Yahoo Finance The person you should be most afraid of at work
The New Investors video series brought to you by Yahoo Finance reveals the secrets of the most successful entrepreneurs and business people in Australia today. This is the second episode of the season.
There is no one more motivated than a person who has lost everything.
Mining entrepreneur Tolga Kumova, as the son of a taxi driver doing night shifts seven days a week to make ends meet, started with nothing, gained everything, and then lost everything.
Yahoo Finance‘s New Investors video series previously revealed that, as a young stockbroker, Kumova lost his parents’ life savings. But after a pep talk from his mother, his drive to overcome that devastation sent him to unseen riches.
Kumova credits that moment as giving him confidence in himself. Life was short and at that moment, he’d lost everything and had nothing to lose. It was the turning point and determination to get his parents’ money back.
“And then it got really exciting,” he said.
“That’s a person you should be most afraid of, the person that’s got nothing to lose…The person that’s willing to give up everything, which I was at that point. Nothing will stop them.”
His newly found determination started a journey that would take him to a net worth of $95 million.
Having nothing to lose makes one fearless in business, but Kumova said the secret to then reaching success is having empathy.
“Spend time with your [domestic] partner and try not to feel their feelings and see what happens to you. How long it lasts before you have a fight. It’ll happen pretty quickly… it’s the same thing in business,” he said.
“I’m talking about being authentic, like genuinely, authentically empathetic. If you can feel what the person in front of you is feeling, what actually motivates them.”
For example, you might have a big idea but you need money to turn it into reality – and the other person has the funds to invest.
“[It’s about] understanding what else motivates them because it’s probably 70 per cent of the decisions is not about [money]. It’s about do they want to spend time with you? Do they actually think you care about them? Do they think you have good intentions? And are you being honest? Are you being genuine?”
‘If you’re not going to be understanding, if you’re not going to be courteous, if you’re going to be rude and not listen to what they think or feel, then they’re not gonna like you. And then that’s where your luck disappears. If someone doesn’t like you, they’re not going to help you.”
And frauds are found out pretty quickly, according to Kumova.
“If it’s not you, you can’t hide it. I’m sure you all know people that can’t hide the fact that they don’t care about anybody else. Those people stand out. And I’m sure that they might look happy or act happy, but within them they’re probably not.”
The New Investors video series brought to you by Yahoo Finance reveals the secrets of the most successful entrepreneurs and business people in Australia today. This is the second episode of the season.
