Gautam Adani Quotes

I started my first business at 14!

It was tennis that got me started in business. When I was 16 and about to embark on my A-levels, I set up a tennis academy and became one of the youngest qualified tennis coaches in the country. It did well; by the time I was 19 I was able to buy my first house.

I had no intention of being a film producer, and I knew I wasn't passionate about engineering. I was always set on having my own business, controlling my own destiny.

I never knew anything other than wanting to be an entrepreneur. I tried my first business when I was 6 years old, and I started another business when I was 8. I don't think I knew anything besides that.

I opened up a frozen-yogurt business out of college. I didn't finish college; I went halfway, and then I worked for Joel Silver, the producer, as a driver for a year.

After my first ad, I was flooded with offers, which I took up. Soon, I decided that it could be a lucrative business with a parallel college life.

In 2008, Milton Sheppard opened the Waiter Training School in the Bronx, N.Y., charging $175 for courses, but the business soon ran out of money. He now operates a clown college in the same space.

That's why I ended up leaving school - because it required so much time, and it was such an excellent idea. I figured I would regret not going full force with this idea. It seemed we could make something of it.

I left Google after four years of working on Google Maps, search, and Google TV as a product marketing manager. I knew I wanted to do something on my own.

I admire the courage and self-reliance it takes to start your own business and make it succeed.

Becoming an entrepreneur was the furthest thing from my mind. I actually had an identity crisis when I realized I had become one.

My father was a chef but hadn't owned his own business. I didn't like that. In my heart of hearts, I knew I wanted to be in business.

This is a tough business for anyone, especially if you start out young. I feel really lucky about the way things have turned out.

If I was a businessman, I could have made a huge amount of money. But none of that really crossed my mind while I was young and traveling.

To start your working life after you've graduated from school and university, it takes you a long time to get started in the real world. Today, kids are not out into the workforce until 27 or 30 years of age. By the time I was 30, I had six kids and 60 trucks.

I thought, if I went into business I'd be able to control my own destiny.

I didn't take anything from anyone - first of all. Second of all, I opened a comedy club with money that I saved over 25 years. I created jobs.

In my case, the business chose me.

As you get older, I think everyone feels that, no matter what the job: to try a hand at running the business as opposed to simply being an employee.

The way to become rich is to put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.

I wanted to be my own boss. I was fascinated by airlines and how I could change travel for the average person. Then I wanted to diversify.

From a relatively early age I got interested in business.

When I finished school, I took my entire life savings - $5,000 - and invested it in a business. I was young. I was inexperienced. But I was an entrepreneur, and I was proud. And in six weeks, I was broke.

I majored in business/marketing because I was going to be a teacher and a high school basketball coach.

Starting your own business isn't just a job - it's a way of life.