Why Diversity Is an Entrepreneur’s Best Tool for Success

Specialization is often hailed as one of the best things an entrepreneur can do to ensure success. ‘Choose a track, stick to it, and focus all of your energy there’ is what new owners often hear. Fred Cary, as an investor with very electric experiences, has an entirely different vision. He has built businesses in entertainment, food, electronics,  finance,  internet,  and founded his latest,  ideapros,  with a mission to help sprout new entrepreneurs all over the world. In the process, Cary has helped educate, motivate, and transform countless people’s mindsets for the better.

All Industries Have One Thing in Common 

Regardless of the industry, it all comes down to mindset for any entrepreneur, Cary believes. “You can be the best musician, the best hospitality manager, and the best investor. Even though these three areas are vastly different, it all comes down to you, and specifically your mindset, motivation, and execution,” he said. He makes a point that any successful business owner needs to maintain their mindset constantly. “It’s not enough to have an indomitable spirit and a great mindset when you start out. You need to carry that through with you. Whether you’re brand new on Wall Street, for example, or a top broker, you need to have that spark alive at all times. Training and personal development are great, but ultimately, it comes down to your mindset,” Cary says.

Another critical aspect of personal and professional growth is seeing the patterns of accumulated skills across the board. “People may think that if you worked as a customer service rep, a hotel concierge, and a sales rep, you’ve technically been in different industries, and you have. However, all of the skills that you build up are transferable. Because think about it; all of these jobs teach you how to talk to people and how to resolve issues, and that’s invaluable. This skill will come in handy in any industry, whether you’re an owner, manager, COO, or whatever other position you may be charged with,” says Cary. Cary himself is a shining example of that philosophy, as he has built up an extremely diverse set of skills. He has led companies to success after success and built diverse teams, often reinventing the industry he finds himself in.

Failing Quickly and Getting Right Back Up

Entrepreneurs need to learn to fail quickly; there’s no way around that. For Fred Cary, failures over the years have become valuable lessons. “Failing quickly is a gift in disguise. In fact, the lessons that we most remember are those that we learned the hard way,” he says. His diverse experiences have positioned him for success and given him the ability to mentor people of all societal classes and industries.

Fred is wildly popular on social media, where he shares invaluable life tips with over 200,000 people. He credits the versatility of his experiences for the ability to relate to all kinds of people. “Since I know the food business, I can relate to those trying to get a restaurant off the ground. And when it comes to investing, I can help with that, as well, because I’ve got decades of firsthand experience,” he explains.

One of Fred’s favorite tactics is to “fill the donut.” By that, he means finding the metaphorical hole in an industry and filling the gap with the service or product needed. “When you fill the ‘donut hole,’ profit will start coming very rapidly because you’re making others’ lives easier and getting rewarded for it,” he shares. At its very essence, this is what business is all about; fulfilling a need and making others’ lives easier. This is how entire industries are born and innovated, such as Amazon’s real time deliveries or virtual credit cards in banking.

Specialization Is Overrated

While specialization is still the approach many new owners take to honing their skills, Cary believes that they can benefit if they understand a little bit of everything. “You can always take a set of skills you developed in one industry and adapt it to another. The truth of the matter is that you mold your character and your talents. For example, if you work in hospitality, you learn to be extremely personable. If you work in sales, you discover your potential to influence people. If you’re an investor, you become very analytical and an expert in spotting patterns. This all gives you dimension, and that’s truly invaluable,” he shares.

Cary is dedicated to spreading his advice and knowledge across the globe through the power of social media. He wants aspiring entrepreneurs who are just graduating to know that if they are multi-talented and have various interests, they don’t need to stifle those interests to follow only one path. “I see this a lot with young people. They have so many interests that are vastly different from one another. They may be into engineering and cooking, with a knack for auto mechanics. And society tells them that they need to choose, but actually, they don’t. This is the beauty of having various interests and talents – be yourself and you will find your way,” says Cary.