Sean C. Castrina - The Greatest Entrepreneur in the World: The Tale of 7 Pillars: Surviving Startup to Becoming the Giant

the GREATEST ENTREPRENEUR
in the WORLD

Also by Sean C. Castrina

8 Unbreakable Rules for Business Start-Up Success
8 Unbreakable Rules for Business Start-Up Success Workbook
The Greatest Entrepreneur in the World Workbook

the
GREATEST
ENTREPRENEUR
in the WORLD

THE TALE OF 7 PILLARS

Surviving Startup to Becoming the Giant

SEAN C. CASTRINA

New York

the GREATEST ENTREPRENEUR in the WORLD THE TALE OF 7 PILLARS

Surviving Startup to Becoming the Giant

2016 SEAN C. CASTRINA.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in New York, New York, by Morgan James Publishing. Morgan James and The Entrepreneurial Publisher are trademarks of Morgan James, LLC. www.MorganJamesPublishing.com

The Morgan James Speakers Group can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event visit The Morgan James Speakers Group at www.TheMorganJamesSpeakersGroup.com.

This book is a word of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events and incidents either are the products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

ISBN 978-1-63047-610-6 paperback

ISBN 978-1-63047-611-3 eBook

ISBN 978-1-63047-612-0 audio

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015905163

Cover Design by:

Rachel Lopez

www.r2cdesign.com

Interior Design by:

Bonnie Bushman

The Whole Caboodle Graphic Design

In an effort to support local communities and raise awareness and funds, Morgan James Publishing donates a percentage of all book sales for the life of each book to Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Are you an entrepreneur? An affirmative answer to this question unlocks a life that most would agree is a wonderful one to participate in. There is no more of a revered list on Earth than Forbes annual list of the wealthiest 400 Americans. With a combined net worth in the trillions, no one on this Mount Rushmore of wealth dare apply with anything short of a 10-figure treasure chest. Within just a few years, the bar will surely be 11 figures.

There was a time when children wanted to grow up to be doctors, lawyers, policemen or teachers, but now more than ever, a successful entrepreneur is the crown jewel of careers. It is the only one where the greater the achievement, the more freedom you have and less you actually have to do that you dont want to. Oh, what a freedom entrepreneurial success provides, but not so with the aforementioned fields, where being the most accomplished requires no less than a 70-hour workweek and still having to answer to a boss. And lets not forget, you can still get fired or downsized no matter how loyal you have been. Not so with the entrepreneur, who creates jobs and the wealth that keeps a countrys economy moving.

What is an entrepreneur? and, How can I be one? are questions that get asked too often with no clear answer. For one, an entrepreneur is someone with the gift to start something that provides a profit that currently does not exist. That is my definition so dont bother comparing it to the one listed in Websters Dictionary. I want to quickly define profit because I do believe it goes far broader than a dollar. Do you have an idea that could provide shoes for those who cannot afford them? That sure would be profitable to the person who does not have them so please go forth and be a successful entrepreneur. Do you work for a company that needs to grow and you have a few thoughts that could birth new profit from within? Then go forth and present your plan of attack (with a few warnings, I could share on how to have these ideas benefit you personally as well).

I have started more businesses than I have fingers and soon more than I have toes (not to mention digesting more than 200 books on every subject related to starting and growing a business). I am convinced I have discovered a few pillars, as I call them, that must be established to first survive (because there will be a season when survival is all you can hope for) and finally, to help your company, division or organization become a giant (and reap the spoils that status brings).

So the answer I share is: Yes, you can be an entrepreneur because it is a learned skill. I confess, it will come easier to some than others, but we have all been taught at some time or another that anything worth getting requires work and sacrifice. Being a successful entrepreneur is no different, but what is different is the payoff. I would argue no field offers greater rewards than that of an accomplished entrepreneur. In this book, I aim to paint a picture of what those rewards can look like while teaching the pillars that Ive learned to survive startup and become the giant.

A s I look out the window of my office on the 28th floor of the old Illinois Bell Building, I feel as if I am looking out of a fish tank. My name is Johnny Dawkins. This building was once occupied by a former retail titan known the world over, but now we own it in a partnership and occupy 14 floors mortared between AB Investment Group who sits above us and Global Information Security. What keeps me humble is that both companies I just mentioned were not even in existence a decade ago. This esteemed building became available a decade ago during the very public collapse of a retail- and catalog-pioneering giant who never transitioned into the information age. Inside these walls of glass and steel it is quiet and still, but outside on the city streets, there is constant motion and noise.

The city of Chicago is abuzz with life. Businesswomen and businessmen hustle down the sidewalks toward their offices, hardhat workers operate heavy equipment as they build the citys next skyscraper, arteries of traffic wind way too slowly for anyones taste; all are swarming around this massive concrete forest of architecture called the Windy City. Yet, I stand above this scene, in total silence, watching from my office.

Whatever thickness my window glass is, it is enough to cancel out an entire metropolis of noise. From my glassed perch, I can look through those floor-to-ceiling windows in nearly every direction. I have a one hundred and eighty degree view of Chicago, my hometown. Most of the time, I catch myself looking north in the direction of where I grew up: my old neighborhood of Wrigleyville. Wrigleyville is the name of the area surrounding Wrigley field, home of the Cubs and the place of many boyhood memories of roaring times on hot summer days. I lived about three blocks from the stadium on Addison Street in a working-class neighborhood. I dont live there now, but I like to think about it and reminisce. A little farther north is where I went to college at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The school is located along the handsome shoreline of Lake Michigan.