The key to becoming a successful entrepreneur depends on students' individual personalities and their drive, the world's 247th richest person said Wednesday.
Samuel Zell, a Chicago native and chairman of 10 companies, said entrepreneurship is not high tech, but it does require "thinking in a different fashion."
"Entrepreneurship is the empowerment of an individual," he said to more than 100 students in three packed classrooms.
Christine LeJeune, a junir in business administration and international business, agreed with Zell that hard work and determination are more valuable than paying for the best education.
"A 120 I.Q. is all anyone needs to be successful," Zell said.
People are born with certain skills and abilities, and how they use those skills will decide where they go, Zell said.
When entrepreneurs realize the opportunity, they must take steps with a sense of urgency, he said.
Zell explained how he took urgent steps when the Telecommunications Deregulation Act passed in 1996. The lifted restrictions allowed him to increase the number of radio stations he owned from 17 to 234. The opportunity and sense of urgency turned Zell's $50 million investment into a $6.4 billion sell.
Entrepreneurs constantly test limits, he said. They never lose sight of the objective. They have vision and have a high level of curiosity. They want to see and understand and most important of all, they have self-confidence.
"I've never failed at anything; not everything works out," he said. "I never questioned that I would be successful."
Success is achieved by taking these characteristics and applying them to a simple idea. Everything an entrepreneur does is based or predicated on an simple idea, Zell said.
"An idea you can't explain in one or two sentences is not worth explaining," he said. This "no nonsense approach to success" struck Josh Aber, a senior in financial planning and insurance risk management. Aber said he also liked how Zell's tips were short and concise.
The United States is "the most unique, open, challenging society in the world" Zell said. The ability to recognize the skills Americans have and to execute them is what makes our country great, he said.
Zell's presentation, "50 Ways to Make a Billion Dollars," was a part of the Emen's professorship lecture sponsored by the Miller College of Business.
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