“Shark Tank’s” Robert Herjavec Gives Tips to Success and Wealth
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Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty images(NEW YORK) — The five sharks — or wealthy entrepreneurs — on ABC’s Shark Tank know how to spot a good deal. It’s a skill that they heavily rely on as people pitch them ideas in the hopes to gain their investment dollars to grow their businesses. So far, the sharks, including Robert Herjavec, have doled out over $6.2 million dollars of their own money to hopeful start-up companies.
“It’s definitely our own money,” the Canadian businessman confirmed to ABC News Radio. “So that’s why the show works. When we make an offer, we’re really engaged.”
And how do the sharks decide who gets the money? “You have to make an impact,” Herjavec said. “I always tell people, it’s not what you say it’s how you make people feel and it starts with the first impression — how you’re dressed, whether you’re smiling, how you present yourself…after that you have to have a good idea.”
A good idea is exactly how Herjavec amassed his wealth. He is estimated to be worth over $100 million from Internet security systems companies.
“When I started out everybody said to me, ‘It’s not about what you know. It’s who you know.’ And the problem was my dad worked in a factory and my mom was a receptionist, so I didn’t know anybody,” Herjavec explained on how he became successful after immigrating to Canada from Croatia. “The reality is in life if you don’t know anybody you just have to go out and become the guy or the girl that others want to get to know.”
And that he did. So how do you become a mega-millionaire like Herjavec? Thankfully, the 49-year-old broke down three solid tips to building your wealth and becoming successful:
- “Become an expert at something. There’s too many people who think they know a lot. You don’t want to be a generalist, you want to be a specialist…that’s someone who has so much knowledge about a subject that others will pay for your knowledge.”
- “Be adjustable. It’ll never work out the way you think.”
- “You’ve got to know the metrics of your business. Every business has a few key statistics that make it survive.”
Herjavec adds that in order to truly attain wealth, “you have to go and create something of value.”
To hear more tips on how to grow your business, watch ABC’s Shark Tank on Friday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio