To Become a Billionaire, Do You Need to Invent Something New?

The key to unparalleled entrepreneur success is still a mystery. But do you have to invent something entirely new to become a billionaire?
My guest this week on The Small Business Radio Show demonstrates you don’t have to invent something new. Liz Elting is an entrepreneur, business leader, and bestselling author. She founded TransPerfect out of an NYU dorm room in 1992 and served as Co-CEO until 2018. TransPerfect is the world’s largest language solutions company, with over $1.2 billion in revenue and offices in more than 100 cities worldwide. Liz has been recognized as a NOW Woman of Power & Influence, American Express’ and Entrepreneur magazine’s Woman of the Year, and one of Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women every year since the list’s inception. Elting is the bestselling author of “Dream Big and Win: Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a Billion-Dollar Business.”
With her experience at TransPerfect, Liz demonstrated that success often lies in improving and innovating within existing industries. She emphasized the importance of execution and the relentless pursuit of excellence in service and quality. Liz’s approach to entrepreneurship is a testament to the power of creating a “better wheel” rather than a new one.
During our discussion, Liz highlighted a crucial aspect of entrepreneurship: the focus on verbs and actions. Many fall in love with the concept of starting a business but shy away from the gritty reality of selling and engaging with customers. Liz’s strategy involved setting clear goals and taking disciplined daily actions, such as making hundreds of calls and sending out letters, to drive her company forward. This relentless focus on execution is what separates successful businesses from the rest.
Liz shared the pivotal role that goal setting played in scaling TransPerfect. By setting and writing down specific revenue and profit goals, she could strategically hire and grow her team. Liz cited a Harvard Business School study that underscored the effectiveness of this practice, noting that individuals who wrote down their goals tended to achieve significantly more than those who didn’t.
We also explored how to instill a sense of ownership in employees. Liz’s approach was to align compensation structures with ownership, ensuring that salespeople were rewarded like owners. This incentivized them to perform at their best and contributed to the scaling of the company.
Listen to the entire interview on the Small Business Radio Show.
Image: lizelting.com
This article, " To Become a Billionaire, Do You Need to Invent Something New? " was first published on Small Business Trends