Q. Please give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities, conduct business on a local, national or international basis.
Answer: Wisdom Trading is a full service commodity futures brokerage firm located in Newport Beach, California. We work with clients around the globe to provide hedging and trading strategies in a wide range of international futures and commodity markets. Our deep experience in global markets trading sets us apart from our competition. We are experts in CTA managed accounts, algorithmic trading execution, and global market hedging strategies.
Q. Provide a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Answer: I started trading futures in my first year of college and became a futures broker shortly thereafter. The industry was ripe for growth and there was a lot of opportunity in the markets and in the business. We were at the forefront of the online trading revolution and quickly became one of the largest futures brokers in the country. I was responsible for onboarding new client accounts, monitoring trading activity, and keeping clients out of trouble. My goal was to help clients make money and when I saw a lot of mistakes, I’d make some suggestions and try to get them on track. This led to building a business behind trading strategies that were designed to capture long term trends in a broad range of markets, and we built a system management division that thrived for several years before we branched off and started Wisdom Trading in 2003.
Q. What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Answer: The inspiration to start Wisdom Trading grew out of a passion to offer a broader range of trading services and market access to a global clientele. We had a vision and wanted to move in a direction that was only possible if we moved away from the old brokerage model.
Q. What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Answer: 1. Find a niche where you can add value and you’ll find success.
- Surround yourself with likeminded successful people to learn from.
- Always keep an open mind, and open ears to find new opportunities.
Q. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Answer: Ability to adapt to change. Thinking outside the box to explore new ideas, strategies, niches. Strong sales (closing) and negotiation skills.
Q. How many hours do you work a day on average?
Answer: 10
Q. To what do you most attribute your success?
Answer: Strong work ethic.
Q. How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Answer: Web, print, banner, ppc, email, phone, mail, referral. I’m really not sure what has been most successful over time. They’ve all worked at some point and then strategies go cold or get stale and don’t work.
Q. Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Answer: We personally funded our own operation.
Q. In your opinion, what is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Answer: Always working in the customer/investors best interest.
Q. Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Answer: Continuing to provide outstanding commodity futures brokerage services to a global clientele.
Q. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Answer: Probably Tesla for their vision and commitment to unique innovation.
Q. How important have good employees been to your success?
Answer: Very important.
Q. How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Answer: Depends on the situation.
Q. What motivates you?
Answer: Opportunity
Q. What are your ideals?
Answer: Opportunity, equality, free market capitalism
Q. How do you generate new ideas?
Answer: Through meditation and reflection.
Q. How do you define success?
Answer: Having a strong bond with those around you, providing a service or some value to other humans, and living in the moment.
Q. How do you build a successful customer base?
Answer: Through honestly, loyalty, and outstanding service.
Q. What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Answer: Working on my schedule.
Q. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Answer: Opening our first office.
Q. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Answer: Willingness to take on risk.
Q. What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Answer: A high caliber customer service culture.
Q. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Answer: Volatile (like the markets) 😊
Q. If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Answer: Nothing.
Q. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Answer: Get to spend more time with the kids, but maybe I’m more stressed out than I would be at a corporate job.
Q. What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Answer: Being homeless. I work hard.
Q. How did you decide on the location for your business?
Answer: Convenience.
Q. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Answer: Vision, dedication, and a lot of hard work.
