“The way I look at a loss is an opportunity for maintenance”
Tony DiSilvestro
This B.Y.O.B. session focuses on Tony DiSilvestro, the owner of Ynot Italian, and the struggles he faced while growing into an entrepreneur. Starting from just one franchise, Tony built 6 franchises, went back down to 2, and now has 7. Tony not only owns a restaurant, but he also owns a construction and a rental business which stemmed from doing his own construction on his restaurant.
When asked how he got his start, Tony explained that he worked at 25 different restaurants before he opened his own. At every restaurant he worked at, Tony took a little piece of each one and made it into his own. This story really inspired me and taught me that hard work really does pay off. Everyone gets their start somewhere, it just depends on how hard you want to work to reach the top
Another topic I learned from Tony is the difference between having job and having responsibility. In his speech, Tony told a story about a disorganized employee he had previously hired. When asked to elaborate, Tony explained the difference a job and a responsibility. He explained that there is more to a job than just showing up every day. To show up and understand the dynamics of the business and to want to better yourself and the business is showing responsibility within a job. I feel like this is a very important concept to understand because this what employers look at. Showing responsibility is what helps people grow, and especially in a business, it can help a person grow into an entrepreneur.
Lastly, I learned from Tony that in order to be an entrepreneur, you have to take risks. To be an entrepreneur, your career and finances are put at stake, but if you believe in what you’re doing, it will be worth it in the end. With that being said, Tony followed up this statement by also saying that you should surround yourself with greatness. Being around people in the same industry and same motives can influence your risk-taking by learning from their mistakes.