As a member of the 20th Cohort of the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses Program, I was privileged to be part of a graduation that included business superstars Michael Bloomberg; Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square; Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, and Warren Buffet.
I was onstage with these super entrepreneurs and got to meet them, albeit briefly. Throughout the graduation, my thoughts turned to my father, Bernard Markowitz. He was also a business superstar. That day would have been perfect if he were there.
He was first generation American and started with nothing. He barely completed high school. There was no college. There were no cell phones or technology of any kind. And there was certainly no business program.
There was World War II, where he learned how to get through difficult situations.
There was learning plumbing skills which paid the bills – of which there were plenty with a growing family of six. There was accessing financing for the buildings he bought.
His “mentors” were anyone and everyone. Because he spoke with everyone he met and learned from them. His “advisory board” was the attorneys, accountants and other professionals he knew. And he talked and learned from them.
He listened to the business radio stations while spending hours in his van commuting to and from Brooklyn/Long Island. He read the newspaper everyday – usually the business section, and there, usually, the stock market.
He left the house early and returned late each day. Many years that went on seven days a week. He taught me a solid work ethic.
When I was a Director of Marketing for a local Jewish Community Center, He asked me why I wasn’t the executive director. His real question was “Why aren’t you running the place?” He taught me to aim high.
And in the beginning of my business, I used to tell him about the revenues as they grew. He then asked what portion was my salary. He taught me self-worth.
I learned a great deal from the Goldman Sachs 10K Businesses Program. And it was an honor to meet the giants of the business world. I also learned that my father taught me everything I needed to know to be a successful entrepreneur.
