David Brent (#9)

David Brent lives in Atlanta Georgia. He has owned over 8 business in his life time, and currently owns a commercial construction company. When he got off of his mission in 1990, his dad gave him $25,000 to do what ever he wanted with. His dad hoped he would use this money to enroll himself into Brigham Young University, but David had way bigger dreams. He used this $25,000 to start a construction company. The company took off, and by the age of 24 he had made a million dollars. He never looked back at his decision to skip over college and dive right into the working world.

After his first company took off, David decided to start another construction company in Phoenix, open up a gas station, start an online trading business, start a landscaping maintenance business, and owning a metal distribution building.

David's advice for me was to give your dreams 100%. If this means dropping out of school right now to begin the business of your dreams, then you should go for it. If you want to start your own doctors practice than of course school is necessary, but unless that is your entrepreneur dream then dropping out of school could be the best decision. He also mentioned the importance of networking. He said that life is all about who you know, and your connections are what are going to land you a job. Not a fancy resume.

I really enjoyed talking to David and seeing what entrepreneurship is like over on the east coast. Most of the people that I talked to were in Utah or the west coast, so I liked getting a fresh perspective from a different side of the country.

David Pestana (#8)

This month I had the opportunity to be connected with David Pestana through Jon Bradshaw. I was super excited about this connection because David is currently working in the real estate field which is what I have been leaning towards doing. David is a part time owner of EdgeCreek property management in Provo. His company acts like a professional management company and manages 1700 student housing contracts in Idaho, and 300 apartments.

David has currently finished up two projects. The first project was an expensive remodel of 72 Heritage Apartments in Rexburg. The second project was building a River Bottom office structure in Idaho. His company currently owns three office buildings, and most of the properties he manages are located in Idaho.

I also got the chance to talk with him about starting his company. He started the company in 2008 with his brother and life long friend. He was working in California at Wachovia, and just decided that he needed diversity and change and wanted to start something new. He went to school for exercise at BYU Hawaii and University of Las Vegas, but he said if he could go back he would go for something in the tech field.

Currently, EdgeCreek is the only business that David is working with, but he said that in the far future he may consider starting another company. He says he really enjoys the real estate market and will probably stick with this field. He recommended the real estate market because he said that all of the baby boomers are currently retiring, and are using real estates as retirement. He also suggested staying on the west coast if I am planning on going into real estate.

Casey Cunningham (#7)

I had the chance to interview Casey Cunningham, CEO of XINNIX. XINNIX is a company in Atlanta that is designed to sharpen seasoned veterans and produce new mortgage sales professionals. This is a privately held company that has been very successful and was founded in 2002. I talked with Casey about her previous experience that led her to her current career, and what made her realize that entrepreneurship was her calling.

Casey went to Wofford College and Georgia State University and studied marketing and business. She said that early on, she wanted to reap the benefits of hard work and not have limitations on earnings. After graduating college, she started out in straight commissions sales in order to have unlimited upside. She later decided that she wanted to be an entrepreneur after realizing that she had a service that people wanted. She said that she always felt like an entrepreneur even working for companies because she would always work as if she owned the company. This attitude caused multiple promotions for her. In 2002, she decided to turn from sales and start her own business- a mortgage academy.

When asking about her unexpected challenges that she ran into while starting her company, she mentioned market conditions, lack of quality workers available, managing cash flow, and time limitations. When asking her if she often uses her schooling experience to help her run her business, she said that she does to some degree but real life work experience has definitely been more meaningful and helpful to her. When I asked her if there is any advice she would give to her college self, she said “Work hard in school so you are getting experience and education simultaneously, realize that the future is as big as you make it, apply yourself 100%, and be involved in a leadership position on campus as this is the greatest skill you will need as a successful entrepreneur.”

Courtney Bartik Interview (#6)

I met Courtney last fall and have been extremely fascinated and inspired by the company she has built in Atlanta, and the family that she is so successful with. I have never talked to her about her business story before, but decided she would be a perfect person to call up and interview for this semester.

Courtney went to the University of Georgia and studies many different fields including psychology and English, before ending up with a BA in History with a Women’s Studies minor. When I asked her when she realized she wanted to be an entrepreneur, she told me that she always knew she “wanted to do her own thing.” When she was younger, she would play business to entertain herself. Once she was in HS and in college, she didn’t really know what she wanted to do.  All she knew was that she wanted to create new things and make a business out of it. She didn’t think of herself as an entrepreneur at first. It took a heck of a lot of work, and a successful business strategy that has been successful after seven years for her to consider herself an entrepreneur. She said, “ I just simply started a business and I was determined to make it work.  I come from a line of hard-working entrepreneurs, so I guess it’s in my blood.” When I asked her about her unexpected challenges, her reply was “Oh boy!  MANY!” She told me that facing these challenges and not giving up is the key to being a successful entrepreneur.  She said that you cannot be afraid of making mistakes because that is how you learn.  She said she started out extremely conservative and uneasy about making risks, but that now she is willing to put herself and the business out there because she now realizes this is what helps it grow. Earlier on in my business’s infancy, I was much more conservative and calculated with risk.  Now, I am willing to put her and the business out there because that is what helps her and the company grow. She said that as far as using her education to help her run her business, she has not used the information that she learned, but the skills that she learned and that this has made all the difference.

Her advice for school and through out the business life is to just keep on trucking!  Get the degree.  Perhaps have a little more fun – college is not just about grades.  Take classes that interest you.  Listen to your own gut and not others – including your parents!  They mean well but only you know what is in your heart.  If you want to be a starving artist – do it!!  There are many ways to make a living.  And you don’t have to be rich.  You just need to be happy.  And happiness comes from the inside and being fulfilled.  I absolutely loved talking to her and getting advice from a successful businesswoman for the first time this semester.  

President Worthen Interview (#5)

I got the chance to meet President Worthen at the Cannon Center, and got to sit and have lunch with him for a few minutes before heading to class. Considering it is one of my dreams to one day be the president of BYU (too far fetched…? NO.), I was thrilled to meet him and it is safe to say that he is by far my favorite professional connection I have made this year.

I got the chance to ask President Worthen about his college years, and how he has got to where he is now. I got to talk to him about his transfer years at BYU, his decision to go to law school, what is was like serving next to the Supreme Court, and his decision to return to the J Ruben Clark law school as a teacher before later being called as the Brigham Young President.

I only got a few minutes with him, but those few minutes were priceless. I admire him so much, and appreciated his advice regarding staying in school for as long as you can and to never stop learning. They seems like typical things a college president would say, but they still meant so much coming from him. I know it sounds ridiculous, but he is living my dream. I asked him if it was possible for females to be president of the BYU schools, and he said absolutely. It has obviously never happened before, but he doesn't imagine it never would. Either way, I am such a big fan of him and am so grateful that I got to meet him. Best professional connection of the month!

President Wheelwright Interview (#4)

I got the chance to meet and have lunch with President Steven C. Wheelwright who is the current president of Brigham Young University Hawaii. I met him this past month when he attended a family meeting that my family has each October at BYU Provo.   

President Wheelwright graduated from the business school at Harvard University, where he later became the associate dean for the school’s program. IN his lifetime he has written several books, including "Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation" and “Pursuing the Competitive Edge.”

President Wheelwright said that if he could give me any advice, it would be “school, school, school. And school.” He said that the most important thing that I could be doing right now is taking school extremely seriously, and gaining all the knowledge that I can. I really appreciated this advice. A few of the people that I have previously interviewed have told me that school is unnecessary, so it was nice to hear someone tell me that my studies will pay off and that I am not wasting my time.  I didn’t have a lot of time with him, but I felt extremely lucky to have got the few minutes with him that I did.

Jeff Clark Interview (#3)

Jeff Clark was my dad’s best friend when my parents got married, and Jeff has been a part of my family ever since. I have always known he was a very successful man, but was super interested to find out what he thought about education and how to climb your way up to the top.

Jeff started by telling me that he went to two different community college in Arizona after he graduated high school. He started out at Phoenix College and then transferred to Mesa Community College. He said that he had enough hours to earn a degree in criminal justice, but never followed through to obtain it. After he left college he became a policeman for quite a good part of his life. It wasn’t until the late 90’s that he decided he wanted to do something more with his life, and ended up making millions. In 1998 he took what knowledge he had of construction and started his own housing company. It took a little while to get off the ground, but after it got rolling it never stopped. It only took a few months to realize that he absolutely loved what he was doing, and loved the money that began to roll in. He now has a large home construction company based in Arizona and lives life extremely comfortably.

What I found most interesting about this interview was when Clark started talking about his attitude toward education. I think Clark is a little biased because he has seen how far he has come in life with almost no schooling, but I also think that some of what he says makes pretty good sense. Clark believes that except in a few cases where a degree is necessary, such as a lawyer or a doctor, college is a waste of time. He said that the people who control the makes and media try to make young people think that to get a good job, you need a college education. The sad truth that these people find out later is that there are few jobs to be found, with or without a college degree. He thinks the whole idea of college and student loans is the biggest waste of money. His advice- “If you know what you want to do….DO IT. You don’t need a degree to back you up. If you have the ambition, nothing can stop you.” I thought this was a very different perspective than most people I have talked to. I think it is crazy that  he has made so much money and never really went to college, but I respect his hard work and his ambition to get the money that he dreamed of.