James Svetec has the spirit of entrepreneurship in his bones.
After spending a year studying business and entrepreneurship he felt lost. Traditional career paths failed to fit within his idea for the type of life he wanted, and the only thing he could envision working for him was to trailblaze a path that allowed him to work for himself.
Cut to Student Works. It was here that James honed his natural managerial abilities and learned that there was another way towards success that didn’t involve putting in extra hours to make someone else successful.
Since his days in our management training program, James has founded an impressive online training program, BnB Mastery, that teaches individuals how to earn a full-time income by managing other people’s properties on AirBnB.
Unsurprisingly, James has collected many valuable kernels of wisdom from his days as a business owner. Here are two of his key tips for success:
Creativity & Brilliance Can’t Replace Hard Work
According to James, regardless of how prolific you are as a creator, no amount of creativity and brilliance replace hard work.
“There’s a difference between someone who wants the outcome, wants to be making the money, traveling, and living where they want, versus somebody who actually wants to do the work,” he said in a recent interview with Chris Thomson on our Leaders of Tomorrow Podcast.
Anyone who has spent time as an entrepreneur knows this to be true. Putting in the hours, making those cold calls, and harnessing the power of persuasion to get new clients are all crucial parts of building a business from the ground up. It’s not the idea that makes the money, it’s the execution of it!
Manage your Mental State
To be successful, James says, you need to learn where you’re at mentally. Getting to the top will only be challenging if you don’t check in with yourself or understand if you even enjoy what you’re working so hard on.
Yes, BnB Mastery has hit it big, but it wasn’t James’s first business. In fact, there was once a time that he had piles of other people’s used furniture crowding up his living room. Why? He had been acquiring the pieces with the sole intention of flipping them on Kijiji.
Then there was his stint working as a contractor for a company, wherein his employer and him parted ways – both relieved to be set free of the other.
If James hadn’t determined that those hustles weren’t his destiny by managing his mental state and figuring out what didn’t work for him, he wouldn’t have the successful company he does today.
A few quick tips to do this from James? Leave work at work & recognize that the customer isn’t a jerk, he’s merely a reflection of how you could be showing up better.
Are you a student looking to further your development as a leader and enter the exciting world of entrepreneurship? Check out more stories from Student Works participants and alumni on our Leaders of Tomorrow Podcast!
