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www.privateairny.com Private Air New York | Winter 2016 53 BUSINESS W hat does it take to be successful in business? Entrepreneur Paul Oberschneider will tell you it involves a combination of knowing who you are and what you are good at and then finding an uncontested market for that skill. Oberschneider should know. He was able to turn his last $400 into a business portfolio worth more than $200 million, including real estate, hotels and a London chain of healthy fast food restaurants. He offers tips from his own experiences in his new book Why Sell Tacos in Africa. e title of the book is a metaphor for finding a blue-sky market – a location where you will face little competition for the product or service you offer. In the 1980s, Oberschneider gained financial success as a young trader on the Chicago Board of Trade and the New York Stock Exchange. He describes himself then as "Wolf of Wall Street meets Forrest Gump." A fast lifestyle filled with late nights, alcohol and cocaine, however, eventually led to financial and personal ruin. "By 1987, I was done," he says. "I was out of a job, completely humiliated and broke. I had a closet full of great suits and nothing else to show for it." Oberschneider first had to deal with his addictive behaviors. He followed the 12- step program, and he reveals that he has been clean and sober now for 30 years. en, he decided to take a trip to visit his late father's home country of Estonia before attending graduate school. "I knew I had to start my life over, and I thought that going to business school would be my A to Z path," he says. Life intervened, however, and not only did Oberschneider not go to business school, he remained in Estonia for 16 years. In Estonia, Oberschneider found that he was able to market himself as a corporate finance consultant in a country hungry for that kind of service. "In New York City, there were thousands of people doing what I was doing, but in Estonia at that time – the Berlin Wall had recently fallen -- I was one of the only guys in town who could even write a proper business plan." By capitalizing on the opportunities of a blue-sky market, Oberschneider was able to launch seven businesses, establish a bank and a mortgage company and become one of the largest property developers in Eastern Europe. Today, Oberschneider, a Chicago, Illinois native who makes his home in Oxford, England, sees vast opportunities for blue- sky markets in Africa. "It's the same thing as Eastern Europe in the 1990s, only 10 times bigger," he explains. A blue-sky market can be anywhere, however, he says. "It's really about providing something different in a new environment; that environment can be wherever you are." How do you determine what is the best blue-sky market venture? Oberschneider says, "Go with what you are attracted to." He shares how he first became interested in real estate development as a seven- year-old boy watching from the seat of his bicycle the construction of a large shopping complex that became suburban Chicago's Woodfield Mall. "I was fascinated by it and knew I wanted to be involved with something like that," he recalls. Today, he says, he still knows nothing about planning a shopping center, but "What I do know is something about is putting deals together." "ink about what excites you," Oberschneider advises. "Most people just trudge along and do what they are expected to do. How boring is that?" When reflecting on his own path to success, Oberschneider is thoughtful. "I am glad things happened the way they did," he says. "I didn't know it then, but I had to hit bottom to turn things around." He says his initial plan was to write a book titled 33 ings I Wish My Father Had Taught Me. "I never knew my Dad," he says. "I had to learn things for myself. My son is now 14, the age when he won't listen to anything I say. I thought if I write these things down, at least he would have a reference. "e interesting thing is – he is actually reading this book." Published by Harriman House, Why Sell Tacos in Africa? is set for a January 2017 release. For more information, visit www.pauloberschneider.com. WHY SELL TACOS IN AFRICA? SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR'S NEW BOOK OFFERS BLUE-SKY MARKET TIPS By: Tricia Drevets

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