From zero to $120+ Million in 6 years to bankruptcy, then to the cover of Inc. Magazine and the eventual sale for hundreds of millions of dollars, Norm Brodksy deserves every ounce of praise and money he received when he sold! The battle wounds of his first tragic business venture turned him into one of the wisest entrepreneurs I have ever encountered.

The stories Norm shares with us are incredible! It was fascinating hearing him recount how he used his articles in Inc. Magazine to showcase his selling process with his potential buyers and then rejecting the offer at the last minute despite having appeared on the front page with the headline “Norm Says Yes”.

Norm also shared with us some great real-life examples of how he made his companies so successful. Always to the point, it’s impossible not to be inspired by what Norm has to say.

What are the lessons we can learn from Norm’s first business?

Norm was crystal clear that even though there was a change in the marketplace and a variety of external factors, it was up to him to take responsibility and not to slip into the “Groundhog Day Syndrome” as he called it. His first piece of advice was:

[clickToTweet tweet=”“If we blame others or outside forces for what happened, we’re destined to make the same mistakes over & over again.” ” quote=”“If we blame others or outside forces for what happened, we’re destined to make the same mistakes over and over again.”” theme=”style2″]

3 key takeaways:

If you want to expand your own empire, don’t pledge the assets from your cash cow to the new risky venture.

Don’t get hung up on a sales revenue target. You want to build a profitable business, not just a high volume business.

Build your business as if you’re going to keep it forever, but at the same time, build the business as if you need to sell it tomorrow. This looks like a contradiction but as you will see in the case of Norm’s second business, the culture you create with the “keep it forever” mentality is what actually makes the business more sellable.

What was the main thing he did differently with his second business?

The first (and most important) thing Norm did was take a look at who he is, what he wanted from his business, and why. At this point in his life as an entrepreneur, he decided the culture, vendors, and clients he worked with were the most valuable parts of a healthy and sustainable business.

Bo Burlingham, the Editor at Large from Inc. Magazine, partnered with Norm on the column when he was selling CitiStorage. He also featured him in his book “Small Giants: Companies That Decide to Be Great Instead of Big“ because there were multiple times Norm had to decide whether he wanted to chase the revenue number again or maintain a profitable and healthy business.

How does Norm define “company culture”?

In short, it’s the way the employees are treated within the company. He viewed his employees more like being part of his family than just merely his workers. The best part is, by putting in effort and energy into his culture he was able to enjoy what he did and see the