Find a mentor to guide your career. When you make your mark, become one.
Lessons from Mentors
I was lucky as a teenager to have found a mentor in Irving Settler. He taught me nearly everything I know about retail. I would not have been successful had he not been so hard on me or invested in my education. He taught me the importance of knowing every aspect of your business. From tailoring to purchasing to merchandising to finance and especially customer service.
Those essential lessons from my mentor, and my failure to apply them when I founded my first company, Pant-O-Mine, helped make it possible for me to take the risk to start Great American Cookies in 1977.
Give Back
As I have moved throughout my career, I have tried to pay back that debt. By giving time and energy to young entrepreneurs, helping them avoid the same mistakes I made. This is why I agreed to teach the “From Concept to Counter” class in the spring semester of 2013 at Kennesaw State University. And when I advise someone writing a new business plan, I focus on setting attainable goals, knowing the competition, building a strong team, and avoiding being incapacitated by fear.
