[quote style=”boxed”]Work. Work smart, but work hard![/quote]
Arya Bina is an 18-year-old college student and businessman who was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California. He was born to upper middle-class parents, one of which is a second-generation Iranian-American. He started his own company at the age of 16, and within only two years time, he has grown it to be a profitable and indeed lucrative business. Using his expertise in marketing, finance, team-building and management, he was able to effortlessly initiate and execute his business model in an ultra-competitive industry.
What are you working on right now?
Currently I’m working solely on CheapTravelHunter.com, and I plan to do so for many years to come. As for side projects, I have none at the moment and hope to keep it that way!
Where did the idea for CheapTravelHunter.com come from?
The idea, interestingly enough, came from an older friend at a party, who was boasting about how he was making a killing working at a travel agency and banking over $20,000 per month. And I said to myself, “If he can do it, I can do it at least twice as well!”
What does your typical day look like?
I work late nights (since most of my work is done with contractors overseas), handle emails early in the morning, research online for new ways to make money, and otherwise manage our day-to-day operations, optimizing them to be more efficient. There is no such thing as being too efficient!
How do you bring ideas to life?
Once you have an idea, the first step is to initiate it or “get the ball rolling.” This can be done by networking with the right people, making phone calls, sending emails, or just sitting down and researching more about the topic at hand.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
At this time it has to be Pinterest! It’s the fastest growing social website in history, and it’s one social website that I think has the potential to be a real cash cow for those who know how to use it properly to promote their businesses!
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
I’m proud to say I’ve never worked a day in my life. Why spend your time working to accomplish someone else’s dreams and goals? You have your own. Be the master of your own destiny, and make others work for you! And if you think money’s an issue, then you’re just not being creative enough. I started my business with less than five dollars.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
At this point I’m very confident in my decisions, and I think I would make the majority of them again if I were to start over. But during my early stages in the business, I missed out on some opportunities because I didn’t want to risk available capital, and that caused me to miss out on some prime investment opportunities.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Work. Work smart, but work hard!
What is one problem you encountered as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
One problem most entrepreneurs face is the inability to maintain the drive and spark they need to stay motivated.
The best way to overcome this problem is to sit down and give yourself a quick peptalk. Talk about your goals and how you’ve progressed toward them, and then clarify the areas you need to work on. I’m sure after five minutes, you’ll be back in the game and hyped up. If not maybe you need a break for a day or two.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Here’s a free one: open your eyes! Business ideas are all around you. Think about Google, a multi-billion dollar company with such a simple idea. Your ideas don’t have to be complex or even new! There’s always room for innovation in any industry.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and how would you go about it?
The world’s fine. People need to change, and the best way to make that happen is to be the change you want to see in the world.
Tell us a secret.
If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a secret!
What are your three favorite online tools or resources and what do you love about them?
- Alexa.com is a great overall web info tool for researching websites.
- Ispionage.com is great for spying on competitors’ SEO/PPC campaigns.
- OpenSiteExplorer.org is awesome for finding valuable backlink opportunities.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company by Bryce G. Hoffman.
Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?
I don’t use Twitter.
Who is your hero?
I’ll name one: Bill Gates. He’s a really classy guy, smart businessman, and overall smart person.
What’s the most important ability for the CEO of a company to have?
The ability to build a team. If you can assemble the right people for the right job, the rest should literally just fall into place and require minimal hands-on management.
Connect:
Cheap Travel Hunter’s website:
Arya Bina’s email: [email protected]
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.