Lessons From the Young and Successful: Trevor Wong

Trevor Wong knows success. By the age of 19, Wong had a BMW i8, a million-dollar business, and the means to help out his family financially. It’s not an easy road becoming a business owner as a teen, but it’s a road that has led to a lot of lessons learned. From his well-earned seat, Wong shares his best advice, greatest accomplishments, and biggest lessons in becoming a young businessman.

Don’t Procrastinate on Fixing Things

In the world of business, nothing can rack up quite as quickly as a mistake or issue. It seems easy to brush it aside and deal with it later, but that mindset isn’t a healthy one for a businessperson. In building his business, Wong learned early on to deal with things quickly. “I’m always driven to my goals where I put in the time and effort to find out what’s needed in order for it to be successful. When I would face setbacks, I would always look to fix them immediately.”

Look for a Gap and Find Every Way to Fill It

Looking for a gap in the market is an essential piece of becoming a successful business builder. Finding your niche is the first step, but every business person knows that success isn’t immediate and side hustling is often the second step. In the early days of his business, Wong was a busy guy. “I first found a demand that seemed to be trending around the public and looked for a possible way to profit off of it,” Wong explained. “I worked three jobs a day during the summer of university to save money for ideas I would come up with. Some days, I would work 9-5 at an office job, then I would coach badminton from 6-8, and then finally head downtown at 10 to bus tables at a restaurant until 4 a.m. I would save this money and use it for ideas I believed in.”

Understand How It All Works

You don’t need to know everything when you start, but you do need to be willing to figure it all out. As a business owner and entrepreneur, Google and mentors become your best friends: without truly understanding the ins and outs of your business, you can quickly lose credibility, passion, and even money. “I always asked the question to any business of how it would work. I would fully understand where the money is being made in the business and analyze problems they would face to create a better business and more opportunity,” Wong told us. “An example would be how many businesses use payment providers to take payments from credit cards; however, they would lose 2.8% per transaction made. If I could create a payment provider that could take payments but take fewer transaction fees, then I could make the business more money. Always understanding in depth how a business works has brought to me create ideas to help businesses and create new businesses.”

Follow-Through

Lots of people have business ideas, but lots of people also lack the follow-through it takes to make them happen. Without taking initiative and actually pulling things through to the end, there’s no business to run. Wong noticed this from a young age, and he explained to us that you must “execute the ideas you have come up with, because less than 50% of people execute their ideas that could be successful. Do the research about your idea and try to find out the whole plan, from where the product would come from to where it’s being delivered and how. Keep asking yourself the question: ‘how?’”

Watch and Learn

So many great business ideas – and answers to problems – can simply be observed. By using other brands and businesses as role models and even as examples of what not to do, you can start to build your business on a solid foundation that works. Wong did this, which is what helped him strategize and grow. “I have developed many relationships with people in different businesses, and I combine and create new business ideas through the different connections and business types,” Wong said. “I’m always analyzing how the cash flow of businesses work in order to better understand where money is being spent and where money can be saved.”

Whether you need to work on follow-through or find your niche, Wong’s advice is sure to help you begin to build your business and find success.

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