“To dream of the person you would like to be is to waste the person that you are.”
Those are the words of Ted Bagley, an entrepreneur who was invited to Moorpark College to speak about entrepreneurism and how to establish one’s own brand.
As the last event for Moorpark College’s Black History Month, Bagley educated students in attendance about the history of the month.
According to Bagley, Black History Month actually started as Negro History Week in 1926 because of historian Carter G. Woodson. It was held in the second week of February in order for it to coincide with President Lincoln’s and Frederick Douglass’s birthdays.
Criminal justice professor, Tim Lumas, played a key role in organizing on-campus events during Black History Month. Lumas expressed that the talk would prove beneficial to help students build their personal brand.
“Bagley helps people understand their potential and how to market themselves,” Lumas said. “Also, how to become successful in their community.”
Having served in the Army for three years, Bagley saw combat in Vietnam. He returned home to become an author, lecturer, and entrepreneur.
Bagley attributes that working strenuously shaped him into the man he is today.
“Even though I may have had to work harder, it also made me a better person,” Bagley said reflecting on facing adversity. “You take a negative and make a positive out of it.”
At the moment, Bagley leads his own company, TBJ Consulting. The company helps individuals with failure analysis, project planning, product development, and product scale-up. He stated multiple reasons for his success.
“First of all, a good start by my parents who always pushed education,” Bagley said. “Secondly, it was my brand. I made sure I kept my nose clean, and had good mentors in my life and took advantage of every opportunity I had.”
Bagley touched on expatriates, which are workers who live outside their native country. Expatriates are a growing workforce in today’s modern society. Mobility is also important because it is a great career enhancement.
He later spoke on the elements that make up an “executive presence.” Some of the elements: Vision, Passion, Self Assurance, Poise, Strong Values, Appearance, and Social Style, just to name a few. Bagley then moved onto speaking about entrepreneurship. Attendees were asked rhetorical questions on starting up their own business.
Are you ready for the start-up lifestyle? Is the market opportunity large and growing? Have you looked realistically at the costs?
“You have to sacrifice,” Bagley said. “Prior preparation prevents poor performance.”
Then Bagley started to talk about personal branding. Understanding the value of networking is key in today’s society. Other key ideas for students to think about is understanding the way one acts online or presents themselves.
One of the final topics Bagley finished with was what he calls “Ted’s Top Ten.” His top ten is a list of things a student should follow to succeed. One of the points from his list is to identify a coach or mentor in the early stages of your college career.
Bagley finished the talk with a Q&A session.
Criminal justice student Julie Tannos, 43, was amazed by the talk.
“I thought it was very impressive,” Tannos said. “I think he should go to more schools because he mentioned that children should have a good beginning. I think the younger the age that he can reach, the more good he’ll do.”
For a full recap of Moorpark College’s Black History Month, visit the Student Voice website to read the stories of the events that occurred throughout the month of February.
