Every entrepreneur should admire his victory

Even if you don’t admire the man

President Trump? Wait, did I just type that?

I can’t believe the same guy who likes to grab women by the “pussywillow,” once said all Mexicans are criminals, hired a fake Black pastor to campaign for him, indirectly incited mini hate riots at many of his campaign rallies, had several bankruptcies, and has no political background is now the Chief Commanding Officer of the United States.

We praise all these tech founders without degrees who made successful companies, but Trump should now be the new standard defying the odds.

No one would have fathomed that a celebrity figure, who was pinned a joke a little over 18 months ago, is now the leader of the “free world.”

But he did it. Donald J. Trump is now the 45th President of The United States.

As the polls started to close and the votes were tallying up, I admit that I was taken back by what I was witnessing. Whatever happened to electing the lesser of two evils?

While I admittedly was apprehensive about supporting Hillary, I damn sure did not want Trump to be our President. Why? Just go back and read the opening paragraph — do you really want the bigot, “p-word” grabber to be our president? Well, apparently more than half the country did.

Morally I believe his victory proves how far America hasn’t come, but I am going to save those thoughts for a different post. While his victory puts me in a melancholy state, I admire Trump’s victory as an entrepreneur. There are four basic lessons all entrepreneurs can learn from his campaign.

1. The Brand: You may think you have a brand, but the reality is your audience tells you what your brand is.

Brand is not a function of marketing— it is your business, but who really dictates what your brand is? Many business owners or founders falsely believe they define their brand, but all they define is the idea of what they desire their brand to be.

Your audience, customers, and clients define your brand and Donald Trump understood this early as it relates to his campaign.

Trump knew a segment of America simply wanted America to be “great again.” He knew they were not happy with Obama’s administration and wanted something new (or perceivably old depending on how you look at it). As evident in his campaign rallies or responses to what he actually plans to do to “Make America Great Again,” he listened to his audience and gave them exactly what they wanted— their version of hope.

2. Lack of background shouldn’t stop your ambition:

When I started my consultancy I had no formal training in graphic design, business, or workforce development. I’ve recently started a technology company where we are boot strapping and I am focusing on UX/UI development, again with no formal training.

While I have and will likely continue to bump my head along the way, that has not stopped me from my ambition. The same can be said for Donald Trump.

Entrepreneurs understand that if they have a good idea and are willing to align their idea, they can make a viable business or become the President.

3. Your authenticity is remarkable

You’re either remarkable or invisible. Make a choice. ~Seth Godin

Being remarkable simply means being worth making a remark about, regardless if it is good or bad, and Donald Trump owned that. For most of this political campaign the overwhelming conversation was focused on Trump, which ousted all the other candidates in both major parties.

Trump owned the fact that he was not a politician. He owned the fact that he some of the most idiotic, ignorant sh!t ever said by anyone running for office. It worked.

His authenticity appealed to people. This is what great brands and businesses do — they stay true to who they are and the convictions they believe.

How did Donald Trump become remarkable? He focused on authenticity.

4. If it is something you want, remain resilient and go get it

Many people have their eyes set on a goal, but they stop chasing after that goal when they are hit with setbacks. This is the only difference between people who own a business and those who are employees. It is your resilience that keeps you focused.

Trump was hit with some major blows throughout his entire career — bankruptcies, divorces, predatorily allegation galore, lawsuits — but he remained resilient through it all. He managed to always bounce back and that is what you need to be a great entrepreneur.

While I am vehemently disappointed in the fact that Donald Trump won this presidential election and America is completely controlled by one party, I can’t knock his hustle as an entrepreneur.

As I sit here researching new countries to move my family to, at least for the next four to eight years, all I can say is cheers to you Donald J. Trump on proving that with the right resilience, tenacity, authenticity, brand prowess and overall entrepreneurial mindset…anything is possible.