Newspaper Page Text
Recipe for success
How to capture the entrepreneurial spirit and make it work for you
The Food Network
gives us some great
recipes, but it takes busi
ness owners who have
achieved the American
' Dream to provide the
recipe for success. Every
company in the world,
no matter how large,
“started at one time as an
idea. That idea was nur
tured and worked on and
evolved over time into a
business.
For some companies
“that first spark became
the beginning of a voy
~age that created a huge
' corporation. Like
" Thomas Edison’s light
“bulb spawning the behe
"moth General Electric,
no-one can predict how
“large or diverse that first
' idea will become. Yet
there is no question that
l unless some of the entre
: preneurial spirit that
! stacted the business
' temains within the
, organization, the busi
; ness will plateau and
. become stagnant. That is
, why so many firms, from
3M to Dupont, strive to
- maintain the entrepre
neurial spirit that created
them.
~ So what are the attributes
, that foster success in an
. entrepreneurial organiza
tion? How do they com
pare to those found in
the bureaucratic compa
Change in calculating Bell South retiree
medical benefits will affect earnings
ATLANTA (AP) -Bell-
South Corp. said Wednesday,
August 18 a new medical ben
efits agreement for its retirees
will reduce the telecommuni
cations giants earnings by 3
cents to 4 cents a share in the
fourth quarter.
The Adanta-based company
has not given guidance for
expected earnings in the Octo
ber-December period. Analysts
surveyed by Thomson First
Call were expecting earnings of
50 cents per share.
The company’s five-year
contract tentatively agreed to
Aug, 7 with its union employ
ees covered by the Communi
cations Workers of America
includes changes to the med
ical benefits for retirees.
The cap for medical expens
es for retirees has been
increased from $5,000 a year to
$6,982 a year, company
spokesman Jeff Battcher said.
Bell South has always waived
the cap in the past and will do
so again. This time, however,
the company has decided to
calculate what its expected
overage will be for retiree med
eé S
e g
e e
R R
e g g
TTR SR R
TR (R
";;g 1f " rfi%%&@%fl»%%’%‘
:‘*?« 0%, ‘ v : # "ié’?;"" &'&fl?fi?&%@’
ny? And how do you
make them work for you?
We interviewed dozens
of successful business
owners for the book Start
it, Sell it & Make a Mint
(John Wiley & Sons) to
find the common attrib
utes that thriving inde
pendent businesses apply
every day. Here are the
four ingredients that
capture the entrepre
neurial spirit. They are
applicable to not just
anyone starting or cur
rently running a busi
ness, but they are also
important for any busi
ness leader who guides a
team.
The First Ingredient:
Originality
Every newly founded
business has little brand
recognition, and faces a
slew of established com
petition. This . forces
every entrepreneurial
venture to create differ
ent, and in many ways
unique, products and
services. Every new busi
ness owner has looked at
the existing landscape
and found a market that
they believe is under
served. This desire to be
different is at the heart
of the entrepreneurial
endeavor. By contrast,
many established compa
nies know what has
worked for them in the
fied by the membership,
employees still do not pay pre
miums, but they have agreed
to higher copays and out-of
pocket costs for prescription
Medical Villa Pharmacy
1520 LANEY-WALKER BLVD. |
AUGUSTA, GA 30901
e We Take GeorgiaMedicai
B, | 5 We Take Insurance Plans
" " oV<yv :!3 w’ LANEY WALKER BLYD
g f"%’ MFQ_] Fg—
i w: COLLEGE
| 1 The only Black
Marsholl Curls owned pharmacy in the CSRA.
Pharmacist/Owner
722-7355 <X
U
" ~;.,:*‘,.‘-,.', g e s w e 3 < 1
EWRIOUIN x-ray (requned tor emracsons).. oo $45 |
:Y .’,.:&*% :.v_m'nuumuflnuwbvumn EEEEEGERBIERS ‘llO %
No Appointment Necessary
: “Bame Day Service If In Before 9 a.m.
% TRt aurm Whe sy uibic B 0 acoept checks,
Ao st s O ERS
AUGUSTA FOCUS
past and would rather
play it safe, keeping
everything the same.
Employees can become
complacent and bored
with their jobs. Chal
lenging your company,
or your division to keep
growing and evolving,
can help the business to
thrive and keep employ
ees motivated.
William, who runs a
large auction firm, illus
trates, “When we started
up there were plenty of
firms in the auction
business, but they all
operated in dank and
dingy environments. I
thought surely people
would like to come to an
open, clean environ
ment, one that ran like a
regular retail operation.”
He took that vision and
created a hugely success
ful operation.
The Second Ingredi
ent: Action
Another major facet of
the early stage business is
the propensity for
action. Many live by the
motto “ready, fire, aim.”
This is in stark contrast
to the “ready, aim, aim,
aim, aim” mindset of the
bureaucratic organiza
tion. This often backfires
for many newer business
es, especiglly as. they
grow larger, but the
focus on doing, without
drugs, Battcher said.
Shares of Bell South fell five
cents to close at $27.15
Wednesday August 18 on the
New York Stock Exchange.
any red tape, also creates
nimbleness and results.
The most successful
entrepreneurial ventures
act, but they do so delib
erately. They know when
it’s time to stop planning
and time to start doing.
Mike, who runs one of
the largest bakeries in
California, concurs.
“Whenever we are faced
with a big decision, like
whether to buy incredi
bly expensive ovens, I
have to be willing to take
the plunge. Seldom do
things work out the way
we forecast; sometimes
they’re better, and some
times they’re worse, but
doing nothing is certain
failure.”
The Third Ingredient:
Passion
Most start up business
es face countless hurdles
on their path to success.
Every entrepreneur we
interviewed overcame
huge obstacles along the
way. The common theme
among all of the business
owners we talked with
was that persistence
alone wasn’t enough. Pas
sion is what kept them
motivated. A mindset of
“failure not being an
option” kept the whole
company focused, deter
mined and passionate
about succeeding. This
>0 Py
Wz
"THE WIZ" 772 PM wrHE Wiz
B ) 7
TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME WITH
Monday-Friday @ 5:25 P.M.
* ONLY ON
fiflEWIz"-w.WMTHEBIGSTAmN!!
O SHORT CUTS ALLOWED!!
stick-to-itness can be
found at many bureau
cratic organizations, but
a passion for the cause is
often lacking. Passion is
what creates major
breakthroughs when
obstacles are encoun
tered.
Steve who runs a chain
of laundries agrees. “You
know, it’s not all that
exciting cleaning shirts
for a living. It’s not that
different from the post
office — there’s always
more to come tomorrow!
But in every store we cre
ate an envirohmient
where people love to
come to work. We have
fun, we laugh and we
also really take pride in
the work we do. We rec
ognize everyone’s efforts.
Everyone feels like he or
she is part of something.
That translates to good
service and happy cus
tomers.”
The Fourth Ingredi
ent: Adaptability
Change is the only
constant in a competitive
market. Because entre
preneurial ventures have
fewer layers between the
principals and the mar
ket, and less red tape to
deal with, they tend to
react and adapt quickly
to changes in the markert.
Having the flexibility to
August 26, 2004
change course and admit
when things aren’t work
ing out can be the differ
ence between failure and
success for a smaller
company. A large organi
zation can survive several
mistakes in the short
term, but over time, they
need to learn to adapt
and change, or they will
be left behind.
Bob, a seasoned finan
cial services entrepreneur
agrees. “We have to
evolve and change every
two years. We knew that
if we didn’'t make a sig
nificant change to the
way we operate or the
services we offer every
two years, we would sim
ply be competing on
price, and that doesn’t
work for an independent
business.”
Putting these elements
to work within your
company or division can
help to improve your
results and the morale of
your group.
Joe John Duran, CFA
is an industry expert in
the field of entrepreneur
ship. He is a chartered
financial analyst, and
author “Start it, Sell it &
Make a Mint” (John
Wiley & Sons). For more
free entrepreneurial help
visit WWW, startit
sellit.com
7A