Not Dead, Not Retired, 91-Year-Old Veteran, Entrepreneur Gives Back
This post was originally produced for Forbes.
Jack Nadel has been doing business since the end of World War II. Most people his age, quite frankly, are dead and the rest are retired.
Nadel is passionate about sharing his collected wisdom with veterans and others who are working to start businesses. He has written a book, The Evolution of an Entrepreneur, that features 50 of his best business tips.
Nadel has made the book available to veterans at no charge.
He shared a few of his tips with me.
Find a Need and Fill It: The first deal I made was based on one of the first tips I share in my book: Find a Need and Fill it. In 1946, the Chinese were looking to purchase navy blue woolen material, which did not exist. However, there was post War army olive drab material available, so I bought olive drab at war surplus, dyed it navy blue and sold it to the Chinese.
Never Fear to Negotiate, Never Negotiate Out of Fear: Never fear to negotiate and never negotiate out of fear, an important tip for all entrepreneurs. We sold our company, Jack Nadel International, to a New York Conglomerate in 1968. In 1972, we bought it back on a leveraged buy out. The New York company wanted the property for more stock, while our negotiations had included the property for cash. I explained to them that I did not come to re-negotiate and if I did not get cash for the property, there was no deal. They were astounded that I took that hard of a position that I would walk away from the deal. It was good that I did, because I would have sold it for $90,000 in 1968 and in 2014, after collecting rent for all those years, I sold the property for $4.2 million dollars.
Think Global, Start Local: It is very valuable to prove your concept by actually succeeding at it on a smaller scale, first. If you can test a concept by actually executing it on a local level, you will have proven your point. Financing will be much easier and you will have learned what really works. A perfect example was my years in the writing instrument business. We progressed the company from being a small distributor in Los Angeles, California, to being a worldwide successful manufacturer and distributor. So it pays to think global, and start local.
On Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 4:00 Eastern, Nadel will join me for a live discussion about his remarkable, never-ending career and his new book. Tune in here then to watch the interview live. Post questions in the comments below or tweet questions before the interview to @devindthorpe.
More about Jack Nadel:
Twitter: @jacknadel
Jack Nadel’s mission is to help educate and train entrepreneurs and pass on what he has learned with succeeding generations. Through the creation of written and video learning materials via JNJ Publishing LLC, Nadel pursues his mission by sharing insights from his seven successful decades in business to provide the knowledge people need to start a business with or without a formal education. His materials feature The Nadel Method, a simple five-step process that was developed for entrepreneurs out of proven principles to create new businesses, while dramatically reducing the risk of failure. He is rooted in the belief that by evolving more entrepreneurs and helping them prosper, we will also help to sustain our middle class and the economy.
Nadel’s bio:
Jack Nadel has been an international entrepreneur for nearly seven decades—and has made a healthy profit every single one of those years. He founded, acquired, and operated more than a dozen companies worldwide that produced hundreds of new products, thousands of jobs, and millions of dollars in profits, including Jack Nadel International, a global leader in the specialty advertising and marketing industry. Each one of his business transactions has been an adventure he’s loved.
From this broad and solid foundation of experience, Nadel authored a number of popular books including his latest book, The Evolution of an Entrepreneur, winner of five Global Ebook Awards including three Gold Awards for Best in Business, Leadership and Careers/Employment. All were written with the purpose of assisting entrepreneurs with attaining greater business success.
In addition to his commercial enterprises and writing career, Nadel has lectured at several colleges and universities, developed his own targeted thinking methodology for entrepreneurs called The Nadel Method, and for several years hosted his own television show, Out of the Box with Jack Nadel. Though insisting that he has retired, at age 91 Nadel—a decorated WWII veteran—continues to share his expertise and wisdom mentoring future business leaders and entrepreneurs, including through regular article contributions to The Huffington Post.
Jack Nadel is a happy man who leads a robust life, savoring every moment. He lives with his wife Julie in Santa Barbara, CA, and also enjoys actively supporting their ongoing philanthropic efforts through The Nadel Foundation and local community involvement.
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