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TB:
How did you first know that you
had an entrepreneurial spirit?
Michael Giordano:
I was intrigued with how I could
buy bubble gum by the case for 5 cents each [then turn
around] and sell them for 10 cents at school. Some kids
would say, “Hey, it says 5 cents on the gum” and I’d say,
“Yeah, but this is a closed campus and if you want gum
and didn’t bring any, you can get some for 10 cents right
now.” I had a sense of urgency before I even knew what
that term was. I was also very competitive.
What inspired you to start your own business?
The curiosity of whether I could do what the company
I was working at was doing, [but] in a different industry,
more efficiently.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned
since running your own business?
No matter how hard you try, mistakes will happen.
How
you communicate and fix them is what determines your
success or failure.
Would you have done anything differently?
Anything we think of changing or doing differently, we
can do moving forward. Looking back, I think it’s been a
wonderful journey. I really wouldn’t change a thing.
If you were somebody’s mentor, what
would be the first thing you would teach
or share with them?
I would first find out what it is they are having difficulty
with, or listen to their plans or ideas, then share the ques-
tions I ask myself when confronted with a new opportu-
nity. The philosophy of business and life are always in-
corporated into everything I do. Analogies are a priceless
method of open-minded communication. When relayed
appropriately, they are a great way to express a thought
that is easily associated with the subject at hand.
What is your advice to someone who
wants to start their own business?
I think back to when I was making this decision for my-
self. I was in my early 20s and renting some space in my
parents’ house. I didn’t go to college, and I didn’t have
a business plan. I had very little expenses and no family
of my own at the time, so it was an ideal time to take the
leap. I remember the feeling I had; I can best describe it
as getting ready to walk a tightrope, looking down and
watching the net get pulled away. There was something
exciting about it, a competition of me versus myself.
For me, that is where risk tolerance was born. My ad-
vice to someone who wants to start their own business is
to identify the end result you truly wish to achieve. Identify
what you are truly willing to do to achieve it and trace the
steps back to where you are right now before you risk one
dollar of your hard-earned money. I find it helps to create
an achievable perspective versus just putting your head
down and charging forward. It’s the difference between
working hard and working smart.
TB
No matter how
hard you try,
mistakes will
happen. How you
communicate and
fix them is what
determines your
success or failure.
[ T O B A C C O B U S I N E S S . C O M ]
TOBACCO BUSINESS
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