CTV REAL ESTATE LLC
TAMPA, FLORIDA

As the Chief Executive Officer, Vincent is involved in acquisitions, operations, marketing and managing its companies for growth and success. His vision has been incredibly important for the expansion of the company.” While talking with Vincent about how to start a successful business, Jake took note of a comment Vince made and wrote a whole article around it. “I believe it is vital to create a foundation and platform that engages your employees (or team members) to actively participate in the development of the model. Surround yourself with driven people and trust them. While being flexible and open-minded, maintain a distinct vision of your business’s end-game. When your staff has a vested interest beyond compensation, the results usually surpass your own expectations. I may not always be the smartest guy in the room, and accepting that makes me a better businessman. Listen and you will learn.” According to Jake, the quotation above was, “The “business equivalent” of five flame emojis.” We couldn’t agree more. While “unpacking” the quote, Jake identified seven valuable lessons to start a successful business. Among those lesson are: When an employee or partner is involved early in any process, it comes with a ton of benefits. For example, if they’re part of the development, an employee will focus their energy on problem-solving rather than simply blaming management for the state of the business. When things are collaborative from the start, everybody shares successes and everybody shares blame – creating an environment of problem solvers and creative thinkers rather than finger-pointers. I hate to use the “millennial” type of example, but in today’s business world, people legitimately care and want to make a difference. If they feel they are empowered to make a difference, they will be happier with their company and its culture. In any business, you need to surround yourself with the right types of employees, team members, partners, and investors. As Vincent mentioned, they need to be driven people, and they need to be trusted. To find a the right people, look for people who dream big, have positive attitudes, ask a lot of questions, have skills, and well – you like them. You have to be able to trust their decisions and get along with them easily. This will enable things to get done and will allow you as the business owner to take a step back and focus on future successes rather than being super involved in the day-to-day operations. “While being flexible and open-minded, maintain a distinct vision of your business’s end-game.” Make sure you develop some sort of framework around what your business is and what it stands for. Have some sort of mission statement, core values, or set of beliefs. This gives you something to guide your decisions. You can ask yourself through every decision – “does this align with my mission?” and it will make things cohesive. After that, you need to stick to the plan. Make every decision point to that end vision. Successful business owners master the ability to balance flexibility and open-mindedness with a clear vision. You need to know exactly what you want to achieve as the end goal, but be willing to change the methods you use to get there along the way. In Business: Better to be Smart, or Right? When asked during a panel discussion with other esteemed business executives, Jeff Bezos, the CEO...