Spring 2009 - Issue 5

The Silversword: Home > Features > Steve Sue, entrepreneurship guru

Steve Sue, entrepreneurship guru

By Chelsea Seki

Chaminade Silversword

 

If there are any students out there who have the fear of choosing the wrong major or becoming a career-less hobo, Steve Sue is the guy to talk to. As a home-builder, branding and marketing pro, movie set and event designer, law school grad, artist and web whiz, the 51-year-old Sue has accomplished more than most could ever dream. Through all of his endeavors, he has ended up on the quiet lanai of his home on Oahu typing away on his self-launched entrepreneurship site, BizGym.com, a website for budding entrepreneurs used to access the tools they need to help them in their projects and ventures.

Sue, originally from Oakland, Calif., has a passion for art, which led to him graduating with an art degree from UCLA. Sue then decided to attend law school at UC-Berkeley, not because he wanted to be a lawyer, but because his brothers from the Jewish fraternity he was in were all doing it. Though Sue graduated and was offered jobs at multiple law firms, he did not become a lawyer. He decided to go into the family business of home building, instead.

“I was a kid with a pretty big head at the time,” Sue said. “I was like Superman; I could do anything. I could come out of art school and go to a hot ball program in the country. But they taught me pretty fast that I wasn’t.”

Going to school greatly improved Sue’s memory and critical thinking skills, but he was still unsatisfied. After college and his home-building ventures, he got a job with Bedrock Companies involving marketing, branding, movie set design, event planning and retail projects, which seemed to teach him lessons that he did not need a classroom for. He learned all about the advertising industry from the ground up by experience. His home building skills helped in set building when he participated in the productions of movies, such as Sister Act II. He helped in the planning and scenic design of Harry Potter film openings and even worked on the structural work and retail for Downtown Disney between Disneyland and California Adventures in Anaheim, Calif., just to name a few.

However, Sue’s colorful résumé led him to be the founder of his online entrepreneurship site, BizGym.com.

“I really believe that entrepreneurship is what made America great and it’s what’s gonna make it great again,” Sue said. “We’re in a very difficult economic time and I think we’ve got to really go back to what we did best and this is the way to go.”

Sue volunteers his time at schools, such as Chaminade University of Honolulu and ‘Iolani School, to talk about business and entrepreneurship to students. He believes that it is important for students to learn about business early on and turn them onto entrepreneurship. ‘Iolani School asked Sue to create a business competition for students so that they can put their business knowledge to practice. He created “Lemonade Alley” on Nov. 12, a lemonade stand competition for students from kindergarten to 12th grade. When asked why lemonade stands, Sue explained how lemonade stands and newspaper routes are some of the oldest businesses that young people had in the past. Lemonade stands have every aspect of a business and taught the students how to create and promote their lemonade stands. The competition was open to the public and all proceeds from the stands were donated to charity.

Volunteering his time and efforts, Sue consistently shares his talents and skills with the community. It seems as if there is definitely more to come from Sue in the future. With a wide range of interests and expertise, he is a promising member of society and one of those people who make the world a better place to live in. Sue went wherever life took him, and from the looks of it, that method turned out pretty well.

“Sometimes you don’t know what the plan is, but I’m a believer that there is a plan,” Sue said. “So if you keep your ears open and follow what is preordained for you, then you’ll probably do pretty good.”