One of Randall Bergeron’s favourite quotes is “There is no such thing as failure, only early attempts at success.”

He attributes this quote to NASA, pointing out it’s an attitude he's embraced in business. 

“Changing perspective, how you look at challenges and failures changes everything. It changes your worldview, ability to stay positive and determined toward achieving success,” the Newmarket resident said.

His book “Rise & Shine: 50 Real World Lessons” covers several business-related topics, including making employees feel invested, getting creative ideas from staff, and rewarding people for offering ideas, as well as answering the question of what makes employees loyal. How can entrepreneurs transition from small to medium businesses? What mindset do you need to succeed? What can you do to reach your goals and get organized?

Each chapter has a “lessons learned” section.

The lessons in his book are taken from his personal and business experience working all over York Region, including Markham, Richmond Hill, Aurora and Newmarket. Bergeron calls himself a “serial entrepreneur.”

His most recent business (telecommunications equipment supplier Unity Connected Solutions), which was the largest inspiration for his book, is in Newmarket.

Bergeron, 61, started out as a warehouse assistant in 1981 at a place called ROLM Corporation, later acquired by IBM. It was his first real job after attending Western University. 

He went on to help with the growth of several telecommunications and technology businesses, working in finance, purchasing, software design, engineering, sales and marketing.

Bergeron wrote his book because it was his life’s ambition, as well as “a way to give back to other entrepreneurs trying to be successful in a tough world,” he said.

He also believes there’s a void in business literature, a “vacuum,” Bergeron calls it. You can get many books on how to make millions on the internet or lots of books about how to start up a small business, but not much available in between. Bergeron’s book explains how to transition from a small business to a medium-sized one.

One of his pieces of advice is to listen to younger people.

“We live in a world moving at light speed,” Bergeron said. “The pace of change has become absurdly fast.”