“I was not born an entrepreneur, I learned to recognize opportunities to take advantage of and had the courage to act… the rest is history.” – Murray Hogarth
Looking for the main ingredients to becoming a successful entrepreneur? Learn from those who have done it best.
According to Murray Hogarth, founder and former CEO of Pioneer Petroleums, leadership is the only force that can move ideas from concept to reality. Other driving forces that have lead to his success as a leader in the petroleum industry: always put the customer first, turn off the lights, work hard and save, save, save. Murray attributes these early Depression-Era habits as becoming an important part of what he did intuitively later in life.
Taking advantage of an opportunity, Pioneer’s first independent venture was located just outside Hamilton city limits – this location allowed the station to stay open 24 hours a day and avoid the city’s early closing by-laws. This took place on November 29, 1956 and Pioneer has never been closed since. 54 yearrs after opening, Pioneer Petroleums has over 300 service stations and sales of almost $2 billion a year. The business has also spread in other directions: amongst these are real estate, car washes, dry cleaning, Snack Express stores and even swimming pools.
Do you to think you can change the world? Read on to see if you have what it takes to be a leader…
Murray’s 8 secrets for success
1. Succeed in what you can do
2. Recognize an opportunity and act on it
3. Communicate both good news and bad
4. Accept reasonable risks
5. Hire & keep only the best people
6. Stand out from the crowd
7. Run a flat, lean organization
8. Instill a sense of urgency
His best piece of advice? On your business card there should be listed three things: founder, CEO and janitor.
Downloads & Resources:
Entrepreneurship 101 2010/11 – Lived it Lecture with Murray Hogarth from MaRS Discovery District on Vimeo.