Zak Blechman, 23, works in steel commodities and believes markets are never fully predictable. He learned from Israeli-Arab teens that real problem-solving hits the core, not surface beliefs. His philosophy: respect people, stay curious, and treat your first loss as your most valuable lesson.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
¡Hola!
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Zach Bleckman with us. He's just a 23-year-old loving living life who's looking to shake things up and make an impact when it's all said and done. He's appreciating the present, keeping his eyes open for the future, and as lost as the rest of us. So welcome to the show, man.
Very good to be here. Thanks for having me, Tyler Wagner.
Of course, man. We'll dive right in. The first one I have for you, Zach, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
You know, I really like this question and I thought about it for a while. I thought back to a time I was actually in Israel visiting my family and I was speaking to a few 15-year-olds. This is years back. And I spoke to a few Israeli, like, teens that were 15, 14 years old. And they got to talking to me about the Israeli-Arab conflict. And we spoke the whole night about it. They were really, really, really enthusiastic. But there was also so much turmoil. This is coming from kids. Anyway, long story short, after the end of the night, I went up to one of the kids who I became good friends with. And I told him, I was like, listen, man, what if I told you that after all this, like, I was Arab? He looked at me and said, you know what, Zach, I don't really know what to say. I wouldn't have imagined I could even have a conversation like that. With somebody from that background. And it was sad to hear, but it's a reality and it's really on both sides. And I realized that at such a young age, these kids, like, they come from two different backgrounds and they see so much. It's hard to— it's really hard to, like, hit the core and kind of just change their reality or change their scope of thinking. And basically what I saw was that at every single problem, you have to hit the core, not of just the value or the belief, But the core of the resolution, in this case it was kids. So hopefully changing the future through the kids. But whether in business or life, I think that hitting the core of any resolution is just as important as figuring out what the problem is.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Oh, well, I'm kind of in the commodity industry, specifically steel. So I would really say that When you're in a fast-paced industry like this, first off, nothing's going to be 100%. You want to get close to 100% and just move quickly and adapt even faster, especially with tariffs, tariffs changing nonstop. There's a lot of price increases. And one of the best pieces of advice I got actually from the CEO of our company was, "Your first loss is your best loss." So especially in 2008 when the housing crisis happened, when business slowed down, people weren't getting as many credits. Commercial real estate slowed, same with residential. A lot of inventory on hand you took a loss on. You don't want to negotiate. You don't want to get greedy. When you have to take a loss, take that first loss because it's your best. Cash is king and it will get you through the day to the brighter side, realistically.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
Yeah, that's actually a great question. I really do think that at the end of the day, business, it comes down to people. And it comes down to relationships. When you're in front of somebody, you have to learn to respect your coworkers, respect your customers, especially your valued customers, the people who work, the people who work with you, not just for you, your management. Just stay curious, build relationships, hold those relationships, learn from them. Don't just go into work trying to make a buck. Go in trying to learn a few things. And when you pay off is because everyone has those tough days at work. Keep those relationships going. 'Cause at the end of the day, it's all about people. People, whether at the bottom or at the top, they all have an impact on your business or business that affects yours. So keep asking questions and just grow, learn from those relationships.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Tyler, honestly, there's probably a lot of advice I'd give my younger self, but in regards to this podcast, I'd probably say try everything you can while you have the time and the wherewithal. You're not working 10, 12 hours a day, go out and try a bunch of hobbies. Whether it's a skydiving club, try playing rugby, get into a self-starting business younger. I would have probably started maybe a clothing, like taking a gap year after high school, travel and start a clothing business, or even in college, maybe start a business that's kind of like that works hand in hand with studying abroad, helping kids plan trips, et cetera. Try as much as you can Don't be complacent because once you get out of college, you start realizing, all right, that's when you start thinking, what do I want to do? Trying as much as you can will give you that back, that really structure, that ground root of what you think you like moving forward.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
That's a pretty great question. I really personally think that happiness exists in temporary happiness. And that's not to say cynically, I say that positively. We all experience temporary happiness, and that's what happiness is because it goes along with every other emotion we have— fear, doubt, anxiety, anger— and it's something we can all relate to. So that goal to happiness is just realizing that even though it's temporary, you have to be aware of these other feelings, these other state of mind, these other emotions, and appreciate them. Appreciate the fact that you can feel them. Whether it's happiness, anger, doubt, excitement, and just learn to take everything kind of with a smile. That's the only way, 'cause life's gonna throw a lot of shit your way. And if you can just take it, if you can respond to it a certain way, that's how you'll find happiness.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Actually, to piggyback off that last question you asked, the best book I've read in the past few months It's called Man's Search for Meaning. It's a book written by psychologists who lived through the Holocaust. Great insightful book that really digs down and kind of shows people that life isn't— well, everyone's really searching for a meaning in life no matter what age or different stages and for different reasons. But no matter how low it can get, looking for the meaning in life isn't asking out of life. It's kind of responding to when life throws those curves, the curveballs at you. That's kind of the biggest thing I picked up from it. And it was just really impressive. I mean, the writing of it, the whole book was impressive, but that's the number one thing I got from the book. Just learn to respond to life with a positive attitude and just take it head on.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote and why? The courage to speak requires the humility to listen. I'm gonna say up front, probably my favorite quote, 'cause my mom told me that. You gotta listen to your mom.
If you don't listen to her, who you gonna listen to?
And the other reason is 'cause I've got trouble doing it. I know that especially just everyone can speak, everyone can be loud in a conversation in a room, but the people who really learn, the people who are really able to speak are the ones who are able to listen to others with completely, completely separate ideals, completely separate values, separate opinions. Learn to listen and it'll help you grow. It'll help you really speak and help you communicate with others. [Speaker] Yes, man.
Dude, thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is, where is the best place for people to connect with you online?
I would say right now it's probably just Instagram, @zak_blech. But hopefully I've got things in the works. I would like to develop a website in the coming months, probably come January, February. But that's the best place right now. Appreciate you having me on. Enjoy the questions, enjoy the time.
Of course, man. Thanks again for joining us.
Absolutely. Anytime, Tyler. Take care.
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