Tom Coronel is perhaps best known for being a professional race driver. But when he isn’t behind the wheel, the entrepreneur is experimenting with social media to boost his webshops, competing with his twin brother Tim, and being the father of little Carmen and Rocco.
Coronel, who was proudly wearing his racing shirt during his talk, confessed to the audience he had a double life. ‘I have two lives, not only as a sportsman, but also as an entrepreneur.’ But to him, these lives sometimes overlap, as when he conducts business to find sponsors for his races, or when he regards running companies as adventurous as a race. ‘An entrepreneur is just someone who’s on an adventure,' said Coronel, ‘but with a mission.’
‘If you want something: Action!’
Through the conference, the man who was once voted E-commerce man of the year acknowledged the journey sometimes has its drawbacks. He then referenced what he thought was one of his worst performances on his latest race in Hungary, which was only last week. ‘It’s not always all success, but you still keep fighting.’
Coronel addressed the audience directly more than once. He asked questions like ‘who wants to go to space?’, to which some students responded by raising their hands. He asked those same students what they were doing to get there. Some of them answered ‘nothing yet’, since it was too expensive, or because it was hardly possible with today’s technologies. To this, Coronel responded that ‘money is just paper’ and that what is not possible now, will most likely be possible in the future. ‘You can say “I want, I want,” but you’re not moving. If you want something: Action!’
Using social media to boost your business
Coronel explained how his understanding of social media dynamics has helped him more than once to boost the reach of his companies. He stressed that if entrepreneurs want to succeed, they need to work with all the technology and information they have at hand and be creative with them. According to Coronel, creativity is the main driver to his companies’ success. ‘This is why we’re growing. Because we’re different.’
After sharing several stories about his personal journey, Coronel joked, ‘you must be thinking: “what an ego trip, the guy is only talking about himself”,’ to what he responded he wanted to pass on that confidence and determination to students. ‘It’s not about me, it’s a mind-set.’
