How To Be a Successful Entrepreneur, Scott’s Early Career Advice, and How Do I Balance Talent With Passion?

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Welcome to Office Hours with Prop G.

It's still Scott-Free August, and we're continuing our special three-part series of favorite office hours questions.

This episode is all about work, finding direction, managing risk, building skills, and making smart career moves.

Let's bust right into it.

Hi, Scott.

This is Cameron from Orlando, Florida.

I've been doing relatively well in my career thus far and have been able to save and invest a substantial amount of money.

I'm considering starting my own business within the next few years and was hoping you could help identify and give advice for avoiding some early pitfalls that young entrepreneurs tend to fall into.

Thank you and love the show.

Thanks so much, Cameron.

Well, I have a lot of experience here because I've started a lot of companies that have failed.

I've started some that have been successful.

And the wonderful thing about America is you only need a couple successes.

And if it does really well, you're set for the rest of your life.

Okay, so greatness is in the agency of others.

I've typically, until the last 10 years of my life where I had the credibility and I thought the skill to start businesses on my own, I always had a partner.

I started my first business.

My first business was a video rental business when I was 24.

I partnered with my friend Lee Lotus.

My next business was profit brand strategy.

I partnered with my business school classmate Ian Chaplin.

I typically started businesses with other people.

So one, I think it's more fun to build something with someone else.

And when you're young, you want to round out your skills with someone else who has the skills you don't have.

And that's the key, finding a partner with different skills.

And also being generous with each other.

Nothing blows, nothing snatches defeat from the jaws of victory more than when you aren't generous and don't get along with your partner.

It can just fuck up a company that has everything going for it.

Whenever I see a good company flying apart of the seams, I know that the partner's not getting along.

The first thing you got to do is find really talented people, give them a piece of the business, paint a vision for why you think it's going to be successful, treat them well, identify the few key players in your company, your small business, and nail their feet to the ground.

Say, I'm going to give you 10% of this company.

My first hire, I hired students when I started L2, and my first hire, full-time hire, was a woman named Maureen Mullen.

I paid Maureen 15 an hour.

She had her consulting offer rescinded.

This was 2008 or 2009.

I started her, I think, at 15 or 20 bucks an hour.

She was so good.

I said, look, I don't have the money to pay you a market competitive salary, but I'm going to give you 10% of the company.

Fast forward seven years later, we sold for $158 million.

So things worked out for her.

But you want to identify a core group of people and a partner, I think, early on.

That's everything.

Two.

Revenues make a business, not expenses.

I still make this mistake when I start a business.

I think, oh, oh, I've got to rent an office space.

I need to hire a bunch of people.

I need to have nice furniture.

I need to do some advertising.

Fuck that.

A business is about revenues.

Now, I've always been in services business.

It don't take a lot of capital.

But don't fall under the illusion that just because you can raise a lot of money or cheap capital, that spending it makes a business.

It doesn't.

Sure, there are some businesses, specifically in tech, where you do need to make investments, but I'm pretty sure that every investment I made in 2021 is underwater or gone to zero.

Why?

There was so much capital available that it wallpapered over shitty ideas and people spent too much money.

What is the number one, the number one indicator of my nine businesses' success?

Was it the idea?

No.

I don't know if one idea was better than the other.

Was it the people?

I had good people in almost all my businesses.

It was the following.

Did I start it during an economic boom or coming out of a recession?

The companies I started at the tail end of a boom, 99,

2007, almost always failed.

Everything's expensive.

People are expensive.

Mediocre people cost a ton of money.

Some lame systems engineer comes into your office barefoot and demands a 30% increase in salary every two months.

When I started companies, when I started Profit in 1992 out of business school, we were coming out of a recession.

When I started L2, it was 2009, 2010, we were coming out of the great financial recession.

Those are great times to start a business.

So you want to find good people.

You want to make sure you don't overspend.

I think you want to overserve those first few clients.

I think you need to be sort of mentally and physically resilient.

I think your relationship needs to be in a good place.

I think you have to work exceptionally, exceptionally hard.

Fair isn't a productive word.

Also, I think you need a kitchen cabinet immediately to advise you around stuff.

Also, also, I hate to say this, you have to be ruthless when it comes to your first 10, 20, 30 employees.

Everybody has to be adding value.

You don't have time to manage.

You don't have time to figure out roles.

You don't have time to put people on performance plans.

People have have got to show up.

They've got to be in it.

I mean, they got to come to play.

But all of these are really, it comes down to people, good judgment, and make sure you attract a lot of people around you.

Greatness is in the agency of others.

Good luck and thanks for the question.

Hey, Brock G.

Got some quick questions from a fresh college grad here.

For context, I am from and just graduated college in Indiana and I'm moving to LA in a month.

I couldn't be more excited as I've always wanted to live in a big city like LA and I love what I'm going to be doing.

I'll be working sales and business development at a Series B retail tech startup with around 70 employees and for a super experienced leadership team that I really believe in.

With two huge new life changes occurring simultaneously, I'd love to hear your advice as you've been in both these positions before.

First, how can I maximize my value for the company I'm working for as an entry-level hire?

What are some actionable steps that I can take to really stand out and be successful?

With an IP on the horizon in a couple of years, I want to pour all I can as I have stock options on the table.

Also, how can I maximize my life outside of work in a cultural hub like LA?

Looking at continuing to build my own personal brand, but also want to make sure that I'm joining all that LA has to offer.

Thank you so much for your time, and I want to say how much I really love your content as it's refreshing to have someone give real takes on business, relationships, and life derived from their actual experiences.

There's so much posturing today.

I appreciate you, Prof G.

Uh, so first off, Anonymous.

Can you not be anonymous?

And specifically, can I be you?

My God, you're just graduated from Indiana and you're moving to LA with a good good job.

Boss, you are in the sweet spot.

So, okay, what to do?

First off, figure out when everyone gets to work and try and show up a few minutes before them and a few minutes later.

When I started at Morgan Stanley, I wasn't as talented as the other kids, not because UCLA wasn't an amazing education, but because I didn't work very hard at UCLA and I just didn't have the same skill set they did.

So I decided to lean into my strengths.

My strengths were my youth and my fitness and the fact that I did not have dogs, kids, or girlfriends waiting waiting for me at home.

I was living at home with my mother.

I had literally no relationships, nothing going on.

So I said, here's an idea.

I'm going to go into work Tuesday morning and I'm going to work till Wednesday night at five every week.

And I developed a reputation for this crazy kid who worked 36 hours straight, but crazy in a good way because investment banking had this sort of weird, fucked up, abusive culture in the 80s and 90s.

And I'm not suggesting you'd go to that extreme, but try and be kind of first in, last out.

Show that you come to play.

Josh Brown from CNBC and from Ritz Hold Wealth Management had a really good idea that I thought was very simple.

I never thought about it.

Find the shittiest part of your boss's job and take it off their plate and slowly but surely try and give them time back.

If you can do anything, whether it's responding to RFPs, I don't know what job you're doing, but try and really understand, learn and do stuff and volunteer for stuff.

And do your best to try and take the worst part of other people's jobs off their plate such that you become indispensable to them.

Because if you make their life easier, you're going to be indispensable.

Try and praise, always praise people behind their backs.

Be known as the guy that praises people behind their backs.

Listen when you're in meetings.

Try and really understand what's going on.

Be very social.

Ask people out to coffees.

Ask them a bunch of questions.

You don't need to be explicit about finding mentors.

I've never said to anyone, will you be my mentor?

But I am blessed with a ton of mentors because I would ask ask them out for coffee.

I'd ask them a lot of questions.

When you're older and you've got some experience under your belt, you like it when people ask you questions.

It's the reason I have this damn podcast is I like giving advice.

You feel like you have value to add and you want to share it with young men and young women.

So don't be afraid to ask people out for coffee and ask for their advice, ask for their feedback.

And generally speaking, I think success is in the last 10%.

What do I mean by that?

We used to write RFPs at my first job at Morgan Stanley.

And Morgan Stanley had this

kind of cultural zeitgeist where if there were any errors, you could be fired.

And we used to read things not only forwards to proof them, but then backwards to make sure that everything was perfect.

And it was very stressful, but it was an outstanding training.

So what I would try and bring is a massive attention to detail.

Success is in the last 10%.

And be known also as the guy that anything that leaves your desk is near perfect or perfect.

And don't be afraid to ask people.

If you're sending a document or sending an email that's sort of important, ask people, say, can you review this for me?

Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Don't be afraid to offer help.

Praise others.

Share credit.

Ask people out.

Be curious.

Be known as someone who's

a real team player.

In terms of LA, oh my God.

Oh my God.

Is El Coyote still around?

Is the Hollywood Bowl still around?

Maybe the Greek theater?

Maybe Zuma Beach?

Shit, I don't know.

What not to do?

Jesus Christ, what not to do.

The Uber drivers in LA are hot.

Everything about L.A.

is wonderful.

Maybe go to the counter at Beverly Hills Hotel and tell them that Scott Galloway sent you.

I don't know.

Maybe go to the polo lounge on a date, order a drink, order a drink or two.

Maybe go to the, maybe go to the, I don't know.

Jesus Christ, there are so many amazing things to do in LA.

I love the influence that Mexican culture has had on L.A.

I love the fabulousness of the entertainment industry.

I don't know, take a run on the beach, maybe go down to Shutters, have a little drink down there on the Playa, on La Playa de Los Angeles.

Boss, you're going to get into so much trouble there.

It is such a wonderful place to live.

You are in the sweet spot of your life.

Be kind, work your ass off.

Also, also get someone with really good taste to buy you kind of five good work outfits.

I don't know if it's a suit or whatever, so you have a uniform.

You don't need to think about it, but you look competent.

Take pride in your appearance.

Try and find time for exercise.

Jesus Christ, I've got 25 hours planned of every day.

Let me finish where I started.

It is really good to be you, Indiana.

We'll be right back after a quick break.

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Hey, Scott, I'm a big fan of the show and your latest book.

I'm 24 and working in advertising as a visual effects artist at a small but successful studio in New York.

I graduated two years ago with a degree in visual effects and chose a job in advertising over some lesser paying jobs in film and TV.

I've just read the chapter of your book about finding your talent and I'm trying to identify where I draw the line between my own talent and passion.

I feel very lucky that I've begun a career in visual effects and I like to think that I've got at least some talent for it given my ability to leverage my portfolio for jobs so far.

Call it if you're of burnout or diminishing passion or both, but I'm wondering if you have any advice for young people whose passion and talent seem to be awkwardly blurred together.

How do you go about separating them to avoid, as you said in the book, letting the work spoil the passion?

And is there a way of balancing both on a schedule you can't control?

So, Ryan, if you're doing something you're good at and you like, maybe you don't even love it at this point, it's hard to find something you love at a young age because generally at a young age, it means you're doing the shit work.

You're doing the work that no one else wants to do.

You're editing stuff.

You're writing the copy.

You're, you know, your bosses get to show up late, but you don't.

I do that a lot.

And it's something I hate about myself.

And my news resolution is the same every year.

Be on time for stuff.

And I'm not, I don't know if it's because I like the rush of being late or I'm just a narcissist.

But anyways, I don't know how I got here.

It sounds to me like you're kind of where you should be.

And that is, you're getting good at something and ask yourself, could I be great at it?

And if you can be great at it, what I can promise you with near certainty or assure you or claim with near certainty, I I guess I guess a promise says 100% certainty is that if you become great at it, you're going to become increasingly passionate about it.

Because the accoutrements of being passionate about something, the camaraderie, the economic security, the prestige, the achievement, the ability, or just the recognition when you produce something great with a team of people, it feels really good.

I think it'll make you passionate about whatever that is.

I think passion comes from mastery.

So, I mean, a couple of things.

One,

look at the space you're in and think, am I learning a lot?

Am I learning a lot at this company?

Do I have senior-level sponsorship?

Is the firm doing well?

Is it a good culture?

Do they pay me fairly?

Is there a path?

Has someone taken an irrational interest or at least a real interest in my future and is coaching me?

All of these things are important to ask yourself at a specific organization.

Separate that, the organizational components to do I like this field?

Am I good at it?

Could I be great at it?

And it strikes me that your industry is going to go through tremendous disruption.

A friend of mine has invested in an Indian special effects company that uses technology to bring down the cost.

I think they did a lot of the special effects for Dune.

And instead of it costing 10 million, it costs, you know, three or four or seven.

I don't know what it is.

But your ability as a young person, your brain is more agile, more neuroplastic, whatever the term is, to absorb new technologies and then apply them or cut a swath between technology and creativity and be great at visual effects and be more efficient.

I think that is a fantastic seat.

So I just be careful.

I think a lot of young people think, well, I'm not loving my job or I find it difficult.

Well, there's a word for that, work.

And I don't care how romantic the industry is, if you're going to be good at something and really, I think there's just a ton of stress and work involved.

And it sounds to me like you found a good seat for yourself.

So how do you balance both?

I don't know, boss.

I hate the word balance.

I think at the age of 24, this is what I would do if I were you and I were blessed with a career that it sounds like you're pretty good at and that is growing, or I think visual effects are going to grow.

A couple, just one quick side note, design media for a smaller screen.

You don't want to be in the movie effects business.

The movie business is going to get smaller and smaller.

The TV business is going to be fine.

It's going to be a huge business, but it's not going to grow.

But if you can be great at capturing people's imagination with effects or figure out a way to do things for the small screen, specifically the phone, that is champagne and cocaine.

Anyways, be the guy that really understands the intersection between creativity, storytelling, and technology.

But it sounds to me, Ryan, like you're in a pretty good seat.

And also, don't be hard on yourself.

Recognize that at the age of 24, the majority of people have no fucking idea what they want to do.

You know what I was doing at 24?

I was deciding not to stay in investment banking and moving back in with my mom, and I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

And then when my best friend and my girlfriend said they were applying to business school, I'm like, well, I'll apply to business school then.

With a 2.27 GPA from UCLA, I applied to business school.

Go figure, Ryan.

Definitely be that guy who understands the intersection of technology, creativity, and storytelling.

Thanks for the question, Ryan.

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