Can you create a winning business or career path from scratch? I believe so. And I am not the only one.
Through this article, you will be told the stories of some of the successful entrepreneurs who, through their minds and inventiveness, have made it. The aim is to ensure that these motivational stories and incredible growth paths can stimulate your creativity and spur you on to pursue your business with even more energy and positivity.
The fundamental rule is one: never give up. And remember that the path you build for yourself must be innovative and original, without conforming to others and the trends of the moment, starting with what is most precious to you: what sets you apart from others and makes you different. What makes us unique in the eyes of other people, what makes us choose and what makes us different, in our personal lives as well as at work.
Never forget this!
Howard Schultz: resourcefulness, sacrifice and coffee
“Success is not a right. It must be conquered every day.”
Born in the 1950s in Brooklyn to a poor family, young Howard Schultz immediately started working at various jobs, which were poorly paid, stressful and under precarious conditions. Nevertheless, he managed to obtain a scholarship and later graduated. Through some subsequent work experience, he discovered a particular flair for sales and an innate talent for finding businesses to grow. Thus, when he saw an opportunity in 1981, he met a promising coffee salesman who had a small shop in Seattle. Howard did not hesitate for a moment and immediately sw the potential. That shop was called Starbucks.
So Howard Schultz left New York and went to work in the small café, with many dreams and plans to develop them in the following years. He did not know much about coffee and its preparation, but thanks to an experience in Milan, he discovered the magic of Italian coffee in serving it directly at the café, creating a sensational experience of pure pleasure and a relaxing break for customers. Later, when Starbucks was put up for sale by its owners, he decided to buy it. Thus began one of the largest international businesses, with over 30,000 shops worldwide and a turnover of over 26 billion dollars.
Ralph Lauren: the art of entrepreneurship
‘I don’t design clothes, I design dreams.’
Here we tell the story of one of the world’s most famous fashion designers, with very humble beginnings. But the most surprising thing is the fact that he did not actually have to become a designer!
Ralph Lauren, despite having parents who wanted a career as a rabbi for him, decided to work as a clerk in the Brooks Brothers clothing shop, because he quickly realized that he was a great fashion enthusiast. The job itself did not excite him, and so Ralph started to design his own collection of ties, which were very creative and original. His motto was:
“I want to do what I love most, which is to design innovative and different ties that cannot be found anywhere else. I am not interested in being the best, but just doing things my way.”
All this led him at first to a series of rejections from an industry that was evidently not yet advanced enough to accommodate a visionary and innovative person like him. However, this did not bring him down, further motivating Ralph Lauren to the point where someone began to glimpse genius in his ideas, sharing his out-of-the-box vision and investing in their realization. From there on, he managed to sell 500,000 signed Polo ties. This was only the beginning of a career full of creations destined to become true fashion icons, represented by the now famous logo of the player on horseback.
But what was his vision? To turn a sport like polo into a symbol of a refined and at the same time sporting elite, becoming a worldwide phenomenon. Today, Ralph Lauren is among the world’s most influential and richest fashion designers, with a fortune of around $6 billion.
Steve Jobs: a career path based on belief
“All people should follow their heart and their intuition. Somehow, every person knows what they really want to become.Everything else becomes secondary.”
The figure of Steve Jobs instills a beautiful motivational power, as through his inventions and personality he was able to leave an indelible mark on history. Within his entrepreneurial figure there are many characteristics: creativity, ambition, genius, dedication and even a healthy madness: all this made Steve Jobs a true pioneer of technology, founding Apple Computer Inc. in his garage at the age of twenty.
Jobs, although not a so-called ‘expert in the field’, had something that made him unique: he believed in an idea and decided to cultivate it together with people who were on the same wavelength as him, that is, who had the same conviction as him. That idea, as we later learn, changed the lives of entire generations around the world. One of his most famous quotes reads:
‘While the musicians play the instruments, I conduct the whole orchestra.’
What can we learn from these career paths?
We have learnt that inspiration and talent count for little if they are not backed up by dedication, perseverance and hard work. Attention to detail can lead to great results, with a little bit of unruliness, visionary innovativeness and the courage to have an approach that is different from others, that sets you apart.
Here another fundamental skill becomes necessary: good communication. You approach everything with such confidence in your own means, humility and generosity, but also with clarity and transparency. Because after all, successful companies are nothing but a mirror of the entrepreneurs who generated them.
And finally, surround yourself with people who believe in your dreams and beliefs, to help each other achieve your goals. I call this ‘being on the same wavelength’ and I believe it is a fundamental element with which you can support the career path and the growth of a company.