DR Randal Pinkett, chairman and CEO of BCT Partners and the first African American winner of NBC’s reality game show The Apprentice, says good salesmanship, excellent customer care and passion have been pivotal to his success as a businessman.

“Sales can be the most rewarding job on the planet,” Pinkett, also a co-founder of the management, technology and policy consulting firm based in Newark, New Jersey, told the Jamaica Observer on a recent visit to Jamaica.

“I spent most of my time in my role at BCT Partners in sales, so ‘sales, serve and sell again’ is a topic that is near and dear to my heart,” he added.

Pinkett, who was an invited guest speaker at Sagicor Life Jamaica’s group appreciation luncheon, dubbed ‘Blast Off’, held at the Jamaica College auditorium on January 12, said he had always dreamt of becoming a businessman.

“I feel like I’ve been called to an entrepreneurial path,” he told Career & Education.

However, it was not until he got to college where he began trading compact discs and cassette tapes, and ultimately co-founded a company called MBS Enterprises, that he really took his love for entrepreneurship seriously.

“When I was younger, I sold lemonade. I sold candy. I tried to sell my toys to other kids when I got tired of my toys. [But] it wasn’t until I got to university that I really listened to that calling and pursued a path as a business owner,” said Pinkett, who holds five academic degrees — a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Rutgers University; a Master of Science (MSc) in computer science from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar; an MSc in electrical engineering from the MIT School of Engineerin, and Master of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management as a participant in the MIT Leaders for Global Operations Programme; as well as a Doctor of Philosophy from the MIT Media Laboratory.

MBS Enterprises later morphed into his second venture called MBS Educational Services & Training, a firm committed to providing the highest calibre of training and development for emerging and seasoned professionals and clients, such as General Motors, the United Negro College Fund, Exxon, the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, and Merck & Company.

His next venture was the Inner-City Consulting Group which he also co-founded, and after that, Access One Corporation. BCT Partners came later.

Along the way, there have been challenges. But challenges, Pinkett insisted, are a part of doing business.

“You have to enjoy it in the good times and in the bad times,” he said, adding that there was no challenge that an entrepreneur with passion and a belief in his/her product or service offering cannot meet.

“When you bring passion to what you do, it is infectious. It rubs off on your teammates, on your colleagues and, most importantly, on your customers, leading ultimately to sales,” said Pinkett, who is author of the books Campus CEO: The Student Entrepreneur’s Guide to Launching a Multimillion-Dollar Business and The No-Money Down CEO: How to Start Your Dream Business with Little or No Cash.

“If there is no passion, there is no point. If there is no passion, there is no purpose,” he added.

Asked about his own motivation to carry on in business, the married father of one child said: “I just want to maximise what I’ve been blessed with and be a blessing to other people.”

As for his next steps, Pinkett, who is actively involved in community service — from Autism Speaks to New Jersey Reads and the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network, among other things — he said he harbours dreams of starting a foundation to benefit young, aspiring entrepreneurs in the US.