What are the vital qualities and skills required of a successful entrepreneur?
It's important to realize that being an entrepreneur is not a group effort. You have to be ready to go it alone, and to be tenacious.
What do you consider to be the single most influential personal quality in achieving success?
Being tenacious and being completely focused on your goals.
How significant are opportunity and timing in a successful business career?
They are important -- first of all, seeing the opportunity and then sometimes waiting for it. I've waited twenty years to see some things happen.
Can you give an indication of a typical "day in the life" of Donald Trump?
No two days are ever alike, but I usually come to the office around 8 a.m. and stay until 7 p.m., depending on the day. That's average. I have appointments, take calls, deal with whatever comes up, which is usually a lot. In the evening I either have an event to attend, or spend it with my wife Melania and son Barron.
I spend weekends with my family and golf at one of my courses. I also travel a lot, but having a jet makes it easier. However, I can't say there's ever a typical day.
It's often said that successful entrepreneurs have to have experienced failure -- do you believe this to be true and if so can you give an example from your own experience?
Being an entrepreneur means taking risks, and not everything is guaranteed to be a success, even if one is successful. That's part of the excitement. I had a significant financial turnaround in the 90's -- it had been predicted that I was done, over, and then I became far more successful than I had been before.
I realized I had lost my focus. So I'm more aware of how important that is for success to happen as well as to continue.
As an entrepreneur you've had fantastic success -- do you have aspirations for the future that you've not yet realized?
I have many plans for the future, and they are unfolding now.
Can entrepreneurship be taught and if so how is this best achieved?
To a certain extent it can be taught -- primarily by example -- but there are certain characteristics that make it easier. Can you handle stress and pressure and uncertainty well? Some people have trouble in that area, and if so, it's not for them. Do you like taking risks and are you willing to do the work yourself?
Can you take full responsibility for the outcome? Do you have full confidence in yourself? Those are good questions to ask or be asked.
How are entrepreneurial skills best acquired -- business experience, training?
The best is a combination of the two, plus a keen sense of intuition. Instincts are important, they can be developed but they need to be heeded.
How can business and industry work with universities to improve young people's engagement in entrepreneurship?
The first thing is to make sure all students are financially literate. A sound financial education is necessary. Entrepreneurship is one step beyond that, and involves what was discussed in the previous question. The skill set is complex -- knowledge and intuition and both needed. I would stress the importance of experience -- starting small and working up to big -- to make sure the pieces are in place for endeavors larger in scope.
An early wipe out is not the way to start.
What's the best form of support that can be provided for those just starting up in business?
The best form of support should come from the individual. Being an entrepreneur requires a person who is capable of thinking for himself or herself. This should be stressed while providing the skills necessary for any business endeavor.
To a certain extent it can be taught -- primarily by example -- but there are certain characteristics that make it easier. Can you handle stress and pressure and uncertainty well? Some people have trouble in that area, and if so, it's not for them. Do you like taking risks and are you willing to do the work yourself?
Can you take full responsibility for the outcome? Do you have full confidence in yourself? Those are good questions to ask or be asked.
How are entrepreneurial skills best acquired -- business experience, training? place for endeavors larger in scope. An early wipe out is not the way to start.
What's the best form of support that can be provided for those just starting up in business?
The best form of support should come from the individual. Being an entrepreneur requires a person who is capable of thinking for himself or herself. This should be stressed while providing the skills necessary for any business endeavor.
What do you think are the major challenges facing the North East of Scotland today?
The economy is difficult at this time, worldwide, and needs to be stimulated. Things will even out but it will take a while. Real estate and other things run in cycles, so it's a matter of time before it evens out.
How should the region be preparing for the eventual decline of oil and gas reserves?
By being prescient. It's already clear the reserves are in decline, so it's necessary to look into the future and prepare accordingly.
What role would you like to see Trump International Golf play in the region's future?
As a stimulant to the region, economic and otherwise.