We had the pleasure of interviewing Eilia Zandi. Eilia is the Founder and CEO of multiple E-Commerce Companies. He is only 17 years old and he is doing over $150,000 in sales per month. This 17 year old entrepreneur is currently working towards building a long-term brand and having multiple sources of income. Eilia’s goal for this year is to have his first million dollar company and help others leave the rat race.
TG: Tell us about yourself
EZ: Just a year ago I was an average high school student who was trying to get good grades to get into a good university. However, I was not happy and I knew I was not living up to my potential. I also knew I had entrepreneurial DNA so I started my entrepreneurial journey. At first, I did not see any success but not only did I not quit, but I kept working harder until I finally found out how to “crack the code”.
TG: What gives you energy?
EZ: Doing what I love gives me energy and doing what I hate makes me lazy and bored. This is the biggest reason why you should do what you are passionate about, not what you are told by society or by your teachers!
TG: What’s your secret to success in business?
EZ: I do not have a secret but the two essential elements of success in business are talent and effort. Nobody has ever built a profitable business without working their face off. You also need to know what you are good at and what’s the right business model for you because if you don’t, you will fail regardless of how hard you work.
TG: How many employees does your company have?
EZ: I am in the process of expanding my team and fully outsourcing everything. As of today I have around 10 people who are working for me and my company.
TG: Can going to school help you succeed in business?
EZ: Absolutely not! School is built for workers, not entrepreneurs. If you really want to learn about marketing, networking, and building entrepreneurial skills, you need to spend a lot of time online and consume relevant content from the people that have profitable businesses, not professors who have never built an actual business.
TG: Are entrepreneurs, originally born as such or they are raised to be successful?
EZ: Anyone can be an entrepreneur but 90% can’t make any money and can’t be a SUCCESSFUL one. However, because of the internet people can now quit their jobs and make 50-80k a year by starting their own business. But do I believe that anyone can become a millionaire or build the next Facebook? No.
Just like being a basketball player. Anyone can go play basketball but most basketball players do not get paid and they don’t get to play in the NBA.
TG: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
EZ: It is not going to be easy! If it was easy then everyone would become successful. You need to work hard and not give up even if you are not seeing any results. You also have to learn from your mistakes every time you fail so you don’t make those mistakes again. Most people lose a few hundred dollars and get no results without knowing why! That’s one of the biggest reasons why most entrepreneurs fail.