The Apprentice and Beyond

Entrepreneurial wisdom from Apprentice finalist Andrea Lake

We kick off our extensive coverage of the new Apprentice season with this interview of one of last season's top contenders. Be sure to watch the first episode of the new season this Sunday on NBC, 9/8c.

On the last season of The Apprentice, Andrea Lake was the cool, confident, self-possessed competitor who made it into the final six. In real life, Andrea is a highly successful entrepreneur who had already founded highly successful companies before the showbecame part of her life.

In this conversation with Trump University's Barry Lenson, Andrea talks openly about what she learned on the show, what she didn't learn - and about what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

Barry Lenson: How did you find your way to The Apprentice?

Andrea Lake: It sounds funny, but I was a little bored. I was running several businesses and when I heard that the Apprentice winner would get to build a commercial building for the Trump Organization, I thought that would be fun. I've been a CEO for 14 years, so it never occurred to me that I would not win.

BL: Last season was intensely political. What did you learn from being part of a team with the other candidates?

AL: It was quite a lesson. In my own companies, I have always gotten to select the members of my team. Things have run smoothly, because I have recruited the very best and very selectively. When I got onto the show, I couldn't pick my team that way. I had to deal with situations that were like the politics that people deal with on their jobs, where some people were very qualified in business and some people were not. It was quite a learning experience.

BL: And the lesson you learned was . . .

AL: Go work for yourself! It's fine to tell people to --rise above-- office politics or to not get involved. But starting a company is really the best way I know.

BL: So looking back, the way you handled conflict on the show was less than ideal?

AL: It was complex. Because I was the only woman on my team who had actually run a company, Donald Trump and I were getting along beautifully. When the other women saw that, they targeted me. I believe the exact quote before the boardroom was --This is going to be the bloodiest boardroom Donald has ever seen, we're going to tear her apart. There is going to be blood on the boardroom walls. F*@%ing blood everywhere--. I'm watching this and thinking, ummmm....professional?

BL: You say that people should go work for themselves. Can you offer some advice on how to do that?

AL: It can be a mental challenge. When I was 18, I started a company. Then when I was 23, I left for nine months and took the only corporate job I have ever had. There I was at that age, making about $75,000 a year, and that felt like a fortune to me. I found it difficult to prepare mentally for the idea that if I started another company, it might not turn a profit for two years. And it is hard to for me to accept the idea that I might make less money.

BL: That is great advice for first-time entrepreneurs. How about some more?

AL: Sure, I have tons of advice for entrepreneurs.

First, make sure you are well funded. I once started a clothing & sticker company with only $15,000, and when it turned out to be totally insufficient ended up using credit card lines to the tune of $120,000 in credit card debt to sustain the companies. While it was very stressful at the time, it was fabulous to have access to that kind of credit. I think that many first-time entrepreneurs would be wise to remember that they should line up backup sources of funding.

Second, don't get lost in what I call the --semantics-- of starting a business. I know many entrepreneurs who get too caught up in deciding the way to structure their corporations and other details, or obtaining every permit and every license. If you are making money, the rest will follow. Making money comes first!

Third, get the best Web presence you can afford. The best! It will pay you back in ways you cannot imagine, people will judge your companies

BL: If you had to do it all over again, would you go on The Apprentice again?

AL: Absolutely. It was a completely positive experience. You can't imagine all the contacts it brought me. All the job offers too, though of course, I didn't need them, it was flattering nonetheless and I am willing to go in for a day (for quite a fee) and consult to those companies. Would I do it again? No doubt, when's The Apprentice All-Stars Series?

Barry Lenson is Executive Editor of Trump University.

Andrea Lake skipped college and personally financed her first enterprise, Rhythm Styx, a successful toy company. Andrea is now the CEO of five companies that she founded: StickerJunkie.com, an online customized sticker company; T-ShirtJunkie.com, an online customized t-shirt company; Delinquent Distribution, a distributor of teen apparel including the sales rights on all of the World of Warcraft apparel and merchandise; Zoko, Inc., an online community that connects best-selling authors with their readers; and Luxury Wedding Packages, inc., an online wedding planning service. Learn more about her at AndreaLake.com.

To follow in Andrea's footsteps and become a successful builder of companies, enroll in Trump University's Entrepreneurship Mastery Program. 2007 can be the year that you become your own boss.