The business experts at Saturday’s Small Business Opportunities Forum offered a wealth of advice for people considering working for themselves. Among the valuable tidbits:
* Show a positive personality. The speakers couldn’t stop smiling when they talked about their businesses, and all were charismatic and seemed likable. “If you are not friendly, do not get into business,” The Everything Store’s Deryl Von Williams said.
* Care about your customers. George Daye made that point when talking about the purchase of his first Raemac Transportation van. He wanted a General Motors vehicle but was prepared to settle for a Dodge he found in Virginia. Used-car salesman Ken Catlett cared enough to refer Daye to the big GM dealer in town, Charles Boyd, because he wanted to Daye to be satisfied. Boyd not only went out of his way to find a used van for Daye, but even remembered that Daye had bought a van from him in 1978, 22 years earlier. Daye said: “I don’t know how he remembered that.”
* Start small. Rather than quit your job to launch a business, Von Williams said, try running your business on weekends or at night. When you find that you don’t have the time or energy to keep going to your day job, you’re ready to become a full-time small-business man.
* Make sure the price is right. Henderson residents can’t pay the same prices as people in Raleigh and Durham, said Thomas Jefferson of Fit and Beyond Wellness Center.
* Don’t let your appearance be a barrier. Andrea Harris used one of her employees at the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, fellow Saturday speaker Farad Ali, as an example. When Ali was invited to participate in the recent Emerging Issues conference in Raleigh with former President Clinton, Ali shaved his beard to reduce the chance of problems with the Secret Service.
* Don’t listen to naysayers. “People will shoot up and down to knock you down,” Jefferson said, but you have to keep the faith in your dream.
* Don’t wait around for government money. The federal government has no grants to launch a business, said Rick Seekins of the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments.
* Don’t give up if the banks tell you no. Seekins said alternatives include credit unions such as Self-Help in Durham; the North Carolina Rural Center; a COG micro loan program ($5,000 to $25,000) for businesses with one to five employees, most of whom must qualify as low income; and a COG program that offers $25,000 to $200,000 and is limited to businesses rejected by banks.
* Don’t forget friends and family as potential financiers. Jefferson said, “You’d be surprised what your friends and your relatives can do.”
* Don’t let lenders push you around. Ali, a vice president with the Institute of Minority Economic Development and a former banker, said you need to be aware of how good your credit is before you sit down with a banker; otherwise, a loan that should cost you 7 percent or 8 percent interest could wind up costing 15 percent.
* Don’t forget who holds the true power in a family operation. “If you go into business with your wife,” Jefferson said with a laugh, “I’ll tell you right now they’re going to make a lot of decisions for you.”
* Don’t be afraid to fail. “Major corporations do it every day,” Harris said. Seekins said John C. Penney went bankrupt seven times before he found success with the department store chain he founded.
* Create a team of experts to help you. Diane Finch, who heads the Small Business Center at Vance-Granville Community College, said every small business needs three people, a lawyer or insurance agent, a bookkeeper or accountant, and a banker. “I don’t want to burst any bubbles,” Seekins said, “but there isn’t a person in this room who has all the expertise you need to start a successful business.”
* Use the resources available. Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce President Bill Edwards cited credit unions, the free, taxpayer-supported services of the Small Business Center, and the free small-business seminars through the Chamber. Seekins said the COG is a repository of incredible market research, in addition to running its loan programs. Finch said her office can’t offer financing but can offer help with such tasks as writing a business plan.
* Do your research on the business and the market. “It will tell you where you’re going to go,” Capital Cleaning owner Gene Allen said.
* Open your eyes to opportunities. Ali pointed out how good defendants look in court and said that showed the value of people who cut hair in jails. He cited the addition of an industrial plant in Ahoksie and said that construction provided a chance to sell sandwiches on the work site.
* Look to the future. Ali said big money is available to those who can project from what was to what could be and can prepare to meet that potential need.
* Create a business plan. This was more of a mandate than a tip. Finch, Seekins, Jefferson and Edwards repeatedly emphasized that a business plan is an essential first step. It helps you figure out how your passion fits the market, who your customers are, what you will charge and how you will grow. It helps you spot opportunities and weaknesses in your idea. And it prepares you to answer questions from financiers and others. “If you’ve written a good business plan,” Seekins said, “there isn’t a questions anybody can ask you that you can’t answer. … The more complete it is, the more time and effort you put into it, the better your business chances are going to be.”