Many celebrities reach the top of their careers after countless hours of honing their crafts, but what pushes some of them to take on even more? In the past year, BNN Bloomberg’s Jon Erlichman has asked big stars – from Robert De Niro and Gene Simmons, to racing legend Danica Patrick – why they’ve diversified their talents in a wide range of entrepreneurial ventures.
Many of 2018’s guests on Sidelines said they started side hustles because they sought a better version of themselves, and wanted to leave a legacy behind for generations to come. Here are some of the top lessons celebrities have shared on Sidelines so far, which could help you with your own business pursuits in the year ahead:
Gene Simmons, co-lead singer of Kiss and chief evangelist officer of Invictus MD, on gratitude and the value of time:
“Either live it or get out of the way. There are other people who don’t have those choices … Here? In Canada you have every choice in the world.
“I am closer to the end than I was when I was 15 or 20, you know you’re invulnerable you have all the time in the world. So I have mortality in mind. Goddamn. Let’s get started. They’ll have to drag me kicking and screaming out of this world.”
Gary Lightbody, frontman of Snow Patrol and co-owner of Houndstooth Pub, on the importance of failure:
“Houndstooth (pub) has been a roaring success. We’ve put money into things that haven’t been quite successful, that have kind of folded pretty early doors. But Houndstooth went from strength to strength and it’s busy every night. It’s just a great bar and does great food — comfort food. You sort of think, ‘Well, New York doesn’t need another bar,’ but it really has taken off and it’s fantastic.”
Robert De Niro, actor and co-founder of Nobu Hospitality, on the importance of bracing for change:
“I enjoyed it, but also I was being practical and saying, ‘Let me think of something that I can make a living at besides acting,’ when things will start changing as far as what I earned ... That’s natural as you get older. I just enjoyed it. It wasn’t like I was saying I need to find another thing to make money. I was lucky with Nobu.”
Danica Patrick, former Nascar driver and founder of Somnium wine and Warrior fashion brand, on having patience as an entrepreneur:
“It takes time. I think that’s maybe what I know now based on the span of my career… You realize that there is so much out there in the world, even more than ever now. With social, TV, literature, you name it — it just takes time.”
Ice Cube, rapper, actor and founder of Big3 basketball league, on why you need a plan before building anything:
“I think it goes back to my days with N.W.A. With the kind of music we were doing, we didn’t know if we were going to take off, or if we were just going to be local street heroes. I had to fall back on something, so I went to school for architectural drafting. In that, it teaches you to have a plan before you start building anything. That’s how I’ve looked at a career, or I looked at doing something this big, like the [Big3 basketball league]. You’ve got to lay out the plan first, and then it’s all about executing, and it’s all about finding the right people do to what it takes, and that’s helped me more than anything.”
Zach Hyman, Maple Leafs player, children’s book author and founder of Eleven Gaming, on perseverance:
“If you give 100 per cent into anything you do, you can’t be upset with yourself. You chose to do something, you give it your all, you believe in yourself. And I truly believe if you do, you’re going to be successful. You’re going to make your dreams come true.”
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Olympic figure skating champions and creators of the TV series ‘Tessa & Scott’, on pushing boundaries:
“It’s our job to tell a story on the ice. We’re really proud of our partnership. We love working together. We have had a great, almost 21-year career, and making sure that stays authentic as we take our next step forward into the show world is important to us. That’s why we like the projects like this [Thank You Canada] tour because we can push ourselves, we can be creative, we can continue to work together and create new things on the ice.”
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