June 25, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/1KdHrBq. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Jack Nadel has been doing business since the end of World War II. Most people his age, quite frankly, are dead and the rest are retired. Nadel is passionate about sharing his collected wisdom with veterans and others who are working to start businesses. He has written a book, The Evolution of an Entrepreneur, that features 50 of his best business tips. Nadel has made the book available to veterans at no charge. He shared a few of his tips with me. 1. Find a Need and Fill It: The first deal I made was based on one of the first tips I share in my book: Find a Need and Fill it. In 1946, the Chinese were looking to purchase navy blue woolen material, which did not exist. However, there was post War army olive drab material available, so I bought olive drab at war surplus, dyed it navy blue and sold it to the Chinese. 2. Never Fear to Negotiate, Never Negotiate Out of Fear: Never fear to negotiate and never negotiate out of fear, an important tip for all entrepreneurs. We sold our company, Jack Nadel International, to a New York Conglomerate in 1968. In 1972, we bought it back on a leveraged buy out. The New York company wanted the property for more stock, while our negotiations had included the property for cash. I explained to them that I did not come to re-negotiate and if I did not get cash for the property, there was no deal. They were astounded that I took that hard of a position that I would walk away from the deal. It was good that I did, because I would have sold it for $90,000 in 1968 and in 2014, after collecting rent for all those years, I sold the property for $4.2 million dollars. 3. Think Global, Start Local: It is very valuable to prove your concept by actually succeeding at it on a smaller scale, first. If you can test a concept by actually executing it on a local level, you will have proven your point. Financing will be much easier and you will have learned what really works. A perfect example was my years in the writing instrument business. We progressed the company from being a small distributor in Los Angeles, California, to being a worldwide successful manufacturer and distributor. So it pays to think global, and start local. Please consider whether a friend or colleague might benefit from this piece and, if so, share it.
#253: Not Dead, Not Retired, 91-Year-Old Veteran, Entrepreneur Gives Back