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<\/a>From left: Elaine Brodsky, Norman Brodsky and Fanella Kim. Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\nHowever, the Brooklyn-born octogenarian, who will be 84 on Dec. 31, told the Brooklyn Eagle that he ultimately became the man he is today for one reason: failure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really about learning from and analyzing the mistakes I made along the way,\u201d Brodsky said. \u201cNo entrepreneurs that I know of go straight from having nothing to accumulating wealth or success. They had to fail at some point, but one must take responsibility and not repeat the same mistakes over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n
A key learning experience for Brodsky was going bankrupt at the age of 46 during the stock market crash of 1987.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lost a good part of my Perfect Courier business,\u201d Brodsky recalled, noting that he learned a valuable lesson. \u201cYou have to have contingency plans in place for unforeseen events. Nothing lasts forever, and things change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perfect Courier, a messenger service Brodsky started in Manhattan in 1979, became a thriving enterprise with offices around the country within a few years. As fax machines began appearing in more and more businesses, Brodsky realized his company\u2019s prospects were limited and began looking for other opportunities.<\/p>\n Brodsky\u2019s next business, CitiStorage, which he built in 1990, was created \u201con more solid ground,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n What started with just 27 boxes quickly scaled into a massive operation storing millions of records for law firms, hospitals and corporations. Over time, CitiStorage expanded into a full-scale records storage and logistics business and was later complemented by U.S. Document Security, a document destruction and shredding company. Together, these businesses became industry leaders in secure records management, ultimately contributing to Brodsky\u2019s multi-million-dollar success.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2007, Brodsky and his wife and business partner, Elaine Brodsky, sold CitiStorage, Perfect Courier and U.S. Document Security to Allied Capital in a transaction reported at approximately $110 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brodsky has also invested in commercial real estate, hotels, restaurants and other entrepreneurial ventures. In addition, he is an author, business columnist \u2014 Brodsky wrote the long-running \u201cStreet Smarts\u201d column for Inc. Magazine \u2014 and former attorney.<\/p>\n Shrewd business acumen<\/p>\n According to Brodsky, a lot of his shrewd business acumen came from observing his father as a boy.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad was a custom peddler,\u201d he said. \u201cI used to go to work with him on the weekends, and I\u2019d often ask him, \u2018How do you make money?\u2019 He told me it was pretty simple: You buy something for $1 and sell it for $2.\u201d<\/p>\n Brodsky noted that his father treated all of his customers well, and he befriended many of them. \u201cIt\u2019s so crucial in business to have people skills. That\u2019s definitely one of the most important skills to possess,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Brodsky was born in Canarsie and lived there until around age seven. He returned to Kings County in 1990, living and working in Williamsburg for approximately 12 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a>From left: Norman Brodsky holding his award at the Smart Business Dealmakers Conference alongside Martha Mistretta and Elaine Brodsky. Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n<\/a>Norman Brodsky addressing the audience at the Smart Business Dealmakers Conference. Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n