Recently I had the privilege of participating on a panel for BIPOC Entrepreneurs at Entrepreneur Day, hosted by MEDA (Metropolitan Economic Development Assn) at the University of St. Thomas. There were several questions we panelists had to answer. Other panelists had inspiring stories and brilliant ideas to share and I applaud them all. Here are my answers to the questions...
What is one piece of advice you wish someone had given you before starting on your entrepreneurial journey? Many may consider this heresy: Growth is not necessary. I used to think our businesses need to grow or they're dying. 90 percent of all businesses in the US have fewer than 10 employees. It's enough to generate profit and survive. I coach some businesses in Haiti who have survived earthquakes, hurricanes, gangs, government collapse, shaky supply chains, etc. I applaud them for being able to stay in business for 3, 5, 10 or more years.
What was the biggest misconception I had about entrepreneurship? I thought I'd be spending all my time on the core activities of the business--whether it's fabrication, assembly, retail, consulting, etc. Instead a large portion of my time was spent on bookkeeping, regulatory compliance & regulatory research, sales tax laws and compliance checks, etc.
What was a major mistake I made in early stages? I wasn't bold enough to talk to customers about why they were doing business with us, and with non-customers regarding why they weren't. We saw great growth that evaporated "overnight" because we weren't getting the feedback and spotting some initial stages of rot, mold, decay in our performance and execution.
Looking back, what financial strategies or practices do I wish I had implemented? Putting in strict cash flow management so operating managers couldn't spend all the cash right away. I lost tens of thousands of dollars on a business that spent all its cash before the first sale was made. That company eventually went bankrupt. Cash needs to be meted out judiciously. I advised one entrepreneur not to buy grand pianos at a great bargain for a future music studio; he was still 3 years away from beginning the studio. The cash would be gone, additional expenses for storage would be incurred and future piano purchasing opportunities would be there when he needs them. Another entrepreneur wanted to build a hotel on beach property. Unfortunately, it was the heart of COVID and nobody locally nor internationally was going to be able to travel there: just wait till the time is right. Another company was trying to invest in opportunities before paying for current activities. Another company moved operations overseas without realizing that it was a huge cash drain to start up "there" and have a bunch of "not quite right" product for several months/years till the process bugs were worked out.
How did I handle the balance between work and personal life? I didn't do a good job of it for quite a while. Then I learned from someone else how to tap into our assets/resources/sources of capital: financial, physical, intellectual, relational and spiritual. We have more resources than we realize and can tap into them appropriately without draining any one area to depletion.
No comments:
Post a Comment