An enjoyable chat with someone who is clearly too nice for The Apprentice.
Murtz Jaffer: Can you tell me a little bit about your background before you got on the show?
Chuck Soldano: I have been an interior designer in the Philadelphia area for almost 20 years. I own and operate a residential design firm called Work In Progress. I oversee 20-25 design jobs per year ranging for simple decorating to complete construction. A major component to my business is that I act as the general design contractor. I oversee all phases of a project including scheduling, selection of furniture, fabric, wall treatment and construction management. I am also responsible for the selection of all art and accessories and the placement of these items in a project.
I am also an artist, and maintain a working studio in Philadelphia where I create my art. Much of my work is abstract in nature, consisting of mixed media on paper and board.
MJ: What is it about Matchstick that just didn’t work?
CS I feel the biggest challenge that Matchstick continues to face is the creative label. Being a creative thinker is often times a roadblock. The team has many strong voices and getting to the right answer and idea is like running up hill with a hippo on your back.
MJ: Do you regret having all of the creative cast members align and all of the corporate cast members align and do you think that is the reason for the team’s inability to win?
CS: I believe that the division of teams based on creative and corporate has been a problem. The corporate team has a far better way of communicating. Primarius has the ability to follow directives from the project manager. In the corporate world this is common. In the creative world, and also coming from a place of self employment, this is not the norm. I see an idea and most times I execute it single handedly. In this case that way of thinking has been a curse.
MJ: Who came up with the idea of the Dutch girls and were you not concerned about how Martha might see the use of sexy girls in your flower campaign?
CS: The Dutch girls came form the fact that we were selling tulips. We felt that this was a perfect tie-in to the product we were selling. The idea came first from Shawn, and then Bethenny got on board and pulled the girls together. At the point where we were, at any marketing idea or option was better than none at all.
MJ: Why did you only decide to sell tulips?
CS: I came up with the tulip idea because simplicity was paramount. We were a train wreck and keeping it simple helped get the shop up and running.
MJ: It was very noble of you to accept complete responsibility for the loss. Are you generally a captain that sinks or swims with the ship?
CS:Thank you…I felt and feel that as a project manager I must take responsibility for my team and task. If a problem occurs on a design job many fingers could be pointed. I have a number of sub-contractors that work with me. Ultimately the project is managed by me so if any issues come up, they are my responsibility.
MJ: Jim is clearly the focus of the series so far. What did you think about him?
CS: I think Jimbo knew exactly what he wanted from this interview process. More than anything he wants to be remembered, and so far he has achieved that. I think Jim has a lot to offer and he is, without question a work horse. I do feel his motivation is questionable.
MJ: Do you think that the reason Jim wanted so insistent on you sticking around is that he thought you were weaker competition for him and how do you respond?
CS: I think it’s two fold. Yes I feel he was counting on my so called weakness for his future gain. I think I must clarify some facts. My making a decision to leave the loft has nothing to do with weakness. It took self confidence to make a choice the world and Martha would scrutinize. In a “job interview” the prospective employee interviews the company as much as the employer interviews the prospective employee. The destiny was not worth the journey for me, so I saw no reason to continue on the interview. The reason I have made a successful life through self employment is so I don’t have to deal with the Jim’s of the world.
The second part of this question is Jim simply hates Dawn. He was hoping I would throw her under the bus. I made it clear from the start that this was not my style.
MJ: What made you decide to try out for the show?
CS: I was encouraged to try out at the prompting of my partner Alan and my dear friend Karen. I thought the experience would have been far more interactive with Martha. I had hoped the team judging would be more about creative thought and product development than monetary gain. I had only seen one episode of the Donald version so I did not have much to go on.
MJ: Martha said that you were creative, but not executive material. Do you agree with her assessment?
CS: I am very creative but I do not think Martha or the viewing audience had the opportunity to see that. I think the format of the show does not lend itself to creativity as much as conforming to the corporate structure Martha has devised. As far as executive material goes—I am the owner of a successful business in Philadelphia. Will I ever be a billionaire like Martha, probably not. I will however maintain my ethics, integrity and principles in my daily business operations.
MJ: If you had to summarize Matchstick’s overall deficiencies, what would you say the main reasons are for their early failures?
CS: The number one issue that stands in the way of Matchstick’s success is they take on too much on. They are incapable of out sourcing and they do not operate with a real business model.
MJ: How did you decide on taking Jim and Dawn to the conference room and did you hope that their feud will lead to one of them getting kicked out?
CS: I took Dawn and Jim with me because if one of them did not return to the loft, their ongoing feud would be resolved.
MJ: Do you regret almost quitting the task?
CS: I have no regrets. Regretting is a waste of time and energy. I was at a point in this journey where I was no longer interested in playing a game I did not enjoy, and where the reward was not worth it to me.
MJ: Would you have fared better on Primarius?
CS: I still think the inner conflict I was having would have been present.
MJ: What do you think of Martha Stewart in general?
CS: She’s all business all the time.
MJ: Do you think you could have handled being Trump’s Apprentice?
CS: I would not have tried out for the Trump show. I was more interested in the creative aspect of Martha Stewart and her brand.
MJ: What did you do with your letter from Martha?
CS: It depends on what letter you’re talking about. The letter on the website is not the letter I received from Martha. I have the real letter. I keep it in a file at home with all the other Apprentice paperwork.
MJ: Who did you like the most, like the least, would fire next and would ultimately hire to be your Apprentice (out of all the remaining cast members). You have to give specific names!
CS: Dawn is the greatest thing that came from this experience. She is a brilliant, wonderful woman. We will have a life long friendship. I did not dislike anyone. I would not fire any of the contestants. Each and every contestant brings a unique skill set to the table that can help Martha and her organization advance to the next level. I look forward to working with each of the 15 outstanding cast members on future projects.
MJ: Do you think you could hook me up with Dawn, I have a little crush?
CS:I’m sure Dawn would be very flattered. Her wonderful boyfriend may feel differently. Sorry Murtz
MJ: Thanks for your time Chuck. Anything you’d like to plug?
CS: The Game was NFC “Not for Chuck”.
