Entrepreneur Research
[pic 1][pic 2][pic 3][pic 4][pic 5][pic 6] Get up!! Go to school!! Get good grades and be successful is the recipe of many parents. I am sure I am not the only student to hear the repetition of phrases as I slothfully removed myself from my comfortable bed. I have also been told that you cannot find success without a good education. I am also forced to think that many of the greatest entrepreneurs were given the same repetition as they were growing up. Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg are just a small percentage of college dropouts who have become some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs. The hip-hop community is filled with dropouts as well. Many of these hip-hop stars did not even make it through high school but yet, found success with the utilization of their talents. Kanye West and Sean “Diddy” Combs is just a name of a couple of entrepreneurs in the hip-hop community to make it to college and drop out. Combs is a dropout of Howard University. While attending Howard University in Washington, D. C. Combs found popularity in the hip-hop community and became a renowned party promoter. Its hard to imagine that Sean Combs founded Bad Boy Records more than 20 years ago, but these days hes working harder than ever. His agreement with Diageos Ciroc vodka accounts for the bulk of his bucks, but other ventures, like his new Revolt cable network, DeLeon tequila, Blue Flame marketing agency and Sean Jean clothing line, continue to bolster his bottom line. (Forbes, 2014)
Popularity skyrocketed for Combs after the signing of Notorious B.I.G. and taking his Bad Boy Record label into levels he had only once dreamed of. Prior to beginning his record label, Combs was an intern and talent director for Uptown Records in New York that was later fired. With a life full of unsuccessful endeavors, Diddy opened his label and began to create the best artist of their time under his management team. As an artist himself, Puff Daddy has seen his own share of success in music with three Grammy’s added to his resume. With such a long list of success in music, my guess is Combs desired to conquer other areas of business that lead him to other businesses. In 1999, Sean Combs decided to take a chance Sean John, which is his clothing line. Sean John Sportswear Company has been a staple of the fashion community for 15 years and has stood the test of ever changing fashion trends. With a contract at Macy’s Department store, Sean John is able to bring in $525 million a year for the now fashion mogul. Sean has now proven to himself ad others that he is not just a music producer capable of producing great music; he is able to look good doing it. By taking another guess, I guess Combs desired to conquer yet another realm of the business world.