10 COMPETENCIES FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS:

1. Integrity - the entrepreneur has a clear sense of values and beliefs

that underpin the creative and business decisions that they make; and
that influence the actions they take, particularly when in difficult or
challenging circumstances

2. Conceptual Thinking - the entrepreneur is prepared to use fresh

approaches; comes up with crazy ideas that may just work, leading to
radical change or significant improvements; and takes time to listen to
new ideas without pre-judgement

3. Risk taking - the entrepreneur understands that risk taking means

trying something new, and possibly better, in the sense of stretching
beyond what has been done in the past; and that theconstant challenge
is to learn how to assess choices responsibly, weighing the possible
outcomes against his/her values and responsibilities

4. Networking - the entrepreneur understands that networking is a key

business activity which can provide access to information, expertise,
collaboration and sales; and that careful planning and preparation helps
achieve desired results

5. Strategic Thinking - the entrepreneur understands and values the

planning process, thinking and planning over a significant timescale;
recognize external trends and opportunities; and is able to think
through any complex implications for the business

6. Commercial Aptitude – the entrepreneur keeps up to date with

developments in the sector; seeks out best practice; and identifies and
seizes opportunities that are not obvious to others
7. Decisiveness - the entrepreneur resolves issues as they arise; does
not get bogged down inanalysis during decision making; and responds
flexibly to deal with changing priorities

8. Optimism - the entrepreneur persists in pursuing goals despite

obstacles and setbacks; operatesfrom hope of success rather than from
fear of failure; and sees setbacks as due to manageablecircumstance
rather than a personal flaw

9. Customer Sensitivity - the entrepreneur builds trust and long term

relationships withcustomers; generates an expectation of high level of
customer service; and regularly exceedscustomer expectation

10. People Focus - the entrepreneur creates common purpose with

colleagues through sharedvision and values; walks the talk; sees and
values the best in others; builds the total capability of the immediate
and wider team; and always considers the principles of inclusiveness in
planning and dealing with others.
Who are you and what’s your business?
I’m Willie Degel, founder and CEO of the New York-based Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse
chain, which I started 20 years ago with a single location.

What does the word “entrepreneur” mean to you?

An entrepreneur is a visionary, a risk taker, a dreamer, a motivator, and a

problem solver. He has a fire burning inside his belly, a vision and a dream that he
will do anything and everything in his power to bring to life. He will set himself up
to succeed, put the pieces in place to make it happen, take his entire team with
him, and learn from his failures so that he can keep going and keep getting
better.

How has your business grown since you started?

Today I operate three fine-dining Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse restaurants in New York
City, a fast-casual Jack’s Shack Organic Eatery on Long Island, and a farm-to-table
concept called Uncle Jack’s Meat House that opened last year in suburban Atlanta
with a second location scheduled to open in Queens shortly. I also hosted The
Food Network’s Restaurant Stakeout reality show from 2012 to 2014, helping
restaurateurs identify and solve their service problems.

Related: Entrepreneurship Is All About the Fight

What was your toughest challenge and how did you overcome it?
Raising the capital for my first Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse, which opened in 1990. I
was only 29 years old. I’d been running a modest bar and restaurant for two
years, but I wanted to open an upscale chophouse. I designed an 1890s
Prohibition-style Victorian saloon with a hand-carved mahogany bar and walls,
copper-pressed ceilings, and a fine-dining menu, but I needed the money to make
it happen. I did it by enlisting friends and family as angel investors. They believed
in me and my dream. They knew I would succeed because of my passion and
drive.

What’s the problem you just solved or are attacking now?

Last year’s minimum wage increase in New York City from $5 to $7.50 an hour for
tipped employees would have added $350,000 to the payroll at my three Uncle
Jack’s Steakhouse restaurants. Clearly, I couldn’t pass costs on that scale along to
my customers. This forced me to cut a busboy position, which amounted to 20%
of my front-house staff. Even then it offset only 30% of the cost so I had to reduce
portion sizes and absorb the rest, including higher workers compensation
insurance and FICA taxes caused by the minimum wage increase. And it’s not
over. Increases for other types of restaurant employees are going to be phased in
by 2019, so I will have to take even more drastic measures simply to survive.

Related: Being an Entrepreneur Means Finding Profit in Your Passion

What have you learned through attacking this problem?

You can’t fight City Hall -- even though they seem to have no clue what it takes to
run a small business -- so you have to figure out how to work smarter. You have to
be willing to change things you once thought untouchable, like the bus boys I
considered a pivotal part of Uncle Jack’s customer service experience. You have to
challenge conventional wisdom, like the idea that every table should get a basket
of free bread. (I tried to charge for bread like they do in Europe, but customers
complained so I went back to free.) And you have to do it without undermining
your brand value. For me, that means refusing to compromise on food quality and
continuing to buy the best beef on the market. There are lines you simply cannot
cross.

What’s the most important trait in a new hire and why?

Passion and energy. These are things you can’t teach. You’re either born with
them or you’re not. People with these traits multi-task well, and that’s critical in
my business, especially these days when staffs are getting leaner to control costs.
Take a manager. He or she has to know how to bartend, wait tables, wash dishes,
greet people, schmooze them so that they’ll hug you and thank you even if
they’ve had to wait 20 minutes to get a table! A manager needs to solve dozens of
problems a day, deal with drama among the staff, and still keep their game face
and love what they’re doing. You can have a resume a mile long, but if you’re not
the Energizer Bunny, I’m not going to hire you.

Related: How to Inspire Innovation Within Your Business

What trait do you depend on most when making decisions and why is that
useful for you?
I go from the gut. (My friends would point out that mine is ample enough to
handle pretty much anything.) Of course, I look at trends -- what’s selling, what’s
not, why is one store doing better than the others -- but I don’t dwell on data or
poll my team for their opinions. I can size up the situation instinctively and make
up my mind almost instantly. It serves me well because I’m usually right and
because it sends a signal to my employees that I’m a strong leader. They depend
on me and my vision, and the fact that I’m decisive helps give them confidence
that they are backing the right horse.

How has your leadership style evolved?

I used to be able to make every decision and solve every problem myself. Now,
with five restaurants and a sixth about to open, I have to delegate. I have to
empower others to be my working partners. That’s hard for someone with my
personality. I’m a perfectionist, I know what I want, and I have no patience for
anyone who doesn’t see things the same way or run as tight a ship as I do. But I
hire good people and I’m learning to trust them. I think I’m calmer than I used to
be, but I’m not sure that my employees would agree. You’d have to ask them
yourself.
There are 3 basic reasons why people engage to business

1. People aim to have more money and control on how to make it

2. To be able to manage their own time and follow their own personal
interests
3. To be in control of their lives and their destiny

Have you ever met businessman with these same goals but for some reasons they
are unable to fulfill these? Do you know what exactly hiders them from achieving
these? Or why they didn’t do anything to make it happen but instead they have
just settled for mediocrity?

One common reason for this is that some business owners are “unconsciously
incompetent” regarding the “business of their business”. Because of this they
often missed allot of opportunities which could have massively help in their
production.

Every business owner has certain responsibility to themselves, their families, their
employees and to the community that they belong. That is to do their very best to
serve them every time.

Businessman has social obligation to uplift the entire global economic health.
However, these business owners also human being fighting for their own survival,
to be able to pay their bills and somehow have something left for them to survive.

People engage in business for several reasons, but the most compelling reason for many is
to earn a substantial income. Entrepreneurs have income limited only by the practical
opportunities in the marketplace, as opposed to the salary maximum
established by an employer.

The desire to work independently in pursuit of a vision is another

primary driver of entrepreneurial business activity. Some people don't
want to work for a boss. Others have an innovative mind or brilliant
idea, and they want to pursue their business vision on their own as
opposed to sharing the idea within an existing organization.
People also engage in business to make a difference in the world. Bill
Gates has been financially successful as the founder and leader of
Microsoft, but he also relishes in what the technological innovation of
his company has done for global communication. Gates also gives a lot
of money to charity through the Bill Gates Foundation.

Engaging in self-employed business activities allows greater life

freedom and flexibility than working for an employer. When individuals
set up their own businesses, they are able to set their own hours and
policies, establish prices, and make all important decisions on how to
operate the company.