Will Sassman

Write down your goals and re-evaluate them occasionally to see if you are still on track.

 

William Sassman was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Growing up as the child of a member of the United States Air Force, William was never in one place for a long time as a child; his family moved every three years on average. Dr. Sassman earned both his master’s degree and Ph. D from the International Christian College.

At the age of 23, William Sassman started in the sales field and found a significant amount of success, always exceeding the goals both he and his bosses set for himself. His success in the field earned him multiple awards and vacations every year. Most of his time in sales has been in the insurance and asset protection industry, a field where he has worked for the past 20 years.

Dr. William Sassman has lived in Sacramento, California since 1979 where he currently is helping to plan the development of a community hospital near the Rocklin and Lincoln area north of Sacramento with his organization, Philanthropic Concepts, Inc.

Where did the idea for your career come from?

Philanthropic Concepts, Inc derived from the altruistic side of me where passion and connection to helping the less fortunate exist here in our own town. The name is more of a cover all when working on a myriad of like minded ventures encapsulating the massive common denominators that exist today in the Sacramento area.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

My current day to day job is continuing to improve and plan the multiple projects we have at hand by daily communications with those involved while tracking performance and overall delegation of tasks towards the right team members involved. By delegating tasks, I can ensure that each day is productive for both me and the company.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Once I or another member of the team has an idea, then it’s discussed and written down with our team brainstorming and fleshing the idea out to see if it is something that is feasible. If it is, then we look at how we can implement it.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Cutting edge technologies in the medical and hospital culture are one of my primary concerns when contemplating providing the best to our society. One of the reasons for wanting to develop a new community hospital is to ensure that it has the latest of technology in it.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I believe that it is my drive for success that makes me productive as an entrepreneur. Even when we are in the middle of a major project, I am looking ahead to find our next opportunity so that there is never a slow moment.

What advice would you give your younger self?

My best advice to my younger self would be to learn from and listen to those who have more experience than you. Just because you have found success early on, doesn’t mean you cannot learn from others.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I believe that sometimes you need to be hard-headed and go with your gut over what others recommend at times to be successful. If you believe something is right, at least take a chance at it.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

I would recommend that everyone write down their goals and categorize them as short-term, mid-term, and long-term. Every year, go back and evaluate your goals and see where you are at regarding each.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

One strategy that I have used is developing relationships with individuals that are in important roles within their industry or the Sacramento community. Having a good relationship with them can open doors and provide new opportunities that were never previously known about. All together, these relationships help to increase the success rate of your projects.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

I moved too quickly in business decisions without prior approval or experience in the field. If I had taken the time to consult others for their professional advice, it could have saved me from a ton of heartache and superfluous difficulties.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I would recommend coming up with and developing an app that could make something in our life simpler or more convenient. Many of the most successful upcoming businesses have been based on making life convenient.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I recently tipped a waiter in cash for the exceptional service that they provided. I believe that it is important to recognize when people go out of their way to ensure that you have the best possible experience.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Quick books and an interactive up to date website are the two most important pieces of technology that I use.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

This book explains how awareness of your and other’s behaviors in each situation, and the motivations behind that behavior, are key to being more efficient and effective as a leader. Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management are critical to my leadership style and are all discussed in the book.

Books on the “Lean” method

This was the first book in what’s become a long series of “Toyota Way” books by Jeff Liker. This book introduces the 14 high-level management principles that form the Toyota Way management philosophy. This includes principle #8: “Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes.” Our customers like the sound of that.

What is your favorite quote?

“Say what you mean and mean what you say”

Key Learnings:

• Always be willing to bring up ideas that you might have, you never know if they will succeed if you do not
• Write down your goals and re-evaluate them occasionally to see if you are still on track
• Work hard and know when you need to delegate tasks to other members of your company to maximize success