Linda McMahon and Vince McMahon are extremely successful people, but this was not always the case. In fact, Linda and Vince faced bankruptcy at one point, having their home and car repossessed. Fortunately for the WWE universe, they were able to turn things around. Linda, now the head of the Small Business Administration, spoke candidly about these struggles and what she learned about business. We have picked the highlights of this interview and displayed them below.
Starting from the Ground Up
Many people believe that Vince and Linda McMahon got handed a McMahon fortune, but nothing is further from the truth. The couple had to build their fortune from the ground up, much like other people have to do when starting their own business.
Linda and Vince started their company with thirteen people. Over time, their business became a corporation with more than eight-hundred employees and corporate offices worldwide. The market value of the company is estimated at three billion dollars.
Years of Experience
Building a successful company does not happen overnight. Linda McMahon and Vince had to start from nothing. Here is what Linda said about her years of experience.
“My experience as a CEO started with my experience of building a business, sharing a desk with my husband, and we grew it just from the ground up.”
The Road to Success
As mentioned in the introduction to this article, the road to success did not come without loads of bumps. Linda and Vince had to declare bankruptcy at one point, and then start all over again. Here is what Linda had to say about that time and what she learned from it.
“We had to file for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy came as a result of our taking some few dollars that we had saved early on and investing in a couple of businesses that we didn’t know anything about.”
Before building the WWE to the way it is today, the couple invested in construction businesses. However, since they were lacking the knowledge, their investments turned sour quite quickly.
“We didn’t really know the safeguards to really look for. We were relying on someone else whose opinion we respected at the time for those kinds of investments, and they just didn’t work. We partnered with some folks who weren’t quite the business partners we expected them to be.”
“Our home was auctioned off. My car was repossessed in the driveway. I was pregnant with our second child at that time. It’s not easy to keep your morale up. It’s embarrassing to have your house auctioned off. All of those things are — they really, you know, give you good life experiences, but also smacks you in the face right from the business perspective.”
Linda’s Advice
I own a small business myself, so I was quite curious about what Linda’s advice was to entrepreneurs. Here is what she had to say:
“Words to the wise. We were very young and we learned our lessons early on. Watch out, stick to what you know, have that focus, have that business plan and go for it.”
“When you’re really a young company and when you’re really starting, you have to focus. It’s 24 hours attention to what you’re doing, and stick to your knitting. Do what you know.”
“I’ve always said it’s really not how you fall, but it’s how you get back up, and you just keep doing it.”
Excellent advice from Linda. What is your take?