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(Video) What Every Entrepreneur Can Learn From Jay-Z

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In his book, “Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from the Street Corner to the Corner Office,” author Zack O’Malley Greenburg traces Jay-Z’s success at amassing wealth and influence. Greenburg describes Jay-Z’s story as “the American dream in its purest form, a model for any entrepreneur looking to build a commercial empire.” He spoke with BNET about what entrepreneurs can learn from Jay-Z’s rise.

Read on for some Awesome Entrepreneurial Advice from Zack O’Malley Greenburg as he shares what he has learnt from the King of Hip Hop “Jay-Z”.

 

(Video) A Look At Jay-Z’s $450 Million Empire with Author, Zack O’Malley Greenburg

 What Every Entrepreneur Can Learn From Jay-Z

 

BNET: Why write a biography of Jay-Z that focuses on business, not music?

Greenburg: Jay-Z was one of the first to really realize the potential to turn yourself into a lifestyle. People give Martha Stewart credit for creating a lifestyle brand, but Jay-Z has done the same thing, only with a different lifestyle. Jay-Z, along with Puffy and a few other major hip-hop figures, has managed to monetize celebrity in ways that popular artists in other genres haven’t.

BNET: What is one of Jay-Z’s most shrewd business moves?

Greenburg: Jay-Z used to shout out Iceberg Apparel in his songs, which sent sales of Iceberg products soaring. He saw that happening, so he went to the executives of the company and said, “Hey, I’m making you all this money. Why don’t we formalize this with some kind of endorsement deal or equity stake?” The guys at Iceberg weren’t having it, so Jay-Z and his partner Damon Dash started their own clothing line, Rocawear, which became incredibly successful. Within 10 years, Jay-Z sold it for $200 million.

BNET: What’s the key to his business success?

Greenburg: First, there’s the music. He wouldn’t be where he is without being a talented wordsmith.  But starting with Rocawear he had a template: Instead of rapping about other people’s products, he could rap about his own.

He also tends to take on mentors, learn everything he can from them, and then discard them and move on to a new mentor. During his early career, you see this with Jaz-O and Damon Dash. He discarded mentors like these and kept moving on to the point where his mentors are now people like Warren Buffet and Oprah.

And Jay-Z has something that people want: coolness. That’s valuable for a company like Microsoft, which has problems with coolness — its rivals make fun of it for being nerdy. When Jay-Z put out his book, Microsoft gave him $1 million worth of marketing and formed a partnership with him. Microsoft was basically providing a valuable service for Jay-Z in exchange for being associated with his coolness. It’s pretty bizarre, but wonderful for Jay-Z.

BNET: He’s a hustler, which any good entrepreneur needs to know how to do.

Greenburg: One of the things that Jay-Z retained from the streets to the boardroom was the idea that he wasn’t going to give anybody any discounts on anything. If a crack rock was selling for $10, you weren’t going to get it for $9.95 — even if you were his best friend. That’s something that stuck with him throughout his career. He wasn’t going to take any less from anybody than what he thought he was worth.

His background prepared him in another way too: When you’re used to operating under the intense pressure of the streets, where anything could go wrong and your life is on the line, going into a boardroom with a bunch of guys in suits is a lot less intimidating.

This post originally appeared at BNET.

I am the the Founder of Addicted2Success.com and I am so grateful you're here to be part of this awesome community. I love connecting with people who have a passion for Entrepreneurship, Self Development & Achieving Success. I started this website with the intention of educating and inspiring likeminded people to always strive for success no matter what their circumstances. I'm proud to say through my podcast and through this website we have impacted over 200 million lives in the last 10 years.

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Success Advice

Why You Shouldn’t Discount A Brick And Mortar Store In 2025

We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options, but is it worth questioning this theory?

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In 2024, you’d be forgiven for thinking that physical shopping is a thing of the past. We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options. But is it worth questioning this theory? (more…)

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Success Advice

How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements

Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.

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Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.

There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.

Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.

Embed the strength of AI and ML.

AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.  

Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.

ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses. 

In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.

Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities

Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased. 

Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information. 

Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place. 

In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development

You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.

You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.

Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.

Developing key skills to achieve goals

Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.

Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.

Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.

Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.

Development/Coding Knowledge

Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.

Hacking proof framework

There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.

Communication Abilities/Soft Skills

Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:

Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.

Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.

Agile Implementations

It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.

  • Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds. 
  • Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
  • Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
  • Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them. 
  • Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.

  • Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
  • Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
  • Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.

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Success Advice

Understanding the Power of Yes and No: How to Create Boundaries For Success

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The two smallest yet most powerful words in life, “Yes” and “No,” have a big impact on our growth on both personal and professional levels. In addition to affecting the choices we make every day, these words have a significant impact on how our success unfolds. (more…)

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From Couch Potato to Go-Getter: A Step-by-Step Motivation Plan for Everyone

By understanding what motivates you, you can turn your dreams into reality

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Are you tired of feeling like a couch potato? Do you want to transform your life and become a go-getter? You’re not alone! Many people struggle with motivation, but the good news is that change is possible. (more…)

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