Lyle Berman's Lucky 13

6. Be willing to invest your time as well as your money.

When I look back at all the businesses I’ve been involved with, both the successes and the failures, I detect a recurring theme. In start-up ventures where I provided money but not my guidance or expertise, the businesses had a high rate of failure. On the other hand, when I invested both my money and my time, the ventures were far more likely to succeed.

I guess this shouldn’t have surprised me. I’ve claimed for years that business success is 10 percent strategy and 90 percent execution. Considering the fact that most entrepreneurs bankroll new ventures based only on the business plan—which is the 10-percent-strategy part of the equation—it’s no wonder so many ventures fail.

Now, when a person comes to me with an idea, I ask myself: “Does this individual have the talent to execute his/her business plan?” Normally the answer is “no” or “I can’t be sure.” That’s why if you want to invest your money in a start-up company but don’t want to invest your time as well, you would probably be better off keeping your money in your pocket.

7. Trust your intuition.

A person comes to you with an idea that has never been tried before. There are no landmarks, no precedents, no previous experiences to guide your decision. Should you invest in it?

I’ll tell you what I do. I have confidence in my own ability to judge things, so if my intuition tells me something will work, I’ll go with it. Of course, there are times when my intuition is useless because I don’t have a gut feeling one way or the other. But when I do, I trust my instincts.

8. Be prepared to work long hours.

Good entrepreneurs are not fat-cat guys sitting in swivel chairs who smoke cigars and hand out money to the first guy with an idea that walks through the door. Good entrepreneurs are individuals who spend vast amounts of time looking for solid deals, examining proposals at great length, and staying involved in the businesses they bankroll. And here’s the kicker: The more successful you are, the more time you’ll be required to spend in your work.

My average workday is 12 hours and doesn’t include time spent getting to and from the office. My business requires extensive travel. I average between 75 and 100 days a year on a plane. In the past 40 years, I doubt that I’ve spent two consecutive weeks in Minneapolis, where our home office is located. I normally travel on the corporate jet, but I will take a commercial flight if it is more convenient or can save me time. One of my friends described my schedule this way: “Lyle is so busy working, that the only way he can keep up on his reading is by listening to books on tape.” He was right, and that’s just what I do.

Not every entrepreneur works the hours I do. But my life has been my work, and any successful businessperson knows that the eight-hour workday is pretty much a myth when it comes to people who want to get ahead in these competitive times.

9. Reduce hassles and time wasters.

Here is the sad but true reality of life: You can earn more money than you’ll ever spend in your lifetime, but you can’t ever accumulate more time then your life allows. Particularly as you grow older, you will discover that time is a far more precious commodity than cash, and if you want to maximize your success in business, you need to use your limited time most effectively. Focus your time and energy on areas that matter and eliminate activities and behaviors that waste time.

For example, when I first started buying automobiles, I always chose a model from the dealership that was closest to my home. That way I knew that the purchase and after-sales service of my car would require the least possible expenditure of time.

Sometimes this commitment to saving time can take a kind of morbidly humorous twist. Seven or eight years ago, I was driving on an icy road in Minneapolis. I started skidding and I realized I was going to hit the car in front of me. In the flash of a second before impact, I didn’t think about damaging the vehicles or the repair costs for fixing them (I was going too slow to worry about personal injuries). Instead, I began worrying about the hassles a collision would create—filling out the accident report, waiting for a tow truck, getting a rental vehicle.

I’m always looking for new ways to save time and be more efficient. Recently, I was in the market for a new stereo system, and I remember griping to a friend about the time I’d have to spend making the purchase. My friend observed that the entire experience should be a positive one, that most people would enjoy shopping for the item—comparing models, checking prices, choosing the right color and size. For me, the only pleasure was deciding to buy the stereo. All the activities between the decision to buy the stereo and having it operational in my house were, in my opinion, a hassle and a waste of time. I guess I’m a utilitarian kind of guy with both eyes on the clock.

10. Understand the role luck and skill play in your success.

I don’t believe that someone is exceptionally lucky or unlucky. I do believe that everyone experiences good luck and bad luck in their lifetime, but the real issue is how they respond in the face of good fortune or misfortune. If you can take advantage of luck and learn not to dwell on misfortune, I believe your chances for living successfully will be enhanced.

In my own life, I have been blessed with what many people call luck. People say I was in the right place at the right time when it came to starting our leather business, because leather apparel was coming into fashion. The same holds true for being in Minnesota when the Indian casino business was taking off, and investing in Rainforest Café when themed restaurants were becoming all the rage. I was also perfectly situated to put poker on television when the opportunity arose. But luck alone did not produce the business successes that were Berman Buckskin, Grand Casinos, Rainforest Café, and the World Poker Tour. It took skill to grow these companies from the embryonic idea stage. It took talent, hard work, and steady guidance to take a “lucky” break and transform it into a fully utilized opportunity.

When it comes to luck and skill, always remember that chance favors the prepared mind. You can’t control luck, but you can hone your skills to the point where you’ll be ready to take advantage should good fortune smile upon you. This brings me to a final observation: Great fortunes are made from good fortune when great efforts are expended to meet great expectations.