Photo by Scott Duncan

Donald Trump Jr., the Executive Director of Global Branding and Networking for Cambridge Who’s Who^®, made a special appearance on “The Real Story” with Gregg Greenberg to discuss small business, personal branding and today’s real estate environment. During his segment, Donald addressed his partnership with Cambridge Who’s Who, and explained the benefits of individuals proactively branding themselves and networking within the organization. The segment featuring Donald Trump Jr. began about 16 minutes into the program. Please download the podcast to listen to the complete interview.

Interview:

Gregg Greenberg: Speaking of branding, you’re involved in something called Cambridge Who’s Who. Can you tell me about that?

Donald Trump Jr.: Yeah. I’m involved [with] Cambridge Who’s Who. They have a great membership [and] following of people who are young [and] entrepreneurial — businesspeople [in] a very diverse set of fields. I’m helping them effectively personally brand. It’s something that’s been very dear to my family; it’s allowed us to do incredible things, and so I understand the value of personal branding — getting your name out there in today’s day and age of the Internet. And with all of this information out there — both good and bad — you really have to be able to control some of those things. So, [I’m] just helping young entrepreneurs getting started, getting their name out there in a positive way so that people really can get a good impression. It’s a very difficult economy out there — a very difficult job market — and you really have to position yourself so you can take advantage of all those things properly.

Gregg Greenberg: What is the environment like for entrepreneurs right now? It’s hard to get capital, but on the other hand, it teaches you — I would think — how to run a lean operation.

Donald Trump Jr.: No question. I mean, these are good times in terms of learning; not necessarily good times in terms of investing. I used to think that I knew everything there was to know about real estate, right? Until about 2008, when I said, “Uh?” The last two years have been probably the greatest learning experience, much better than the prior eight that I was working. It is tough times. You have to learn how to run lean. The thing is to learn how to run lean, but then, when things get good … maintain that philosophy and not get lazy, not get sloppy, and not start overspending.

It is a tough time, though. I spend a lot of time speaking with the guys from Cambridge … other people starting up businesses and, frankly, some of the stuff that I look at with my own friends, and my own investments. Capital is tough to come by. It seems like, [with] “government subsidies,” that they are trying to encourage small business … they’re not really geared towards small business; they’re geared towards things that have five-year track records that have otherwise already probably failed, as opposed to new people coming in with great ideas. I think that’s a flawed philosophy and I think that’s something that they have to change. They have to allow people with new ideas — that may not have those track records — a chance to develop and start in.

Gregg Greenberg: And how does Cambridge Who’s Who compete against the likes of a LinkedIn or a Facebook? It’s not exactly the same, but it’s quite similar in the fact that it’s a big list and it’s a networking opportunity.

Donald Trump Jr.: Well, it’s a little bit different. It’s invite only, so it’s not just a directory of a bunch of different people. So, you know, what they’ll try to do is effectively create pools of like-minded individuals — create a little bit of a network opportunity. But not just, “Well, my name’s out there, and here’s how to get a hold of me”; it’s putting people in touch with each other … that can benefit from each other. It’s a very distinct thing in that it’s also invitation only; it’s not just “sign up and I’m in.” It’s a little bit different, a little more exclusive, and more of a unique opportunity.

Gregg Greenberg: What’s your advice for someone who wants to create their own brand name with their name? See, when you have a name like Trump, it’s instantly recognizable. How do you get a name like Greenberg out there?

Donald Trump Jr.: There’s a lot of Greenbergs that I know — some very good guys — Wall Street guys. But it is difficult. Trump’s out there now, but that didn’t just happen overnight. That’s 30 years of work and experience and managing the message. Obviously, today, the biggest aspect of this is … think of it as Digital Real Estate™. The first thing I do when I interview someone beyond the resume, beyond the references, is always the Google search. Controlling that message that’s out there, in terms of digitally, getting the right message out there, I think that’s very fundamental. That’s a lot of what the guys at Cambridge really help people do: make sure that that message, that first thing that people see in the electronic age, is there. We call it almost digital real estate because it really is almost like property you own in cyberspace.

Donald Trump Jr. has come on board with Cambridge Who’s Who, and so should you! Our offices are centrally located at 498 RXR Plaza (formerly RexCorp Plaza) in Uniondale, across the street from Nassau Coliseum. We design our products and services to effectively aid our members in gaining tangible networking and personal branding opportunities. To discover how Cambridge Who’s Who an help you to achieve your professional goals, please give us a call at (516) 535-1515. To apply for membership, click here: Cambridge Who’s Who Membership Application.