Page 109 - Midas Touch

Remember, you cannot be all things to all people. You can never make
everyone happy, so you may as well make yourself happy—happy to be
unique, different, giving to others what you want yourself, and doing what
you have been put on this earth to do.

If you keep your promise and give people the same things you want, you
may be one of the few entrepreneurs who turns their business into a brand.

What’s in a Name?
Donald Trump

When I started out in real estate development, my father’s name was
known in the boroughs of New York City, but not in Manhattan. He had

been building housing developments and had become very successful. As a
teenager, he had an interest in construction and took carpentry classes.

At the age of 16, he built his first structure: a two-car frame garage. He
then established a business building prefabricated garages for $50 each,
and he did well. A year after he graduated from high school, he built his
first home. He quickly became successful building modestly priced brick
houses. The Trump name became known for reasonable prices and high

quality.

My father’s reputation was solid. I had him as an example of what quality
should be and how to achieve it—by scrupulous attention to detail and
integrity on all levels. I worked with him in those early years, and I never
forgot those lessons. He worked every day and would take us along on the
weekends to review the progress. Because of his training as a carpenter, he
could always distinguish great work from mediocre work and would point

out those details to us. When he told me, “Know everything you can about
what you’re doing,” he was speaking from experience.

A brand stands for your reputation. My father knew that, and Robert is
right on target when he says a true brand is more than a product. It’s a
promise. The Trump brand stands for the gold standard worldwide, and
that’s a promise we work to keep intact, just as my father did. Robert’s
hard work to establish the right product took a while, and he was sincere in

his attempts to present the best product he could. He achieved his aim.