I succeeded because I had to well I have
made a lot of great products but there’s
also been some real you know duds
that’s what successful business is all
about spotting new opportunities and
exploiting them I have to be half dead
not to not go to work
I got TM philosophy which is stick to
what you know generally people that stay
with you are motivated not necessarily
just by money but they’re motivated by
the enjoyment answer emails immediately
answer people’s questions immediately
that’s been my success I would not take
on something that I couldn’t see a light
at the end of the tunnel because if you
engrossed yourself too much in the
day-to-day running of the business you
might find that the world is passing you
by I can only talk from my experience my
products did the talking here’s an
English business magnate political
adviser and television personality
in 2007 he sold his remaining interest
in his Amstrad company which was his
most well known and most successful
business venture he has an estimated
fortune of 1.4 billion pounds he’s Alan
Michael sugar and here are his top ten
rules for success I don’t wish to
alienate people here about what I’m
about to say but you know your destiny
is in your hands and I succeeded because
I had to and no one sorted anything out
for me
I didn’t ask go to any government and
said pretty please find me some work
please and do something for me because
it was a waste of bloody time simply
that a waste of time and if I was going
to do something I had to do it myself
that’s it and and I would say to every
one of you here don’t sit around relying
upon magically some government going to
create an environment that’s going to
make it easy for you to find work and
find jobs you’ve got to go out there and
fight for it yourself I’m sorry
to say I can’t give you any other any
other form of advice if you want
something bad enough you do it and if
you look at some of these wannabes that
make themselves television stars or and
pop stars and all that type of stuff
they have a desire to want to be famous
and they don’t stop until they’re
recognized and they do and half the
people that you see on television these
days in the entertainment industry are
those that added determination that
wanted to do it and I’ll add a little
rider to that none of them can blood
using not helpful right I mean you
didn’t find that helpful answer but
you’re going to control your destiny I’m
telling you no one else is going to do
it not unless you’ve got rich dead have
you got a rich dad a rich uncle no well
then that’s it you’re gonna have to do
it yourself and then you have to be
realistic also I’m not a dreamer things
you know and that’s one thing people
have said about me after the event when
we you know I talk as if I’ve always
made great products well I have made a
lot of great products but there’s also
been some real you know duds and one of
the things about me is is that as much
as I well as I know the marketplace and
know if I got a hit on my hand I also
know when I got a dud on my hand and
know to cut wipe your face get out and
clear it out and get rid of it don’t
waste any more time move on and I think
a lot of people are not prepared to
recognize that something’s been a
failure
you knew successful by on many occasions
by learning mistakes from from your
failures also a successful business
person needs to exploit the market but
the sector that they are in they need to
have a great understanding of it they
need to constantly monitor the market
place and spot opportunities
that’s what successful business is all
about spotting new opportunities and
exploiting them most success stories in
expansion of
businesses are based upon enhancements
learnt from the core business that
you’re already in adding additional
features the products expanding product
ranges ideas that come from what you’re
already doing particularly in
manufacturing your own employees can
actually come up with some spark of
genius in streamlining the production
process so that you may have never
thought about before
so that could save you lots and lots of
money or suddenly come up with an idea
based upon the product that you’re
producing that is allied to it when you
come from the working-class background
that I come from I feel guilty at ten to
five if I’m not in the office I know
that might sound strange to you but
that’s a fact that it is there’s a work
ethic that I have to be half dead not to
not go to work it’s a kind of a work
ethic that’s built into me yeah but
nevertheless having said all that the
weekends that was it it’s over
switch off like like Friday night as you
got back from the office or from the
work or from the factory or whatever
it don’t matter what was buzzing around
in my head it was off like a light
switch and that’s it done let it
interfere very rarely let it interfere
with the weekend and then Monday morning
bang back on it again as if you flick
the switch on again so I have a bit of
discipline in that respect yeah I got AM
philosophy which is stick to what you
know and real estate you know as I
explained in detail already is something
that I know now
and of course electronics is something
that I know and the answers very simply
is no I wouldn’t invest in a business
that I didn’t understand I would invest
in businesses that I understood but
didn’t necessarily want to run them
right so and I think that’s a good
philosophy also is to stick to what you
know but generally people that stay with
you are motivated not necessarily just
by money but they’re motivated by the
enjoyment or the excitement of what
you’re creating and the fact that you
you know you make them part of a team
you know and that they can see that
they’re actually achieving something
towards the goal of the organization and
I think if you ostracize people or you
don’t show them your appreciation in
that way then you can expect them not to
show that loyalty well you’ve gone from
looking out of windows at classrooms to
having a very regimented timetable on
the weekend so how did you develop such
a good self-discipline I don’t know I am
very disciplined that’s all I can say –
very very disciplined a creature of
habit what’s that thing that good’s it
called OCD or something again if you
look at my desk you’ll see all the pens
lined up like that and the piece of
paper over here and the cup over there
and all that so I’m just very
disciplined that’s it and I think in
business and in life I’ve worked on the
work on the principle of clear my desk
every minute or every day and so answer
emails immediately answer people’s
questions immediately that’s been my
success in running my company that I’m
there – like a springboard if you like
for employees to tell me what their
issue is and then to give them a quick
resolution or to it so they can get on
and deal with it so that’s my discipline
and I would heartily recommend it to all
of you if you decide to become you
should be disciplined you should
discipline yourself because it’s not a
bad way of life we’ve been through an
era of massive bankruptcies or
liquidations and receiverships
particularly in the property world where
lots of money has been has been leant
against assets which were overvalued for
example I fortunately it didn’t play in
that market and my my sons in this
business women he kind of sat around
watching what was going on and knowing
that this is a false a false market see
I would not take on something that I
couldn’t pay for myself I would not take
on something that I couldn’t see a light
at the end of the tunnel where we come
out of it yeah and I know that’s pretty
much stating the obvious and it doesn’t
apply to all businesses but I think it’s
a good philosophy as to always over kind
of a wake-up call we be it weekly
monthly or six monthly where you are
where you’re going what you’re doing and
it’s easier in some businesses because
you know it’s blatantly obvious where
you’re going in some businesses because
if it’s a retail businesses have you got
customers have coming across the table
or at the counter or not in other
businesses particular service businesses
where there is no product that you touch
and feel and that your income comes from
being an agent for example you have to
constantly look at your overheads and
your costs and I think that is
cost-control
regular wake-up calls regular checks of
where you are status checks of where you
are will keep you afloat you need to set
aside a day per week where you divorce
yourself from the day-to-day activity of
your company you must have someone
inside the company who you trust
god forbid you ever got run over by a
number six bus think of that person who
would have to take control and put that
person in control for that day
or for those two days and then use those
two days to go out into the marketplace
to find yourself some new business or at
least observe where your competitors are
getting up to and what they’re doing in
order to see how the market is changing
because if you engross yourself too much
in the day-to-day running of the
business you might find that the world
is passing you by and you’re missing
opportunities well I think that you
could be I mean the point is is that
there’s there’s there’s the the
integrity and honesty as far as I’m
concerned goes without saying and you
could push that to one side at the
moment because you can be honest and
have a high integrity but if you’ve got
lousy product and your prices are too
high it’s irrelevant so it’s a mixture
of of spotting opportunities I mean
targeting from the top of your own
business spotting opportunities products
services that you want to offer that are
that do bring value to whomever you’re
going to sell them to and then having
the the the the the nouse to go and sell
them I mean again this young man’s
question over there it’s very very
similar you know I get asked a lot in
similar question in universities and
places like this you don’t just jump out
of bed one Monday morning and I want to
be Richard Branson I’m going to start an
airline like that I want to start an
airline tomorrow morning you know now
total nonsense well if you’ve got any
money no but honest an airline tomorrow
morning you say there’s a certain
realism as to what as to what one month
needs to do secondly you’ve got to look
at you’ve got you’ve got to also have a
realistic point of view I knew I’m
starting I’ve got a new business what do
I offer somebody what do I offer my
potential customer what am i got that
they can’t already get from 20 or 30 or
40 or 50 other people because if I’m not
offering anything different then I’ve
got a tough job ahead of me
and I think you have to continually test
yourself on that basis I used to test
myself with products is this a good
product or not well is anybody else got
one or is it the same as what other
people have got what half the price does
it do more as it got different features
on it is it look better if the market
ready for it that’s the test and from my
point of view and I can only talk from
my experience my products did the
talking you know I could be the greatest
salesman in the world the most charming
person in the world whatever you want to
be you could advertise and do whatever
you want if the product sucks then you
got no business
thank you guys so much for watching I
hope you enjoyed the video I made it
because Ian Farrelly asked me to so
there’s a famous entrepreneur that you
want me to profile next leave in the
comments below and I’ll see what I can
do I’d also love to know which of Alan
Sugar’s top 10 rules meant the most to
you leave it in the comments he’ll join
in the discussion thank you so much for
watching continue to believe and I’ll
see you soon
do you think sirs like apprentice have
generally a positive impact on
entrepreneurship
you mean the program yeah okay because
your program is immensely successful I
love it we all watch it but we haven’t
seen big so far okay I think I’ll get
what you’re saying but look you see I
feel like I’m in the boardroom the
candidate there no no III think I know
where you go where you’re coming from
okay the thing is is that you might you
you like the program and I guess that
you like it because you think it’s
entertaining and you like looking at
somebody you might think is a right
numpty and that’s what make them and
that’s why you like it
what you don’t realize in the back of
your mind is is that you are picking up
some of the business message that is
there okay now there was a project well
you might not admit it but you are okay
and the I can tell you that from when I
started doing this apprentice thing the
the amount of young people that are
inspired by the program put aside all
the all the fun and the laughed and all
the clowns that you think you’ve come
across the amount of people that are
inspired by it the amount of people that
where they are put to me their business
ideas and I think it does it performs a
very very good service amongst the young
to be honest with you and you can’t get
a better endorsement of it when it
becomes part of the curriculum at some
schools where they set up a mini a mini
kind of apprentice
task and the amount of times that I’ve
been asked to attend schools to try and
judge them so they just couldn’t do them
there’s enough time in the day so yes it
does inspire people it entertains and it
inspires who inspires you in and why
well I don’t I
I wouldn’t say that where I’ve got today
is because I was inspired by others I
think the the the thing is I often say
to people that you know you’re born with
a certain thing here you know this kind
of gut feeling this kind of
determination you’re born with it I try
to make the analogy of that some people
are born with a talent if you locked me
in a room with a piano teacher for
example for one year no doubt at the end
I could perhaps knock out a rendition
roll out the barrel maybe would I ever
be a concert pianist not in a million
years because in that example that
person has a talent and I think I was
blessed with some kind of talent of some
kind you say which which an eye for
things a very fast brain to see the end
or at the end conclusion normally the
end conclusion I’m very you know all
very skeptical of what can go wrong and
that is something that I’m afraid to say
you can’t go and buy in a book somewhere
or go and buy a bottle of entrepreneur
juice in boots or something like that
you either born with it or not and it
doesn’t but it doesn’t come out
initially it is normally others that
observe your attitude it is others that
encourage your long so in my career I’ve
kind of always had people that I
respected and where did it where was my
first respect well in my humble family
it was to look up to an uncle of mine
who was the only one that had a business
he had a small shop not far from here
actually in in in Victoria so he was
someone I looked up to and of course it
didn’t take very long that I passed him
over and when I passed him over the next
person I looked up to was one of the
guys that I was buying stuff from
because you know he was the man you know
and then I passed him over also and
eventually go out the ladder to reach
someone by the name of Rupert Murdoch
for example I haven’t passed him over
yet
and I never will but I mean on that
climb
there were great names like Lord
Weinstock for example from GC great but
the people that I admire for their and
their skills and all that stuff and
that’s the people you look up to it
doesn’t that’s the motivation you get
they have got their and they’ve done it
somehow so I’m going to do the same
made a lot of great products but there’s
also been some real you know duds
that’s what successful business is all
about spotting new opportunities and
exploiting them I have to be half dead
not to not go to work
I got TM philosophy which is stick to
what you know generally people that stay
with you are motivated not necessarily
just by money but they’re motivated by
the enjoyment answer emails immediately
answer people’s questions immediately
that’s been my success I would not take
on something that I couldn’t see a light
at the end of the tunnel because if you
engrossed yourself too much in the
day-to-day running of the business you
might find that the world is passing you
by I can only talk from my experience my
products did the talking here’s an
English business magnate political
adviser and television personality
in 2007 he sold his remaining interest
in his Amstrad company which was his
most well known and most successful
business venture he has an estimated
fortune of 1.4 billion pounds he’s Alan
Michael sugar and here are his top ten
rules for success I don’t wish to
alienate people here about what I’m
about to say but you know your destiny
is in your hands and I succeeded because
I had to and no one sorted anything out
for me
I didn’t ask go to any government and
said pretty please find me some work
please and do something for me because
it was a waste of bloody time simply
that a waste of time and if I was going
to do something I had to do it myself
that’s it and and I would say to every
one of you here don’t sit around relying
upon magically some government going to
create an environment that’s going to
make it easy for you to find work and
find jobs you’ve got to go out there and
fight for it yourself I’m sorry
to say I can’t give you any other any
other form of advice if you want
something bad enough you do it and if
you look at some of these wannabes that
make themselves television stars or and
pop stars and all that type of stuff
they have a desire to want to be famous
and they don’t stop until they’re
recognized and they do and half the
people that you see on television these
days in the entertainment industry are
those that added determination that
wanted to do it and I’ll add a little
rider to that none of them can blood
using not helpful right I mean you
didn’t find that helpful answer but
you’re going to control your destiny I’m
telling you no one else is going to do
it not unless you’ve got rich dead have
you got a rich dad a rich uncle no well
then that’s it you’re gonna have to do
it yourself and then you have to be
realistic also I’m not a dreamer things
you know and that’s one thing people
have said about me after the event when
we you know I talk as if I’ve always
made great products well I have made a
lot of great products but there’s also
been some real you know duds and one of
the things about me is is that as much
as I well as I know the marketplace and
know if I got a hit on my hand I also
know when I got a dud on my hand and
know to cut wipe your face get out and
clear it out and get rid of it don’t
waste any more time move on and I think
a lot of people are not prepared to
recognize that something’s been a
failure
you knew successful by on many occasions
by learning mistakes from from your
failures also a successful business
person needs to exploit the market but
the sector that they are in they need to
have a great understanding of it they
need to constantly monitor the market
place and spot opportunities
that’s what successful business is all
about spotting new opportunities and
exploiting them most success stories in
expansion of
businesses are based upon enhancements
learnt from the core business that
you’re already in adding additional
features the products expanding product
ranges ideas that come from what you’re
already doing particularly in
manufacturing your own employees can
actually come up with some spark of
genius in streamlining the production
process so that you may have never
thought about before
so that could save you lots and lots of
money or suddenly come up with an idea
based upon the product that you’re
producing that is allied to it when you
come from the working-class background
that I come from I feel guilty at ten to
five if I’m not in the office I know
that might sound strange to you but
that’s a fact that it is there’s a work
ethic that I have to be half dead not to
not go to work it’s a kind of a work
ethic that’s built into me yeah but
nevertheless having said all that the
weekends that was it it’s over
switch off like like Friday night as you
got back from the office or from the
work or from the factory or whatever
it don’t matter what was buzzing around
in my head it was off like a light
switch and that’s it done let it
interfere very rarely let it interfere
with the weekend and then Monday morning
bang back on it again as if you flick
the switch on again so I have a bit of
discipline in that respect yeah I got AM
philosophy which is stick to what you
know and real estate you know as I
explained in detail already is something
that I know now
and of course electronics is something
that I know and the answers very simply
is no I wouldn’t invest in a business
that I didn’t understand I would invest
in businesses that I understood but
didn’t necessarily want to run them
right so and I think that’s a good
philosophy also is to stick to what you
know but generally people that stay with
you are motivated not necessarily just
by money but they’re motivated by the
enjoyment or the excitement of what
you’re creating and the fact that you
you know you make them part of a team
you know and that they can see that
they’re actually achieving something
towards the goal of the organization and
I think if you ostracize people or you
don’t show them your appreciation in
that way then you can expect them not to
show that loyalty well you’ve gone from
looking out of windows at classrooms to
having a very regimented timetable on
the weekend so how did you develop such
a good self-discipline I don’t know I am
very disciplined that’s all I can say –
very very disciplined a creature of
habit what’s that thing that good’s it
called OCD or something again if you
look at my desk you’ll see all the pens
lined up like that and the piece of
paper over here and the cup over there
and all that so I’m just very
disciplined that’s it and I think in
business and in life I’ve worked on the
work on the principle of clear my desk
every minute or every day and so answer
emails immediately answer people’s
questions immediately that’s been my
success in running my company that I’m
there – like a springboard if you like
for employees to tell me what their
issue is and then to give them a quick
resolution or to it so they can get on
and deal with it so that’s my discipline
and I would heartily recommend it to all
of you if you decide to become you
should be disciplined you should
discipline yourself because it’s not a
bad way of life we’ve been through an
era of massive bankruptcies or
liquidations and receiverships
particularly in the property world where
lots of money has been has been leant
against assets which were overvalued for
example I fortunately it didn’t play in
that market and my my sons in this
business women he kind of sat around
watching what was going on and knowing
that this is a false a false market see
I would not take on something that I
couldn’t pay for myself I would not take
on something that I couldn’t see a light
at the end of the tunnel where we come
out of it yeah and I know that’s pretty
much stating the obvious and it doesn’t
apply to all businesses but I think it’s
a good philosophy as to always over kind
of a wake-up call we be it weekly
monthly or six monthly where you are
where you’re going what you’re doing and
it’s easier in some businesses because
you know it’s blatantly obvious where
you’re going in some businesses because
if it’s a retail businesses have you got
customers have coming across the table
or at the counter or not in other
businesses particular service businesses
where there is no product that you touch
and feel and that your income comes from
being an agent for example you have to
constantly look at your overheads and
your costs and I think that is
cost-control
regular wake-up calls regular checks of
where you are status checks of where you
are will keep you afloat you need to set
aside a day per week where you divorce
yourself from the day-to-day activity of
your company you must have someone
inside the company who you trust
god forbid you ever got run over by a
number six bus think of that person who
would have to take control and put that
person in control for that day
or for those two days and then use those
two days to go out into the marketplace
to find yourself some new business or at
least observe where your competitors are
getting up to and what they’re doing in
order to see how the market is changing
because if you engross yourself too much
in the day-to-day running of the
business you might find that the world
is passing you by and you’re missing
opportunities well I think that you
could be I mean the point is is that
there’s there’s there’s the the
integrity and honesty as far as I’m
concerned goes without saying and you
could push that to one side at the
moment because you can be honest and
have a high integrity but if you’ve got
lousy product and your prices are too
high it’s irrelevant so it’s a mixture
of of spotting opportunities I mean
targeting from the top of your own
business spotting opportunities products
services that you want to offer that are
that do bring value to whomever you’re
going to sell them to and then having
the the the the the nouse to go and sell
them I mean again this young man’s
question over there it’s very very
similar you know I get asked a lot in
similar question in universities and
places like this you don’t just jump out
of bed one Monday morning and I want to
be Richard Branson I’m going to start an
airline like that I want to start an
airline tomorrow morning you know now
total nonsense well if you’ve got any
money no but honest an airline tomorrow
morning you say there’s a certain
realism as to what as to what one month
needs to do secondly you’ve got to look
at you’ve got you’ve got to also have a
realistic point of view I knew I’m
starting I’ve got a new business what do
I offer somebody what do I offer my
potential customer what am i got that
they can’t already get from 20 or 30 or
40 or 50 other people because if I’m not
offering anything different then I’ve
got a tough job ahead of me
and I think you have to continually test
yourself on that basis I used to test
myself with products is this a good
product or not well is anybody else got
one or is it the same as what other
people have got what half the price does
it do more as it got different features
on it is it look better if the market
ready for it that’s the test and from my
point of view and I can only talk from
my experience my products did the
talking you know I could be the greatest
salesman in the world the most charming
person in the world whatever you want to
be you could advertise and do whatever
you want if the product sucks then you
got no business
thank you guys so much for watching I
hope you enjoyed the video I made it
because Ian Farrelly asked me to so
there’s a famous entrepreneur that you
want me to profile next leave in the
comments below and I’ll see what I can
do I’d also love to know which of Alan
Sugar’s top 10 rules meant the most to
you leave it in the comments he’ll join
in the discussion thank you so much for
watching continue to believe and I’ll
see you soon
do you think sirs like apprentice have
generally a positive impact on
entrepreneurship
you mean the program yeah okay because
your program is immensely successful I
love it we all watch it but we haven’t
seen big so far okay I think I’ll get
what you’re saying but look you see I
feel like I’m in the boardroom the
candidate there no no III think I know
where you go where you’re coming from
okay the thing is is that you might you
you like the program and I guess that
you like it because you think it’s
entertaining and you like looking at
somebody you might think is a right
numpty and that’s what make them and
that’s why you like it
what you don’t realize in the back of
your mind is is that you are picking up
some of the business message that is
there okay now there was a project well
you might not admit it but you are okay
and the I can tell you that from when I
started doing this apprentice thing the
the amount of young people that are
inspired by the program put aside all
the all the fun and the laughed and all
the clowns that you think you’ve come
across the amount of people that are
inspired by it the amount of people that
where they are put to me their business
ideas and I think it does it performs a
very very good service amongst the young
to be honest with you and you can’t get
a better endorsement of it when it
becomes part of the curriculum at some
schools where they set up a mini a mini
kind of apprentice
task and the amount of times that I’ve
been asked to attend schools to try and
judge them so they just couldn’t do them
there’s enough time in the day so yes it
does inspire people it entertains and it
inspires who inspires you in and why
well I don’t I
I wouldn’t say that where I’ve got today
is because I was inspired by others I
think the the the thing is I often say
to people that you know you’re born with
a certain thing here you know this kind
of gut feeling this kind of
determination you’re born with it I try
to make the analogy of that some people
are born with a talent if you locked me
in a room with a piano teacher for
example for one year no doubt at the end
I could perhaps knock out a rendition
roll out the barrel maybe would I ever
be a concert pianist not in a million
years because in that example that
person has a talent and I think I was
blessed with some kind of talent of some
kind you say which which an eye for
things a very fast brain to see the end
or at the end conclusion normally the
end conclusion I’m very you know all
very skeptical of what can go wrong and
that is something that I’m afraid to say
you can’t go and buy in a book somewhere
or go and buy a bottle of entrepreneur
juice in boots or something like that
you either born with it or not and it
doesn’t but it doesn’t come out
initially it is normally others that
observe your attitude it is others that
encourage your long so in my career I’ve
kind of always had people that I
respected and where did it where was my
first respect well in my humble family
it was to look up to an uncle of mine
who was the only one that had a business
he had a small shop not far from here
actually in in in Victoria so he was
someone I looked up to and of course it
didn’t take very long that I passed him
over and when I passed him over the next
person I looked up to was one of the
guys that I was buying stuff from
because you know he was the man you know
and then I passed him over also and
eventually go out the ladder to reach
someone by the name of Rupert Murdoch
for example I haven’t passed him over
yet
and I never will but I mean on that
climb
there were great names like Lord
Weinstock for example from GC great but
the people that I admire for their and
their skills and all that stuff and
that’s the people you look up to it
doesn’t that’s the motivation you get
they have got their and they’ve done it
somehow so I’m going to do the same
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