“What does it take to be a successful Entrepreneur? It takes willingness to learn, to be able to focus on your goals, absorb information, and always realize that Business is a 24/7 job where someone is always out there to kick your ass, so you better be better than they are.” – Mark Cuban

Topics: $1M Deals & Results, Vision, Hard Work, Relate, Metrics, Humble. Give Back.

100s of $1M Deals. Shark Tank is popping the champagne in a special episode this Friday 24 February to celebrate $100 million in deals made on air after eight (8) seasons & 600 pitches. This installment of ABC’s hit business reality show also happens to feature all “millennial” entrepreneurs. The show does not keep track of which are eventually successful, because it’s considered “confidential to the Shark and the entrepreneur.”

Deal & Results. The 27-year-old scored a $250K investment from Cuban in a January 2016 episode for his Test-preparation business, [Prep Expert SAT & ACT Preparation]. Since Shark Tank, it has raked in more than $7 million in sales from Classes, Books & licensed Video courses.

6 Greatest Lessons. Nevertheless, in honor of the $100 million milestone, one of Mark Cuban’s business partners — Shaan Patel –– is sharing the six (6) greatest lessons he’s learned after a year of working with the self-made billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner.

1. Have a big Vision. Cuban encourages Patel to see how Prep Expert can go beyond being a standardized-test prep school. Cuban challenges his “mentee” to visualize it being one of the world’s largest Educational companies. Thus, they created their own publishing company to publish a book and turned down a deal with a major label. Their first self-published book, How Any Kid Can Start a Business, is set to debut later this year. “I would not have had this belief myself – if Mark had not encouraged me to think bigger than test-prep,” said Patel. “Most authors would be worried about losing a large publishing deal by going the self-publishing route. Not Mark. He has a bigger vision than most authors and entrepreneurs.” “The only thing holding your business back is your own self-limiting vision,” Patel added.

2.There is no replacement for Hard Work. The most common question people ask Patel is “How’s working with Mark Cuban?” Despite having a large staff and investments in dozens of companies, Cuban is very hands-on and works directly with his entrepreneur. Cuban & Patel communicate weekly. “Whether it is marketing, strategic partnerships, business development, or even responding to customers, Mark is super-responsive,” said Patel. “He is not afraid of getting his hands dirty working — probably a result of his years of building successful businesses — and neither should other entrepreneurs.”

3. “Relate to your Audience.” Cuban & Patel visited a middle school with under-privileged students in Las Vegas, where Prep Expert was working, to film a Shark Tank update. The students were very excited about Patel’s talk about college & scholarships. Unlike Patel, Cuban managed to win them over by first talking about something they know and love, the video game Pokemon Go. “Mark knew his audience. He immediately connected with the kids because he related to things they could relate to,” said Patel. “Always make sure to understand your audience, your customers.”

4. Numbers don’t Lie. You should use data to make business decisions — not your hunches. Patel was inspired to write a personal-development book after Mark dubbed him “a young Tony Robbins” on Shark Tank. Patel initially wanted to call his book “Super-Human.” But Cuban thought it sounded too arrogant and told him to come up with other titles. Patel spent $200 on Google Adwords to “test” 10 different possible book titles to see which ones people clicked on the most. The results showed Patel he should title his book, Self-Made Success. Today, Self-Made Success: Ivy League Shark Tank Entrepreneur Reveals 48 Secret Strategies To Live Happier, Healthier, & Wealthier have all sold thousands of copies in its first year of publication, and I have Mark to thank, said Patel. Use data-driven analytics to help in your decision-making.

5.Always be Humble. Cuban doesn’t let the fact that he’s a TV star, championship basketball team owner and tech icon worth $3.3 billion get to his head. He’s very modest. Patel recommends you always be humble no matter how stratospheric your success. “In all of my inter-actions with Mark, he has been nothing but gracious and down-to-earth,” said Patel. “I feel ashamed when I start feeling too proud of my own small accomplishments when I think about how humble Mark is about his.

6.Give-back. Cuban loves giving back and is an avid Philanthropist with his own foundation named for himself. He hooked Patel up with a Dallas Mavericks player Charlie Villanueva – who suffers from a rare skin disease – to talk with kids at Camp Wonder, where Patel volunteers. Patel thought it would be inspiring for kids who suffer from skin diseases to meet with a celebrity who has lost all of the hair on his head and body. “Mark immediately put me in touch with Villanueva and he is set to speak at Camp Wonder 2017,” said Patel. “As your success opens up doors for you, don’t forget to open up doors for others !!!

Shark Tank Quotes by Mark

“Sweat equity is the most valuable equity there is. Know your business and industry better than anyone else in the world. Love what you do or don’t do it.”

“I still work hard to know my business. I’m continuously looking for ways to improve all my companies, and I’m always selling. Always !!!

“What I’ve learned in these 11 years in Business is, you just got to stay focused and believe in yourself + trust your own ability & judgment”.

“I wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t fail a lot. The good, the bad, it’s all part of the learning process to success.”

“It’s not about money or connections — it’s the willingness to out-work & out-learn everyone when it comes to your business. And if it fails, you learn from what happened and do a better job next time.”

Comments: Would you like to share you feelings about Shark Mark? He’s my favorite. Tuff , but empathetic.

from Forbes.com Zine 20 Feb 17 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz

For more Info, click on Starting a Business, Founders.