Going It Alone: An Excerpt From The Trump Card

In my book, The Trump Card, published by Touchstone Books/Simon & Schuster, I try to impart to readers that 'We've all been dealt a winning hand and it is up to each of us to play it right and smart.' This is the philosophy with which I operate in my day to day, and I hope that every reader walks away from my book with the feeling that life is a series of roads to success. The following is an excerpt from the book -- an anecdote about seizing an entrepreneurial opportunity when it presents itself.

Excerpt:

Chapter Eleven: Going It Alone

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. --Edward de Bono

Behind every new venture there's a certain amount of arrogance and bluster, some version of the notion that you can build a better mousetrap than the other guy--or, in my case, that you can design and market a mousetrap with every conceivable amenity to ensure that the discerning mouse will want to be trapped in upmarket luxury. Whatever it is you're looking to do or make or sell, you build your business on the assumption that you can do it better, smarter, and more efficiently than the competition. Otherwise, what's the point?

I'd been at the Trump Organization for about two years when I came upon an unexpected opportunity to exercise some of these impulses--in an area I hadn't thought to consider. Realize, I wasn't actively looking for a new venture, but I believe you have to keep your feelers out there and pick up whatever signals come your way. It's the spirit of enterprise. This doesn't mean you have to limit your focus to opportunities in your field or your perceived area of expertise. Over the years, my father had made successful forays into what were at the time completely new territories for him--beauty pageants, books, modeling agencies--and I could see the adrenaline rush he'd get from taking a calculated risk and pushing the envelope of his own experience. I'd look on and think, someday, Ivanka, you'll get your chance. That chance presented itself in a sidelong way. I was pursuing a lead on a piece of land in Fort Myers, Florida. I didn't like the deal when it was laid out for me, but I looked closely at it just the same. Back then, a year or two into my stint at the Trump organization, I analyzed everything I could get my hands on to educate myself on every aspect of our many businesses, and it was a good thing that I did, because even though this particular property held no real appeal, it led directly to another opportunity.

Specifically, it led to a good working relationship with the young businessman, Moshe Lax, who brought it to me. All business comes down to relationships, at some point or other, and we do well to cultivate them wherever we can. It's been one of the great themes of this first phase of my career, just as it's been one of the great themes of these pages. You never know when a key contact can help you unlock your next great opportunity, and that's what happened. During the next several months, I established a professional friendship with Moshe and his late father Chaim. The three of us got to talking. Even though we'd come together on a real estate proposition, the family's primary business was diamonds. In fact, they owned a substantial diamond manufacturing company based in New York and Israel. Their company was one of the largest vendors of loose diamonds to some of the leading luxury brands in the industry. Moshe was looking to take his business to a whole new level. In that way, I suppose, we were a lot alike, trying to make our own way along a path set out for us by our fathers and trying to extend that path in exciting new directions, which I guess explains why we hit it off.

My new associate was an entrepreneur through and through. I admired that about him. He also wasn't willing to rest on his father's accomplishments or the success of the family business. I admired that as well. In addition to his diamond business and his real estate portfolio, he'd also owned several successful New York City restaurants, so he had some good retail experience to complement his wholesale diamond-cutting background. At the time, he was struggling to get some kind of toehold in retail for his family's diamond business-- specifically, he had a storefront on Madison Avenue that wasn't quite performing to his expectations. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to get the design or the branding to work in such a way that he could distinguish his pieces from those made by the jewelry designers located on either side of his boutique. His pieces were meticulously crafted with beautiful diamonds and the finest materials, but they were generic, forgettable. They looked like everything else. There was nothing to bring customers into his nondescript store--and certainly nothing to get them to come back a second or third time.

It made sense that he was struggling, but at the same time it also made sense to push ahead, considering the huge edge he had over other jewelers with his family diamond business. The advantage came in owning his diamond inventory, which essentially made him his own supplier. Moshe therefore believed in the viability of his business and was thinking those stops and starts were just growing pains, something to get past.

We talked through a bunch of ways he might invigorate his jewelry collection, and he sparked to a lot of my ideas. Frankly, so did I. I hadn't realized I had a passion or flair for this type of marketing effort, but I guess I'd flipped through enough fashion magazines and worn enough high-end jewelry to know what might work in this area. Plus, I love and appreciate fine jewelry! What girl doesn't? Especially the daughter of Ivana Trump!

Without realizing it, I found myself getting excited about the prospects of what a recharged jewelry business might look like with me involved in a hands-on way. My new friend recognized that I was both enthusiastic and positioned to bring a singular skill set to his operation, so we started talking about how we might work together on a retail venture. It's not as if either one of us was pursuing the other to do a deal. The talks simply evolved organically over the course of our other business discussions, and the more we looked at opportunities, the more we found a lot to like about the idea of partnering.

 

 

Comments

[middleoftheroad]

the title is so insulting. the book should inspire everone to wish they had a billionair father.

[Ipanemagirl]

If I were the rich heiress she is, I know I would be donating my fortune to many charitable organizations that I can only give peanuts to at the present time. It woud make me so happy to have the power to make a difference. Saving wildlife, abuse, the environment and many other wonderful organizations that so desperatelly need our help.

[brettrobbins]

"We've all been dealt a winning hand and it is up to each of us to play it right and smart."

I'd say that, all other things being equal, the best authority for a statement such as this is not someone who's been born with a platinum spoon in their mouth, but someone who, despite not having such privileges, made do with what they had and proved that it was in the "[playing] it right and smart," rather than what they had to deal with at the outset, that they were able to achieve the success they did.

I'd go as far as to say that for a child of Donald Trump to try to reassure disadvantaged people that they've been "dealt a winning hand" in their lives goes far beyond patronized and veers into hubris territory.

[Bozzgirl]

Fanned.

[Dnietz]

fanned

[tjpw0850]

Fanned

[DeeDubya]

I'd like to see the spawn of the wealthy REALLY make it on their own, after they are completely cut off from all of the contacts, money, and privilege.

I am not inspired.

[TonyOnly]

Are you saying an abused child of a single, addicted parent, growing up in poverty, has been dealt the same "winning hand" that you have? Unfortunately, there's alot more of them than there are of you.

[Voltage]

She was born burdened with the name Trump, but has persevered to make it on her own.

[lilnyc]

I don't see anything wrong with her writing an inspirational book. Millionaire TV evangelists speak to millions, and we know they are better off than many in their congregations, but that doesn't mean that we can't be inspired by them. I can read this and take away from it something positive that applies to me.

[brettrobbins]

Even "millionaire TV evangelists" do more than have their daddies pay a ghost writer to write a book for them to assuage some of their aristocratic guilt.

[HakimaAmita]

I think Ivanka is really inspirational. She is clearly an entrepreneurial person making the most of the resources she has. That is all any of us can do. Stop making it sound as though she is any less for making the most of what she has just because she started with so much. She should be commended for being so ambitious and driven despite the fact that could live a nice life without being so-- I think she is all the more admirable for it. I´m saddened by the fact that no matter what she does or whatever great thing she accomplishes, all of you will keep saying ¨she only got it because...¨.

Ivanka, just know that some people really look up to you and think you are a great example of a young entrepreneur, pushing forward, doing what you love, and changing the world despite all this hate. As a college senior hoping to one day be an entrepreneur, I look up to you as a role model, and your words here are inspiring.

[BlackJAC]

The only difference between Paris Hilton and Ivanka Trump is that Ivanka actually paid attention in school while Paris goofed off and dropped out. It doesn't change the fact that both stand to inherit a boatload of cash and have guaranteed jobs within the family business waiting for them if their own plans implode, because a lot of people without the family connections Ivanka and Paris have bust their humps chasing the dime and still get nowhere.

[Nunusha]

With All due respect, Paris Hilton branched out from her family and she is a very successful entrepreneur without the help of her family

[Pupadup4oBama]

I think she's probably a great inspiration to many young people. I have more respect for her than Mz party girl Hilton. I think her father taught her well, and to her credit she was eager to learn. I give the Donald credit for raising intelligent hard working kids that you don't hear about in the tabloids

[BlackJAC]

Her work ethic might have more to do with Daddy declaring bankruptcy twice and going through wives like water: she learned quickly that he might not leave her with much of an inheritance.

[treboi]

Great inspiration? What are you talking about...What would she inspire people to do? Get their own fathers to give them a job they don't deserve or give them money to start business ventures? Sorry to burst your bubble, but most of us don't have a trust fund backing us up.

[BlackJAC]

"We've all been dealt a winning hand and it is up to each of us to play it right and smart" reminds me of that line from Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" about every hand being both a winner and a loser. Sure, a pair of deuces with a six will beat a pair of deuces with a five, but wait until someone with a pair of threes, much less a straight flush. Dontcha just love inspirational books written by those born into the wealth and privilege of the ruling class?

[LouieGeros]

We've "ALL" been dealt a winning hand? lol

[Pupadup4oBama]

Life is what you make of it. Only you have the power to make yourself as successful as you want to be. Granted some of us have more to overcome than others, but we are all capable of doing so with a littlebit of luck and timing, but mostly hard work and dedication.

[PhineasGage730]

This is wrong on so many levels.

[HummusGringo]

Yep. My thoughts exactly.

[SeanOcali]

Yes, you too can be successful beyond your wildest dreams! Just buy my book and feel good about yourself! After all, we all have a winning hand!

[HummusGringo]

LOL

[primordialsoup]

Ivanka, I think that you put forward some valid points, but using yourself and your obviously already wealthy friend as examples doesn't do them any service. You would have been better served if you had used someone who was actually struggling as an example. Neither you nor your friend would have been hurt significantly if his venture failed. Business is a gamble, but the stakes are much higher for some than they are for others.

[Grackle]

Agree 100%

[brettrobbins]

I suspect she doesn't have a clue, nestled in her cocoon of privilege, how patronizing it sounds for her to give a pep talk to non-billionaires (let alone -millionaires) of the world. Unbelievable tackiness.

[Rog49Thomas]

Stories like this are truly inspiring.

The children of the rich struggling against all the obstacles in their way to make it to the top.

Only in America.

[thehuff]

One book I certainly don't need to buy....nor care to read.

[Rog49Thomas]

That's the trouble with this country.

The New Deal and then 40 years of liberalism - which has eroded the good old can do American spirit.

But there are still rugged individualists out there like Former President Pan, Ivanka, Paris who pull themselves up by their bootstraps to get born to some rich family.

[Balzac]

Ivanka says: "We've all been dealt a winning hand and it is up to each of us to play it right and smart..."

Ivanka, I'm not going to mince words with you because I have an executive-class temperament just like your dad.

I'm going to contradict you directly and succinctly. Poker is actually a good metaphor for life, except you only get dealt one hand. If every poker player were dealt a "winning hand", we'd all win every game. This is not the case. Some people get dealt bad cards and others get dealt a royal straight flush.

Now please tell your dad there's a very promising entrepreneur from whom you've just learned something profound. (http://www.disruptech.com) Thank you, sweetheart.

[Rog49Thomas]

How sadly unfair of you.

You miss two critical points.

(1) The rich are dealt a winning hand. Or have the resources to outbid their opponents.

(2) When you're rich you hang around the rich, so it's quite easy to conclude that everyone has been dealt a winning hand. And of course as you should know, the rich generally don't consider the little people to anything other than a source of additional profit.

[Balzac]

Being born wealthy doesn't always mean you were dealt a winning hand. Being born without wealth doesn't always mean you were dealt a losing hand.

I was thinking of being born with a serious disability, or being born into such poverty that you never have a chance.

The USA is still much more egalitarian than many people think it is. There's plenty of room for improvement, and there have been better times for small businessmen.

In some places in the world, being born poor means you won't get enough to eat to grow to your full potential, no education and you'll be doing manual labor until your last breath.

That's how life is, and we can change it by doing our best to ensure every child gets sufficient resources and opportunity that they have a chance, at least.

[BlackJAC]

You forgot the tactic of bluffing, or "fake it 'til you make it" as it's known in the non-poker world.

[Kristen777]

And don't we all know that her father is the master at faking it. Wonder how many times my family & my neighbors could declare bankruptcy and still go about our normal lives.