Article content

Touting his business background, Mayor Rob Ford advised budding entrepreneurs to ignore naysayers in the face of adversity during a speech he delivered Friday at the Jr. Economic Club of Canada.

Speaking to 15-17 year olds who took part in a five-day course called the Bay Street Boot Camp, the mayor relayed some key lessons on how to succeed in business that his late father Doug Ford Sr., who co-founded the family business Deco Labels & Tags Limited, taught him.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Rob Ford advice to teens: 'The easy part is getting on top.… Once you're on top, everyone wants to take a shot' Back to video

“Friends, students, let me tell you how I have succeeded and how my father succeeded in building a business from scratch 52 years ago,” said Mr. Ford. “There’s two rules in selling and the first rule is the customer is always right. And the second rule is reread the first rule. You can win an argument and lose a customer. Unfortunately, you’ll never get that customer back.”

In the wake of recent conflict-of-interest allegations, Mr. Ford has insisted that while he is still an owner of Deco, he is not involved with its day-to-day operations.