TV Show Star and Millionaire Mogul Stops in Cloquet

CLOQUET - "Whether you're pushed in, slip in or you jump in, you will deal with sharks." Sage advice from Shark Tank star and millionaire mogul Daymond John.He was the keynote speaker at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College's entrepreneur seminar."Business can be done at your fingertips," said John. Swooning and motivating the audience, John gave his rags to riches story about his internationally known and very lucrative clothing line FUBU, as well as a long line of other successes and failures."I was a young energetic kid who didn't have financial intelligence and didn't understand business and didn't go to a business course,” said John. “So I'm gonna brag up here today, but I'm gonna brag about my failures." Taking in his every word were aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners."I definitely wanted to see his whole presentation and just looking to see how I can move my business forward," said Carli Vergaminiowner, owner of Crave."I'm hoping to learn that I can get that extra little nudge and that, 'go for expansion, you can do it, you've made it this far,'" said Drew Petersen, owner of Dynamic Household Management. Three people even got the chance to pitch their business ideas directly to John. Event organizers hope the core message of the event reaches the community and Fond du Lac Reservation."So that they can be self–sufficient and maybe create some jobs for other people cause gaming isn't everything," Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Business Professor Bryan Jon said. Advisors say now is a good time to start a business and there is no such thing as a bad idea. Business experts advise doing your research, knowing who your customer is and to not be discouraged by failures."It can happen, it will definitely happen if you stick with it," said Jon. Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College has also started a partnership with UMD’s Business department. Students can easily transfer from Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College's Entrepreneurship program to UMD’s Labovitz School of Business.