BILL RANCIC

It is difficult not to compare Bill Rancic to a Ken doll. Maybe it’s the startlingly white teeth, the bronzed skin or the dark hair. On his website (www.billrancic.com) there are photos of Rancic in snow, on the sports field and with beautiful blonde barbie-like women who also have blindingly white teeth. A quick google search reveals there is even a fan website dedicated to him that begs for people to send in possible Rancic sitings and a list of what makes him so fantastic (episodes of The Apprentice where his shirt got wet and how he looked good with a clipboard in his hand seem to figure highly).

From all this, one might get the feeling that Rancic, 35, has certainly profited from both his looks and winning season one of Donald Trump reality TV show The Apprentice in 2003. But when I speak to him in America on his cell phone as he heads to the airport one can’t help but feel that Rancic is just a really nice – but busy - guy. He is preparing to shoot the next series of The Apprentice in Los Angeles (previous shows have been shot in New York) and says he is the only Apprentice winner to have had the opportunity to sit on the other side of the board room table.

“The two cities are almost like two different worlds with the type, style and pace of business. It’s a lot less stressful [sitting on the other side of the table]. It adds a different dynamic to the show. The contestants like it because they know I have been in their shoes and that they will be judged fairly. They can’t get away with certain things as I know all the tricks in the book that there are on that show. Some of the contestants are still making the same mistakes that were made on previous seasons. It’s mind boggling.”

Rancic’s home base is Chicago, Illinois where he grew up. He says he has been interested in business since he was a kid, starting his first venture selling lemonade when he was 10. Both his parents were schoolteachers so Rancic is not sure where his entrepreneurial bent came from:

“Success was attractive to me because we grew up with a modest upbringing, we didn’t have a lot. I would see people who had more accoutrements and had achieved that by being self employed.”

Money aside he says it was the lifestyle and challenge of being his own boss that was alluring:

“I could never work for someone else. I could never see the point. For me it was always – if this guy can do it then why not me?”

As part of winning The Apprentice Rancic had the opportunity to work for Donald Trump for one year. Rancic chose to work on Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago, a 92 storey tower comprised of residential and hotel condominiums.

“I had something to prove – both to myself and Donald Trump – so I chose a project which took place in my home town. This way I could hit the ground running as I knew the city and had business connections there. It was the place I could prove myself the quickest and I knew a lot of eyes would be watching me.”

So if he likes to be his own boss how has it been for Rancic working for Trump for the past three years after his contract was renewed not once but twice?

“It’s been great. For me to have been able to work for one of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs for the past three years has really been a dream come true. The people in his company are accountable and yet have autonomy to be able to do what they need to do to get the job done. The show was called The Apprentice not The Expert so I took the opportunity to learn as much as I could. “I have gotten to spend a lot time with Donald Trump and other billionaire moguls. I love to watch people and I have noticed that all these tycoons have very similar traits. They have a fire in their belly and they never give up. One thing a lot of people forget is that ten years ago Donald Trump was broke. He was six billion dollars in debt because the real estate market in New York had taken a turn for the worse. Yet he never gave up and clawed his way back up to the highest point he’s ever been in his career.”

So what is The Donald like as a person then?

“What you see is what you get. The show is real and we’re not actors. I’ve also seen a gentler side to him, he’s very giving but tough when he needs to be tough. Let me tell you – you don’t want to cross him.”

So is that hairstyle for real?

“It’s as real as it gets I tell you. It may not be pretty but it’s real,” he laughs.

He says the odds were stacked against him to win The Apprentice. He hadn’t come from a prestigious university or family (he studied for a Bachelor of Science degree at Loyola University, graduating cum laude in 1994). A friend of his mother signed him up for The Apprentice. Two weeks later he was on the TV show.

“Sometimes I can over think things so if I’d had time to over analyse it I don’t think I would have done it. On The Apprentice I learned just how much I could accomplish in a short amount of time if I really put my mind to something. When you are competing it pushes you to the limits. We averaged two hours of sleep a night and had to start businesses from scratch then make a profit in a matter of days. When you are an entrepreneur you are always competing against yourself. I always thought I had what it took to be successful. I was an underdog and I don’t think people expected me to make it. Every decision I made I thought out and I was able to work as an individual and as part of a team. I was able to get my team around me and shine without belittling them in any way.”

Rancic admits he is hard on himself:

“I am my own worst critic times ten. But I think you have to be that way to some extent because it gives you your edge. You are always trying to be better and come up with a better solution. It’s both a blessing and a curse – the never satisfied mentality. It’s bad because you need to look back and enjoy what you’ve accomplished but it’s good because you are always driving ahead and taking it to the next level. “It’s so important to know who you are as a person and where you fit into things. The quicker you can figure that out the quicker you will become successful.”

Rancic’s main business success before The Apprentice was starting up cigarsaroundtheworld.com eight years ago in a 400-square-foot studio apartment with very little money. Today it is a multi-million dollar operation that is part of publicly traded company Synergy Brands.

Since The Apprentice Rancic says he has sought to give something back. He is currently in the middle of a project, which will see him help to renovate buildings in ten cities around America. In fact as we speak the plane he is about to get onto will fly him overnight to help forty other volunteers renovate a homeless shelter.

Rancic has also written books - Beyond the Lemonade Stand (a business book for kids) and You're Hired: How To Succeed in Business and Life from the Winner of The Apprentice, which topped the New York Time best selling list in 2003. He regularly undertakes speaking engagements, which is why he is heading to Australia and New Zealand.

“I’m very excited to be coming. I know a little bit about New Zealand now, I’ve been getting some books out. I haven’t taken a vacation for three years so I am going to take some time off while I am there.”

His female fans will obviously be disappointed to learn that Rancic is in a new relationship with E Channel host Giuliana DePandi who is accompanying him to New Zealand. He has plans to jump off the Sky Tower, which should come as no surprise considering he lists his hobbies as sky diving, scuba diving and skiing.

“You have to trust your gut instincts. There have always been people to tell me I couldn’t do something and that it was a crazy idea that would never work. But I’ve trusted my gut instinct and didn’t quit and I’m so glad.”