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You're Hired! "The Apprentice" walked in an entrepreneur . . . and walked away a winner.

By April Y. Pennington

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

After 13 riveting weeks, Donald Trump made his final decisionand chose entrepreneur Bill Rancic as "The Apprentice."Rancic, 33, who nine years ago started CigarsAroundtheWorld.com, an online purveyor ofpremium cigars (which he sold in 2003), has also run real estatedevelopment company Rancic Properties for the past three years. Nowhe will oversee construction of the Trump International Hotel &Tower in Chicago. I caught up with Rancic only days after theannouncement to learn more about his thrilling victory.

How do you think your entrepreneurial background gave you anedge over the competition?
Bill Rancic: Myinstincts were honed in business. You hone your instincts and yourability to adjust your style with each task. If you [watched] theshow, my management style changed with each task we had.

In one episode, another contender's Harvard MBA educationis compared to your entrepreneurial path. Was your pathbest?
Rancic: Manydifferent roads lead to the same destination. For me, that was thebest road. Is the entrepreneurial way of life for everyone? No, ofcourse not. Some people need to know that every Friday they'regoing to get their $800 or whatever, and it's going to be there52 weeks a year. I don't need that. I'm more about thethrill and the excitement. I like to hit the home runs; I want tobe the Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa. That's just my style and theway I operate best.