In 1996, Will Packer was a recent Florida A&M University graduate with an electrical engineering degree delivering newspapers from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. every morning to pay the bills.
Four years later, in 2000, the first film he produced and distributed theatrically, the thriller “Trois,” grossed $1.2 million at the box office and became the fastest African-American distributed film to pass the million-dollar mark.
Now, the 51-year-old has produced around 30 feature films that have collectively earned more than $1 billion at the box office. Ten of his movies, including the 2014 romantic comedy, “Think Like a Man Too” and the 2016 comedy “Ride Along 2,” opened at No. 1. The hit 2017 comedy he produced, “Girls Trip,” soared to $140 million in ticket sales on a $19 million budget.
So how did Packer go from delivering early-morning newspapers to Hollywood success? He credits his mindset, which is rooted in a concept called “healthy arrogance,” or an unwavering belief in personal success despite the odds.
In his new book “Who Better Than You?” released on Tuesday, Packer encourages entrepreneurs to embrace healthy arrogance, writing that the successful people he knows believe wholeheartedly that they are meant to be successful.
Will Packer. Photo by Jemal Countess/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images
Here, Packer speaks to Entrepreneur about the concepts in the book, what one of his early jobs taught him about business, and how entrepreneurs who feel held back by finances or life circumstances can move forward.
In your book, “Who Better Than You?,” you write that in 1994 for the premiere of your first independent film, “Chocolate City,” a story about college life at an HBCU featuring your own alma mater and many of your classmates, you booked the front row of the theater for VIPs, but it was empty at showtime. The celebrities didn’t show up. How did that propel you to continue?
The entire front row that I had saved for Hollywood celebs was empty, but every other seat in that auditorium was filled. It was packed to the brim with students who couldn’t wait to see themselves on screen. Whether you’re talking about an independent film or some other project or endeavor, especially if it’s an entrepreneurial endeavor, you gotta understand that you hold the key, you hold the power, and your dream is not over until you say it’s over.
How did you know it wasn’t over?
Having a great idea for something is like having the perfect shoes for a marathon. You’re at the finish line, you got the right shoes, they fit right, you got the socks, but you still got 26.2 miles to run. That’s the work that you gotta put in. Our success depends on one single person and belief system, and that’s yours.
The subtitle of “Who Better Than You?” is “The Art of Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big.” What is “healthy arrogance?”
I’ve worked with a lot of successful people. One trait that many of them have in common is this belief that their success is predestined, that they’re meant to be successful. The way that you control your destiny is by understanding that there’s nobody better than you. There’s nobody on this planet more deserving of success than you are. That’s No. 1, you gotta start there. I believe in healthy arrogance because the most successful people I’m around have that healthy arrogance.
How does someone go from having healthy arrogance to taking the first step?
If you’re afraid about that first step and you’ve been preparing for it and you find yourself in a position where all you can do is prepare and that’s what you’ve been doing over and over again, now is the time to go. Now is the time to take the leap. Nothing wrong with preparation, but don’t get paralyzed by it.
One of your early jobs was selling and delivering newspapers, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. What did you learn on the job and how would you apply it to business?
Everybody with any position of power or importance is constantly selling. On my way to becoming a filmmaker, I would deliver newspapers from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. because I could do it at an off time and then continue to work and chase the Hollywood dream during the day. One of the things that I learned from that experience is that everything is sales.
What does “everything is sales” mean?
As soon as they open that door, you have to have an opening right then and you better say something to get their attention. The same thing applies to business. You may have a little bit longer when you sit down with somebody with a pitch, but you better make sure that you are making them feel like you’re not wasting their time and that their time is improved, their day is improved.
This interview has been lightly edited and cut for concision and clarity.
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