What Mark Cuban Learned Selling Door to Door

A note to young leaders.

Before Mark Cuban built his first company, before the Dallas Mavericks, before Shark Tank – he was a kid in Pittsburgh pulling a wagon full of garbage bags.

It was 1970. Twelve-year-old Mark Cuban asked his father for a new pair of basketball shoes.

His father replied: “Son, those shoes on your feet look like they’re working just fine. If you want a new pair, you’ll need to earn them yourself.”

A family friend suggested he sell garbage bags door-to-door – not the best business idea – but to his credit, Mark adopted the idea with gusto.

His pitch went something like this: “Hi, my name is Mark. I live in the neighbourhood. Do you need garbage bags? I’ve got a great deal for you.” Then he smiled.

(The smile is a crucial part of the pitch.)

Everyone needs spare garbage bags and as Mark later observed: “Who’s gonna say ‘no’ to a 12-year-old? I learned to sell.”

It wasn’t long before Mark had the money to buy those basketball shoes he wanted. But more importantly, he “learned to sell.”

Those three words don’t sound like much. But embedded in them is everything: how to read a stranger, how to frame value, how to handle rejection, how to understand that business is fundamentally about solving other people’s problems.

Sometimes the best thing you can say to your kids is: “Nope, that’s something you need to earn.”