Mark Cuban – Success Secrets

Mark Cuban’s Success Secrets: How Confidence Built His Billion-Dollar Empire

Some kids gain confidence from report cards and gold medals. Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, built his by dancing.

His journey from a young entrepreneur to a self-made billionaire is packed with success secrets—and it all started with a simple lesson in confidence.

A Childhood Lesson in Confidence

At 12 years old, Cuban chipped his two front teeth, requiring silver stainless steel caps. Feeling self-conscious, he found an unexpected confidence boost from his mother, who taught him how to dance the box step.

“I was a little short, chubby kid, and my parents didn’t have a lot,” Cuban shared in an interview with NBC’s “TODAY” last year. “But they said, ‘We’ve got to build your confidence.’”

That lesson stuck with him. Learning to dance gave him confidence, proving he could master new skills quickly.

Confidence Is the Ultimate Success Secret

Cuban credits his early confidence as a game-changer in his life. It fueled his entrepreneurial spirit, inspiring him to launch small businesses even before high school. From selling garbage bags, coins, and stamps, Cuban was already embracing the success secrets of hustling and seizing opportunities.

“It really did help with confidence,” Cuban told CNBC Make It in an email. “I didn’t have much of a dating life in high school, but in college, I could ask a girl to dance. Most of my friends wouldn’t or couldn’t.”

Confidence Leads to Success in Business

Many experts agree that self-confidence is one of the most important success secrets in business. Whether you’re an employee, entrepreneur, or CEO, believing in yourself helps with decision-making, leadership, and risk-taking.

“Confidence is serious business,” says Bonnie Low-Kramen, author of Staff Matters: People-Focused Solutions for the Ultimate New Workplace.

She emphasizes that confidence is the single most important quality in the workplace. “A highly confident person with lower skills is more likely to get hired than someone with low confidence and higher abilities,” Low-Kramen wrote.

Dancing His Way to Wealth

Cuban’s confidence—along with his business mindset—eventually made him money. While studying at Indiana University, he taught disco dance lessons to sororities, earning $25 an hour—a lucrative gig for a college student.

“It was the best job ever,” Cuban told sportscaster Jim Rome on a 2019 podcast. “$25 an hour? Are you kidding me? I’d take that job now!”

The Road to Billionaire Success

After graduating in 1981, Cuban invested in himself by using his dance lesson earnings and side hustles to open a bar with a friend. However, the business shut down due to underage drinking violations.

With only $60 to his name, Cuban moved to Austin, Texas, taking jobs as a bartender and software salesman. When he was fired from his sales job, he saw an opportunity and started his own company, MicroSolutions.

This risk paid off. He sold MicroSolutions to CompuServe for $6 million in 1990. Later, he co-founded an audio streaming company, which he sold to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in 1999.

Now, Cuban—who competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2007—has a net worth of $5.1 billion, according to Forbes.

Teaching His Kids the Success Secrets He Learned

Cuban ensures his three children build confidence the same way he did—by earning their success. Instead of handing them everything, he makes them work for what they want.

“They take the same lessons I learned: If you want something, you have to earn it,” he said. His kids do chores or take jobs to afford things they want.

“[My wife and I] are really committed to making sure they accomplish things on their own,” he added. “You don’t want to be Mark Cuban’s son or daughter your whole life.”

Final Success Secret: Confidence Opens Doors

Mark Cuban’s story reveals one of the biggest success secrets: Confidence creates opportunities. From dancing to selling, every step he took built the foundation for his entrepreneurial success.

Whether you’re launching a startup, chasing a dream, or leading a company, the secret to success is believing in yourself—and taking action.

Disclosure: NBC, Peacock and CNBC are owned by NBCUniversal. CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank,” which features Mark Cuban as a panelist.