#14 - Interview with an Entrepreneur - Paul Simon Artwork

The What Happened Podcast

JP Pienaar interviews people from many different professions to find out what they wanted to be when they were younger and what happened after that. We look at what career path(s) they went down and how they are doing in their current job. This podcast is meant to provide help to anyone of any age who is considering what career to pursue. This includes school students who are thinking about what to study at University, people who have been working for a few years and would like to change to another career that they actual enjoy and people who think it’s too late or that they are too old to change their current career situation. Each week we interview someone to find out what it is actually like to work in their profession. If you have ever considered making a move to a different profession then this podcast will help you to find out what that profession is actually like. Most people don’t pursue their true passion. They end up working a job that they hate, to pay the bills. This podcast highlights that we all experience the same kinds of road blocks when trying to pursue our true passion as a career. Those who are truly happy are those who break through these road blocks to pursue their passion. In the words of Tyler Durden: “What did you want to be ? !!!!”

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The What Happened Podcast

#14 - Interview with an Entrepreneur - Paul Simon

January 22, 2020 • JP Pienaar/Paul Simon • Episode 14

Paul Simon joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of an Entrepreneur is like. Enrolling in a Clothing Production Management course at Cape Technicon, Paul completed 1 of the 3 years before working at GAP in the UK. Returning to South Africa he completed a fashion marketing course through IMM. While under fire at a family dinner, Paul formed the idea for YDE which he implemented with great success for 10 years before selling the business to Truworths in 2005. Founder of Über Flavour and now serial entrepreneur, Paul is introducing a new retail concept in the form of a department store based on the YDE model. We take a look at Paul’s impressive career to date.

“I don’t really believe that any 18 year old is absolutely positive about the direction that they are going to take in their life.”

“Being an entrepreneur is a personality trait. I don’t believe that you can teach somebody to be an entrepreneur. Effectively it is something that you are born with. If you are an extravert and an optimist then you possess some of the key personality traits of an entrepreneur.”

“You don’t have to be good at everything. My dad said my boy if you doing these kinds of numbers then you can afford to pay someone to tell you what it says on that balance sheet.”

“Experiential retail - creating an experience for the customer, people would come to the store regardless of whether they were going to buy something or not.”

“What would make me go to a store to buy a white t -shirt ? The answer is something else that happens in that store, other types of experiences.”

“I feel like so many people have just paid lip service to entrepreneurship in South Africa, they haven’t actually provided platforms for it to happen, and that is really what I envisage doing.”

“I challenge anyone to walk around any shopping centre, and tell me about something that was exciting in there.”

“Nothing was a waste of time, I learnt valuable lessons. I do see many people quit too soon.”

“The idea is not the valuable part, actually taking it and making it happen, that part is the difficult part.”

“There are millions of people out there with millions of ideas, there are only a handful that can take it from an idea and actually birth it.”

“I’ve seen people with great ideas just not give themselves sufficient runway to make it happen.”

“Try out as many industries as you can on your weekend job. The way to expedite finding out what you want to do is to have as many experiences as you can.”