7 business lessons from the richest drug dealer [Pablo Escobar]

I know what you’re thinking, what can we possibly learn from a drug baron other than greed

Yes, Pablo was a mischievous creature [killer manipulator]

His environment [Colombia] proven to have better soil that perfectly grows major resource used in making drugs called coca leaves, which stimulated his urge to hit it big before the age of 22

Pablo's treacherous path has inspired a myriad of movies and novels, likewise the below business lessons

STRONG VISION

Pablo Emilio Escobar made Forbes magazine international billionaires list seven years in a row:

Pablo was a poor smuggler from a third world country before he generated a net income of $21.9 billion a year at his peak

What could drive a man like Pablo to overshadow business tycoons, celebrities, royalties to become one of the wealthiest men in this ecosphere?

The man was too courageous. You can observe his bold vision in the second episode of narcos where Pablo meets a man named Matteo “cockroach” Moreno.

Moreno is a dealer struggling to sell cocaine in his native town, Chile because of a government crackdown

Cockroach sells cocaine in Columbia with the help of Pablo

Pablo tells cockroach, if cocaine sells for $10 a gram in Columbia, imagine how much it’ll sell for in Miami”

Pablo didn’t have a weak or blunt vision of an average criminal

He made the Forbes list for seven years straight; you don’t want to settle for that $500 client when someone somewhere charges $4000 for the same service

Know your worth and stop giving people discounts

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NEVER SETTLE

Frequently, he took risks capable of sending him to an exile or sweeping him off the earth surface

In an episode, his brother Peluche cautioned him to withdraw from the risk that might land him in a tight spot

Peluche ran a bike shop that pulls in hand to mouth income and he’s satisfied with it

Peluche won’t stop pestering Pablo to refrain from his daredevil stunts until Pablo looked him straight in the eye and told him he had a poverty mentality just like their father

Life’s too short, hoping for the best like 85% of those who hate their job, while you can start a hustle that changes the entire game with time

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CREATE AN IRRESISTIBLE OFFER/PRODUCT

People say marijuana is a dangerous habit-forming drug

The drug cartel had to master making sensimilla- a highly concentrated type of cannabis without seeds

They harvest it, store and package it to take over the drug trade, as it’s the best

You don’t need people’s validation in life, but your product/service needs it for improvement. Your product should be addictive and perform so well your clients/customers want to keep up with it

To build an irresistible product or service, you need to

• Test and weigh options
• Embrace & implement feedback
• Fix loopholes
• Enhance efficiency

Perfect product/service still thrives with poor sales skills than the other way round

 Also Read: 7 Ways To Identify Market Opportunities For a Business Growth

YOU MUST FILL A MARKET DEMAND

Pablo smuggled 70 to 80 tons of cocaine into the United States per month

His trade skyrocketed crime rates alongside dehumanizing families and individuals across united states

Yet, they won’t stop killing to access his merchandise, because he was satisfying a demand

Gary halbert [marketing guru] asked his students that if you and I both owned a hamburger stand and we here in a contest to see who would sell the most hamburgers

What advantage would you most like to have on your side?

Some people would want superior meat from which to make their hamburgers, others say sesame feed buns, others mention location or offering the lowest price, and so on

[Gary said he only wants a starving crowd]

 Also Read: 2 proven tips to setup a successful bakery business in Nigeria

ENHANCE THE ART OF DISTRIBUTION

Pablo's network distribution is so strong that his competitors seek a refuge under him to transport their own product out of Colombia to his dominated routes in the Caribbean and Mexico

This also became a standalone source of income for him as he charges around 20%-30% for safe shipment through his personal airport in hacienda Napoles [his mansion in Italy]

America spends over $7 billion on food delivery monthly via the likes of Uber and Lyft ride-hailing services

Have you coined an idea to boost your business sales/orders, or think of getting more exposure for your business like business directories?

 Also Read: How to start a successful delivery logistics business in Nigeria

VISUALIZE YOUR RISK

Pablo knows the risk attached to his business

Remember Moreno, “cockroach” the guy who introduced the drug trade to Pablo?

Pablo plugged a slug in his head as he discovered he was a threat and risk to his business presence.

Pablo had taken care of so many obstructions that he negotiated with his government as a term of his surrender that he built his own prison known as La Catedral

Identify the risk in your business and deal with it ahead

 Also Read: How to setup a successful cement block business in Nigeria

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

He knows no matter how busy business gets, he must make time for family and friends that they also knew him for the below quotes

“I could replace things, but I could never replace my wife and kids.”

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Conclusion

The 2 common recipes for business failure right off the bat or later on, are lack of business knowledge and not open-minded

Learn about your dream business, reach out to people doing it better, interview them, gather enough info before you take the plunge with that hard-earned money

While on the journey, always be open-minded, keep networking as things change so fast in this century than ever before, then watch the aesthetic of your output just by not only investing in yourself but also tapping into the knowledge of people on the journey to escape years of trials and failures

I hope this lesson does not inspire you to take up a life of crime but help shape your startup dream/business into reality

Drop in the comment box, your favorite business lessons and what you feel about it