“Risks are a massive part of being an entrepreneur because there can’t be any success without risks”
Gold Porter is an experienced entrepreneur in the business world. In 2011, she created one of the most high-profile domestic and corporate recruitment agencies in Los Angeles, California, providing support to the elite entertainers, athletes, and prominent families in the area. Before founding the Belle Maison Agency, Gold spent many years serving corporate clients as a respected and award-winning financial advisor, then moved on to servicing high-profile domestic clients as a personal assistant and estate manager.
This included providing 24/7 care, being entrusted with critical financial accounts, and maintaining the utmost discretion in handling individual and estate resources. Such work required intensive logistical oversight, strategic management, and interpersonal communication—a powerful combination of skills, which she now employs on behalf of families she services nationwide.
Gold holds a B.S. in Management from Park University, and achieved certification as a top-graduating Marine Corps Paralegal, in addition to a Series 6, 63, Life insurance license and financial consultant registration. She remains heavily involved in the Southern California community, tirelessly contributing her time and energy to numerous nonprofits and child enrichment organizations.
Thank you for joining us today. Please introduce yourself to our readers. They want to know you, some of the background story to bring some context to your interview.
Gold Porter: My first career after the military was as a financial planner. A large firm in Los Angeles gave me a large signing bonus to move to Los Angeles. After the market crashed in 2008, I started thinking of different sales opportunities that could fit me better. A friend suggested that I should become a celebrity personal assistant. The idea of organizing someone’s life was attractive to me. From there I got a position with a best-selling author and motivational speaker through a top LA placement agency, but it wasn’t a great fit. I learned a lot about the worlds of placement agencies and also being a Personal Assistant, which can be demanding and sometimes demeaning.
About a year and a half into being a PA, a friend of mine knew a nanny who was frustrated with how subpar agencies can be and how poorly they treated candidates. She wanted to start her own domestic staffing agency but didn’t have the business know-how. That is where I came in, and we joined forces to form Belle Maison Agency. I was doing the business development and operations, attracting about 90% of clients by word-of-mouth.
We rebranded in 2019 with an expansion of services and a new name. RCG understands your sophisticated requirements and provides a single-source solution to help simplify your life. Under the comprehensive RCG umbrella, we integrate our existing staffing capacities with the relocation, organization, and estate management (for primary and secondary homes) services we have been providing high-profile clientele since our founding. While based in Los Angeles, our services extend across the country and globe.
You are a successful entrepreneur, so we’d like your view point, do you believe entrepreneurs are born or made? Explain.
Gold Porter: There is truth in this statement that an entrepreneur can be born, although most are made. There are two types of entrepreneurs born. First is the one who is born into a family that already owns a business. The second type of entrepreneur is the one who has no resources and no knowledge but has an idea.
Entrepreneurs require resources like capital and labor. It is usually not that difficult to achieve these since these resources are already available in the family business. Many such individuals shape themselves to own a business. Who dares to dream big, and this is because they have a powerful burning desire to be self-employed. Such individuals also go to any extent to take up risks.
Entrepreneurs typically have powerful self-confidence. This is not an overnight process. The path is paved with struggles, stress, and disappointments. However, there is one thing that education cannot teach, and that is to take risks. A self-made entrepreneur can bear risks and take up new challenges.
However, entrepreneurs take risks. Risks are a massive part of being an entrepreneur because there can’t be any success without risks. As children, we grow up fearing risks and failure, and the idea of entrepreneurship is intimidating. On the other hand, children who grow up in families with entrepreneurs are much more likely to become entrepreneurs themselves because they have not been taught to fear risks.
If you were asked to describe yourself as an entrepreneur in a few words, what would you say?
Gold Porter: I identify as being an entrepreneur because I thrive in an environment where I am accountable for outcomes.
Tell us about what your company does and how did it change over the years?
Gold Porter: Riveter Consulting Group is a boutique agency focused on delivering and executing all your lifestyle and private home staffing needs. With an executive team experienced in household management, relocation, staffing, and personalized services. Riveter Consulting Group handles all staffing types beyond the home and includes office personnel placements, including Personal, Executive, and Administrative Assistants, plus Office Managers.
We rebranded in 2019 with an expansion of services and a new name. RCG understands your sophisticated requirements and provides a single-source solution to help simplify your life. Under the comprehensive RCG umbrella, we integrate our existing staffing capacities with the relocation, organization, and estate management (for primary and secondary homes) services we have been providing high-profile clientele since our founding. While based in Los Angeles, our services extend across the country and globe.
Thank you for all that. Now for the main focus of this interview. With close to 11.000 new businesses registered daily in the US, what must an entrepreneur assume when starting a business?
Gold Porter: Talk to as many entrepreneurs as you can. Find out about the pitfalls, because you can glean so much information on what not to do. No matter how much capital you have, always act like you have none. I think most businesses change considerably once they start – you’ve got to go in there with the flexibility to work out kinks before getting the final result. Nobody wants to fail but don’t be afraid of failure, because usually, it opens the door to even a better opportunity.
Did you make any wrong assumptions before starting a business that you ended up paying dearly for?
Gold Porter: Trusting that I would always be able to resolve issues with my business partner.
If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what advice would you give yourself and why? Explain
Gold Porter: I would have invested more time and money in my CRM system in anticipation of future growth.
What is the worst advice you received regarding running a business and what lesson would you like others to learn from your experience?
Gold Porter: Do not worry it will all work out. Things do not always work out. You have to take ownership of your responsibilities.
Problems do not solve themselves, and people that think they will go out of business.
In your opinion, how has COVID-19 changed what entrepreneurs should assume before starting a business? What hasn’t changed?
Gold Porter: Prior to Covid, you could assume the government would not interfere with your business practices. It has become very apparent in the last year that this does not hold true. The general entrepreneurial spirit of business owners is still living and well. People are still trying to work through the challenges they have faced.
What is a common myth about entrepreneurship that aspiring entrepreneurs and would-be business owners believe in? What advice would you give them?
Gold Porter: I think most people start into the entrepreneurial world thinking they will be working on the business. Most seasoned entrepreneurs spend their time getting out of bad situations vs. getting new situations.
We put fires out left and right. It is not as glamorous as people think, although it can be rewarding.
What traits, qualities, and assumptions do you believe are most important to have before starting a business?
Gold Porter: You have to be able to identify a problem that you can solve that other people will find value in. You will need to be tenacious, driven, and patient.
How can aspiring leaders prepare themselves for the future challenges of entrepreneurship? Are there any books, websites, or even movies to learn from?
Gold Porter: Talk to as many entrepreneurs as you can. Find out about the pitfalls, because you can glean so much information on what not to do. Take that and learn from it. No matter how much money you have, always act like you have none. You don’t have to do the best of the best, I see people that pay a fortune for a website, etc., and most of these things you can do on your own, which I think gives you the background of the business. Do things yourself and know the ins and outs of the business. I think most businesses change considerably once they start – you’ve got to go in there with the flexibility to work out kinks before getting the final result.
You have shared quite a bit of your wisdom and our readers thank you for your generosity but would also love to know: If you could choose any job other than being an entrepreneur, what would it be?
Gold Porter: Dog Rescue.
Thank you so much for your time, I believe I speak for all of our readers when I say that this has been incredibly insightful. We do have one more question: If you could add anyone to Mount Rushmore, but not a politician, who would it be; why?
Gold Porter: Dave Chappelle.
This interview was originally published on ValiantCEO.
