Billionaire: Follow the 5% rule to succeed

No detail is too small for Tilman J. Fertitta, chairman, CEO and owner of Fertitta Entertainment, which owns the restaurant powerhouse Landry's as well as Golden Nugget Casinos.

If a business is 95 percent perfect, that's not good enough for Fertitta. Instead, what draws his attention is the 5 percent of a business that isn't.

"Tell that general manager to go stand out in the parking lot, OK, and you look at that building and gosh, it looks pretty darn good. But you know what? Look for the 5 percent," Fertitta said.

"There's cigarette butts out there in the parking lot, there's some weeds growing, you get up to the front door, one of these plants are dying, there's a crack in the window, the door needs to be revarnished. ... You know what? Ninety-five percent of everything was right, and I haven't even walked in the front door yet. So look for the 5 percent that's wrong," he said.

The native Texan isn't afraid to roll up his sleeves to fix every last detail in his own businesses, and neither should any business owner.

"There's all kinds of different aspects that make you feel like you've made it. But you know what? I'm still the same old guy. I still walk through that casino, and if I see a piece of trash, I'll pick it up. If I see a waiter doing something wrong, I will nicely tell him," he said.

Here, in this video, Fertitta discusses how you can count on him to look at the 5 percent that will make or break a business.

Tune in to "Billion Dollar Buyer," Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CNBC, to watch entrepreneurs vie for Tilman Fertitta's business.

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