Mark Cuban shared some top notch advice with school students in Texas, explaining the ‘key’ to starting a successful business.
Cuban is now a billionaire thanks to his entrepreneurial skills, which saw him setting up his first business when he was just 12-years-old, meaning he’s ideally placed to offer advice to the younger generation.
The 64-year-old businessman and Shark Tank star kick started his career at a tender age selling garbage bags door to door, before moving on to selling collectibles such as baseballs cards and stamps.
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As he got older, Cuban took various jobs to make money, including working as a bartender, offering disco dancing lessons and selling PC software, before going on to set up his own business, which he sold in 1990 for $6 million.
Speaking on an episode of Shark Tank back in 2016, Cuban revealed that it was in his nature to make cash.
“I was a hustler," he said. "I have always been selling. I always had something going on. That was just my nature."
And Cuban says that there’s one simple thing people need to understand before attempting to go into business alone.
Speaking to students at Lewisville High School back in October, he said: “The key to starting a business when you’re young is doing things that you can do yourself — things you can do with your own time.”
“If it’s a product, do something that’s easy for you to get and easy for you to sell
“It really comes down to one simple thing. The best businesses are things you can control and do yourself. That’s what being an entrepreneur is all about.”
Of course, Cuban also made it clear that becoming a success wasn’t easy.
“Being an entrepreneur and starting a business doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy and all of a sudden you make a lot of money. Being an entrepreneur is the harder way.
“If being an entrepreneur was easy, you all would already be doing it and coming on Shark Tank and taking my place – actually, hopefully you’re taking Mr. Wonderful’s [Shark Tank co-star Kevin O'Leary] place and not mine.
However, he went on to say that as long as you don’t mind putting in the hard work and long hours, success becomes a lot more achievable.
He said: “If you’re willing to take the initiative and start a business, anything is possible.”
Claire Reid