Entrepreneurship 101

Bill Rancic’s mom knew he was going to become an entrepreneur when he was 10 years old.

Long before he created a cigar-of-the-month business, won the first season of The Apprentice, flipped houses with his famous and glamorous wife, E News anchor Guiliana, on their highly-rated show Guiliana and Bill, the Chicago native maximized his first opportunity—making pancakes with his grandmother.

“My parents dropped me off, I learned how to make pancakes with my grandmother, who invited all her friends to brunch. When I was clearing the dishes I discovered that each blue-haired lady had left a $5 bill under her plate. I started begging my mom to take me to my grandmother’s every weekend,” he says, a mischievous glint in his eye. His jig was up just a few short weeks later, but he had discovered an essential trait that every entrepreneur possesses: the ability to recognize a good idea, and having the wherewithal to seize and capitalize upon it.

Going into business on your own or choosing to work for a small business doesn’t work for everyone, Rancic acknowledges. He started out in corporate America himself, working for a glitzy Chicago firm, wanting all the perks and trappings that only a large corporation can offer. But when a 30-year veteran was fired on the spot in front of him, Rancic had an “aha” moment. “I knew then that I’m never going to let that happen to me,” he says.

So he quit his job, opting to start his own business with a friend out of his 400-square-foot apartment. “My bosses told me I was going to fail, which only fueled my fire. I was determined to prove them wrong.”

Which brings us to entrepreneurial trait No. 2: In virtually every successful entrepreneur’s life lurks at least one important naysayer. Whether it was a teacher, a parent, a spouse, a boss, or a business partner, someone along the line said “you’re doomed to fail.” And instead of listening, that made the entrepreneur even more determined.

What separates the winning businesses from the losing ones at this critical stage is how quickly they can get to practical execution, Rancic says. “You can sit at home as the debts pile up and think to yourself ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ Or you can take the blinders off, try any off-the-wall-but-within-budget idea, really go for it, and score big.”

Auditioning for Donald Trump’s reality show about real business types vying for a position within the Trump organization wasn’t anywhere on Rancic’s radar. But when a friend’s mom—who happened to know a casting director—informed him that he was reporting for his appointment at a certain time on a certain date, he knew he had to show up. “Fear is the reason many people don’t succeed. I was afraid at the possibility that not only could I get cast, but that I could win,” he says. “And then I stopped to think about what great exposure this would be for my business, my company, my brand. Like Trump says, this is the ultimate job interview.”

Looking back at his time on the show, Rancic attributes his ability to persevere over the other contestants to his entrepreneurial sensibilities. The equation he sees in the businesspeople who are bubbling to the top these days comes down to this: “When it comes time to make critical decisions, they’re not paralyzed. All good decisionmakers are comfortable acting and finding creative solutions for their problems. It was also important to never quit, never make excuses, and take ownership of your destiny, because those are the hallmarks of a true leader. Skill you can teach, but leadership is innate.”

It’s also just as important to know what doesn’t work in an entrepreneurial environment. “Surrounding yourself with negative people is a sure way to head toward failure,” Rancic says. As is being reactive rather than proactive. “People who are always on the defensive never get ahead. That’s why anticipation is such a great trait.”

Finally, potential has an expiration date. “An entrepreneur is only as good as his last great idea, last great execution. To be a successful entrepreneur you have to think of yourself as an orchestra conductor,” he suggests. “He’s not an expert at each instrument, but he knows how to make all of them work together harmoniously and make a beautiful sound.”

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Romy Ribitzky is an associate editor at Portfolio.com.