My favorite TV show is the History Channel’s Pawn Stars. Although I’d seen the advertisements on the History Channel for several months, it took the forcing of my brother-in-law last Christmas Eve to sit down and watch it. I’ve been a big fan ever since.
After the first 10 minutes I was hooked. Within days, I was telling all my friends and family members that they had to watch this new show! When my friends would ask me what it is about the best way I could explain the show was by saying, “It’s like the Antique Roadshow meets the Sopranos.”
After watching every episode I’ve found some time-tested business principles, which every would-be entrepreneur should follow in order to guarantee success.
The first business principle Pawn Stars exemplifies is the power of having a knowledgeable team of advisors. Rick Harrison relies on his trusted team of experts here’s a short list:
Mark Allen, expert in Wild West movie stage props and supplies.
Drew Max, expert in forensic document examination and handwriting, specializing in celebrities, sports, and antiquities.
Brett Maly, expert in fine art appraisal.
Mark Hall-Patton, expert in historical artifacts and aviation.
Dana Linett, expert in early American history.
Sean Rich, (my personal favorite) expert in antique arms and armor.
I’m sure it took the Pawn Stars years to cultivate these relationships with the above experts, but you’ll see that Rick doesn’t think twice about bringing in one of his expert s if he believes he doesn’t understand in item well enough to accurately assess its value. He’ll even bring them in if it is going to cost him $50 in the process.
Successful entrepreneurs do the same. They don’t hesitate when bringing one of their qualified experts/team members in on a project. When conducting due diligence on a prospective investment or business deal the entrepreneur understands that there will be some upfront cash outlay. These upfront costs are incurred in order to bring in qualified team members to help in assessing the merits and chances of success in the deal being purposed.
Spending $5,000 $50,000, $100,000 or even millions in feasibility studies, pro forma preparations, and other up-front work are seen as necessary expenses when putting together successful deals. If after all the feasibility studies have been completed and pro forma projections forecasted, the deal turns out to not be gem that was envisioned, then the entrepreneur sees these up front costs as money well-spent helping to save larger sums from being lost in a bad investment.
Put together a good team of trusted advisors and then here’s the tricky part…use them! Rely on their advice, wisdom, and knowledge. The little higher price you pay for their advice will be dwarfed in comparison of the money you’ll lose by not knowing that one small, but yet invaluable piece of knowledge that will make the difference between making a mint and losing your shirt.
After the first 10 minutes I was hooked. Within days, I was telling all my friends and family members that they had to watch this new show! When my friends would ask me what it is about the best way I could explain the show was by saying, “It’s like the Antique Roadshow meets the Sopranos.”
After watching every episode I’ve found some time-tested business principles, which every would-be entrepreneur should follow in order to guarantee success.
The first business principle Pawn Stars exemplifies is the power of having a knowledgeable team of advisors. Rick Harrison relies on his trusted team of experts here’s a short list:
Mark Allen, expert in Wild West movie stage props and supplies.
Drew Max, expert in forensic document examination and handwriting, specializing in celebrities, sports, and antiquities.
Brett Maly, expert in fine art appraisal.
Mark Hall-Patton, expert in historical artifacts and aviation.
Dana Linett, expert in early American history.
Sean Rich, (my personal favorite) expert in antique arms and armor.
I’m sure it took the Pawn Stars years to cultivate these relationships with the above experts, but you’ll see that Rick doesn’t think twice about bringing in one of his expert s if he believes he doesn’t understand in item well enough to accurately assess its value. He’ll even bring them in if it is going to cost him $50 in the process.
Successful entrepreneurs do the same. They don’t hesitate when bringing one of their qualified experts/team members in on a project. When conducting due diligence on a prospective investment or business deal the entrepreneur understands that there will be some upfront cash outlay. These upfront costs are incurred in order to bring in qualified team members to help in assessing the merits and chances of success in the deal being purposed.
Spending $5,000 $50,000, $100,000 or even millions in feasibility studies, pro forma preparations, and other up-front work are seen as necessary expenses when putting together successful deals. If after all the feasibility studies have been completed and pro forma projections forecasted, the deal turns out to not be gem that was envisioned, then the entrepreneur sees these up front costs as money well-spent helping to save larger sums from being lost in a bad investment.
Put together a good team of trusted advisors and then here’s the tricky part…use them! Rely on their advice, wisdom, and knowledge. The little higher price you pay for their advice will be dwarfed in comparison of the money you’ll lose by not knowing that one small, but yet invaluable piece of knowledge that will make the difference between making a mint and losing your shirt.
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