‘Undercover Billionaire’: 4 ways to be confident in business from Monique Idlett, Elaine Culotti and Grant Cardone
Another week, another episode where Monique Idlett, Elaine Culotti and Grant Cardone are stopping at nothing to launch a successful business, with nothing to their name except for $100, a phone and a truck. So far, they're all at different points in their journey, while Idlett has a concrete idea, Culotti has secured a location and Cardone has funds, they are all still in the process of creating a fully functional set up. Each episode sees these tycoons dish out some essential tips that can be applied by anyone who doesn't just want to hustle hard but wants to hustle smart. Here's what they had to say.
Don't be shy
"The person you're trying to make a deal with needs to know exactly what you need from them," says Culotti. Being a military kid, Culotti spent a large chunk of her life moving around due to her father's job. The above is a piece of advice from him, if she or anyone for that matter was going to be shy, you wouldn't be able to make any friends. It's a piece of advice that Culotti applies to her business approach. As she puts it, "If you can't make friends and talk to people, then you can't sell yourself. And that's your biggest commodity".
Although Culotti is the one who talks about it, we've also seen Cardone and Idlett practice this approach. All three of them have started their business or secured some funds for the same, purely by marketing themselves and what they can potentially do, with their words alone, seeing that they don't have much else to pitch with.
Standing apart is a way to start
"In a competitive market place, separating yourself from everyone else will help your business stand out. You need to create innovative ways for your business to connect with your customers. In order to succeed, you have to make a lasting impression," says Idlett, when talking about how to make your mark in a competitive market. Among the three, Idlett was definitely the first one to zero in on a concrete idea, complete with something tangible that she can deliver, seeing that she started handing out samples of her healthy juice shots. Idlett approached restaurants and eateries and although the response was positive, seeing that she was starting a business during Covid-19, getting the right amount of foot traffic and spreading the word was essential.
The episode sees Idlett moving away from relying on just restaurants to do the selling for her, she decides that maybe she should be selling her concoctions by using the ice cream truck model - instead of waiting for crowds to come to her, she goes to them. A healthy food truck idea seems like a new one to the city of Tacoma, Idlett is cashing in to the fact that the idea is a novelty, it's sure to spark curiosity in the community.
Get to the top of the food chain
"Get to the top of the food chain basically means call on to people that are qualified." Cardone saw the biggest setback this week, seeing the Pueblo shut down and he was forced to return back home, bringing all his plans to a screeching halt. Upon returning, he found that Matt Smith, the man who cut him a cheque for $10,000 had hired a marketing company to do what Cardone had planned on doing for him. Cardone expressed the interest to work with Smith nonetheless, he was determined to stay on with Smith, seeing that he is a key player in the city's business landscape. Smith gave in and let him cash the cheque, which was a win for Cardone - according to him, it's essential to know the hierarchy of successful business owners, especially if you want to dominate that circle itself.
Delegate to empower
"If you're trying to run something, you've got to have enough people underneath you to put it into actual motion. You never know what somebody is capable of," says Culotti in this episode, as she gets two of the Shepherd's Inn residents, Kellie Vela and Jentri Schaa to help her raise funds in order to revamp the place. Culotti has a lot on her plate - between labor to pay for her stay, starting her business and revamping the place. This piece of advice works in tandem with her ideology about not being shy. It was a simple conversation that helped Culotti figure out that these women didn't have much going on right now and her leadership skills had both, Vela and Schaa recognize that she might be someone they too can learn from. It is a give and take scenario, that works both ways.
Catch Season 2 of 'Undercover Billionaire' on Discovery and Discovery+.