Secrets to Success (Fortune Hunters)

I’ve become a fan of Dianne Buckner who is the host of Venture, Dragons Den & Fortune Hunters which air on the CBC.   I was just scanning the website and came across this article that I wanted to share.

All season, we have featured successful entrepreneurs who saw a trend early on and cashed in on their ideas.  Before they became business moguls, these entrepreneurs made mistakes, had many fears and sometimes trusted the wrong gut instinct.  To close our second season, we’re tapping into the minds of all our My First Millionaires.  We got their insights on fear, gut instinct, luck and mistakes. Plus, we got their picks for the next big trend of the future.

MISTAKES

“I think my biggest mistake over the years has been listening to people who thought they knew better than I did how to grow my business. Go figure.” (Bruce Croxon – Co-founder, Lavalife)

“Well speaking from personal experience I would say the biggest mistakes I have made have been taking on too many opportunities and not having the time available to follow through on each one of them.” (Bill Pollock – Founder & Chairman, Drake International)

“That was the biggest mistake I made is trying to do everything myself and it’s taken me 30 years to realize I can trust other people to do a better job than I do.” (John Sleeman – Founder, Chairman & CEO, Sleeman Breweries)

“The biggest mistake I made? To underestimate the actual workload. To oversimplify: ‘Oh, it’s no big deal.’ Everything is a big deal.” (Nina Gupta – Founder & President, Greenlite)

LUCK

“I never believed in luck. I think people have to create their own luck.” (Jackie Shan – Co-inventor, COLD-FX)

“Luck is where opportunity meets preparation, and luck certainly doesn’t build a business.” (Judson Macor – Founder, Chairman & CEO, AirSprint Inc.)

“Luck plays a big part. I’m a big believer in being in the right place, the right time. I’m a big believer in fate and luck.” (Nina Gupta – Founder & President, Greenlite)

“The harder you work, the luckier you get. It’s true!” (Rita Tsang – Founder, President & CEO, Tour East Holidays)

“I think you need to be lucky to be successful.” (Mac Voisin – Founder & Chairman, M&M Meat Shops)

FEAR

“Oh, at the beginning, fear was a monster for me. Fear of incompetence, fear of lacking money, fear of everything. Fear of success!” (Cora Tsouflidou – Founder, Cora Breakfast and Lunch)

“Well I think all businessmen operate with a certain fear of failure.” (Bill Pollock – Founder & Chairman, Drake International)

“Well, I think fear’s pretty important because if you’re too cocky about something then you get arrogant and you make mistakes.” (John Sleeman – Founder, Chairman & CEO, Sleeman Breweries)

“I stared at the ceiling at nights on lots of occasions wondering where the next dollar, the next payroll was going to come from. Certainly there was a lot of fear of failure early on in the business and that fear has subsided a great deal and I’m thankful for that, but fear is also very motivational and keeps you going.” (Judson Macor – Founder, Chairman & CEO, AirSprint Inc.)

“You should not have fear. Nothing should make you that frightened. You shouldn’t do anything that could frighten you to make you have fear.” (Nina Gupta – Founder & President, Greenlite)

“You need a go ahead with the idea when you have no fear and you’re ready to stick with it right to the bitter end.” (Mac Voisin – Founder & Chairman, M&M Meat Shops)

INSTINCT

“I think that as an entrepreneur it is our duty to nurture and follow our gut instinct all the time.” (Paul-Andre Savoie – Co-founder, Boomerang Tracking Inc.)

“Seventy per cent of my instinct is pretty right and thirty per cent of my initial instinct is not right.” (Jackie Shan – Co-inventor, COLD-FX)

“As a guiding principle, gut instinct is the only thing you can use to make good decisions on a regular basis.” (Garner Bornstein – Co-founder & CEO, Airborne Mobile)

“I remember when my gut instinct failed me miserably when a childhood friend brought me a restaurant idea in Thunder Bay. And I’m here to tell you that Thunder Bay does not need, in hind sight, another road house.” (Bruce Croxon – Co-founder, Lavalife)

THE NEXT BIG TREND

“There’s a trend for people who want to stay healthier and live longer. They are more proactively looking after their health. That’s the trend I’m particularly interested in.” (Jackie Shan – Co-inventor, COLD-FX)

“The next trends are probably going to be in health care as baby boomers get older and we continue to be concerned about our health.” (John Sleeman – Founder, Chairman & CEO, Sleeman Breweries)

“I’m actually pushing my daughter to go into the spa business or look into personal wellness or spiritual growth, personal growth, health-wise, etc. That’s what I feel would be a very strong trend going forward.” (Nina Gupta – Founder & President, Greenlite)

“Help me make life easier for myself, more convenient for myself and you’re right on trend.” (Mac Voisin – Founder & Chairman, M&M Meat Shops)