Before becoming the president of the United States, Trump was a businessman. While working in the business world, Trump has declared bankruptcy 6 times. Here are several things we can learn from Trump and his failures in business!
Focus on your business
As a real-estate developer, Trump is notorious for going all-in for the dealmaking. The problem is he loses interest in actually working for the businesses he owns.
Trump himself acknowledges this. He once told Timothy O’ Brien, author of his biography “Trump Nation” released in 2005, that he “feels invulnerable,” and “have a tendency to take your eye off the ball”.
Take precautions, be aware of warnings, avoid overshoots
If there are anyone Trump trusts in this world, it is probably himself. According to Yahoo! Finance, Trump received warnings from experts for overextending himself with $820 million of debt to develop the Taj Mahal back in the late 1980s. At that time, New Jersey has just legalized gambling, and Trump decided to gamble with his plan.
His plan went well, and Trump was profiting more than enough with his two casinos: the Plaza and the Castle. However, the plan soon crashed. Casinos in Atlanta City proliferated, the market got saturated, and profit margins plunged.
Trump’s reckless ambition resulted in bankruptcies of all three businesses. Taj Mahal in July 1991, just 16 months after its grand opening, followed by the Trump Plaza and the Trump Castle in 1992.
Trump promised what he couldn’t give, and you shouldn’t
To seek for Taj Mahal’s license back in 1998, Trump assured officials for a financing lock at the lowest possible “prime” rate. Despite several officials doubts, the businessman managed to seal the deal. However, he did end up paying a 14% rate, from an originally 9% rate at the time, due to the problems in the casino’s cash flow and bankruptcy.
As the old people say, there is no success without failures. What’s important is to keep on rising after every failure. Also, remember to always learn from all your failures, and strive to become an even better person.
Read also: Donald Trump Gets Better, Investors are Taking Gold and US Dollar
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