in the docks, one's a carpenter.

So really, I suppose it was from a necessity for me.

I was at school, we didn't have a lot of money, I got free school meals, I lived in a tenement block. I needed to make money. I needed money. And need sometimes gives you that extra boost. So I started a school tuck shop, and from then onwards it seemed okay. Single-mindedness is very important, and that's something that, you know, I think people have to have. But you've got to link that with the ability to listen. Single-mindedness without the ability to listen is a disaster. Throw in some passion, garnish it with a bit of common sense, and you're practically there.