Lesson #4: If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It

When asked what the number one key to success is, Charney replies, “Passion. That’s it. When you believe in what you’re doing, that’s it.”

Charney’s current success with American Apparel might seem like something of a fairy tale to those who have just tuned in. But delve a little deeper and it becomes apparent that Charney is an entrepreneur like any other – one who has had to be resilient in the face of numerous obstacles.

“I think I was a born hustler,” he says. “I like the hustle. I like selling a product that people love. It’s nice when a girl tries on a bra or a tie-dye t-shirt, and it’s, ‘Ooh, I love it.’”

Charney’s hustling days began when he was just in high school. Although his hyperactivity more often than not got him into trouble with his teachers, Charney found a way to channel that energy by the time he got to college. There, he began a business buying t-shirts at Kmart and exporting them back to his native Canada. “I started bringing like 5,000, 10,000 t-shirts at a time, on a U-Haul truck in the summer, and I developed a kind of importing business, from the United States to Canada,” says Charney. “That’s why it’s called American Apparel.”

Charney’s first success would be short-lived. He was arrested and with that, decided to end his importing business. But he did not quit. Charney believed in his dream of running a clothing company. To that end, he borrowed $10,000 from his father, dropped out of school and moved to South Carolina to begin manufacturing clothes. It did not matter to him that he had no experience.

Unfortunately, however, it did matter to his business. As his competitors began to outsource their operations, Charney’s business crashed. Still, even after he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Charney remained determined to see his dreams through.

“I knew I could do it differently, and I knew I could turn it around,” he recalls. “And I knew there was a solution and there was no way, that kind of passion or can-do spirit; I said there’s no way I'm stopping now.”

Charney brought on board a new team of staff to help him reorganize his company. After making it more efficient and developing a strong marketing machine, his dreams had finally come true. He was the CEO of a successful clothing company.

“When you believe in what you’re doing, that’s the first thing,” says Charney. “And you have to be resilient, because people are going to try to knock you down.” Each time Charney got knocked down, he got right back up because he knew he could. He knew that it would be his passion alone that would make or break his career; it was just up to him to choose which one.

“Anything we want to do, we can do,” Charney says. “If we can dream it, it can be done.”



Lesson #4: If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It

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