If you’re alive, you’ve heard of Mark Cuban, tech guru, owner of the Mavericks basketball team and permanent fixture on the hit television show Shark Tank, where entrepreneurs pitch to investors in hopes of gaining once-in-a-lifetime expertise and investments.
His net worth is 4.3 billion dollars (as of Fall, 2020 — which is up 1/2 a billion in four short years from 2016 when I wrote the original version of this story.
So, what can Mark Cuban, who’s made his fortune in sports and tech, teach us about creative business? It turns out, a lot. I list just 7 below to show how the two are not so different after all. See if his advice applies to your creative business. Number 6 may surprise you.
In The Beginning, God Said, “Let There Be Failure”
Mark’s story is a great one because he’s so relatable to the massive middle class, which includes most of us, right? Plus, his story is still unfolding right this very minute which makes him damn relevant historically speaking because we’re afforded exactly the same things he was afforded when he started out (with the exception of the Internet, which gives us a leg up on him).
You see, it didn’t appear in the beginning (circa 1980’s) that Mark would ever become a billionaire. In fact, Mark made moves that appeared counter productive to billionarism.
Before we get into the 7 bad behaviors, check these failure stats and see if you agree with the key takeaways:
1. First, Mark skipped his senior year of high school to enroll in college. While taking college courses full-time, Mark decided to open a bar (he wasn’t even of legal drinking age). This venture was shut down immediately after he mistakenly allowed a 16 year old to enter and win a wet t-shirt contest.
Key takeaway: Pay attention to the details that matter most to the success of your business (legality, for one).
