Four entrepreneurs discussed their motivations for starting their businesses and provided insights into the many challenges they have faced since startup, at a meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in White Plains on Wednesday evening, April 29.
The discussion, titled “What I Wish I Knew When I Started My Business,” provided a lively and informative exchange between the panelists and the audience of approximately 40 professionals, many of them budding entrepreneurs evaluating whether they should start up businesses of their own. The meeting was sponsored by the Westchester-Connecticut Committee of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York.
The panel of entrepreneurs included: Anirban Das, president and CEO of USAS Technologies (www.usastechologies.com); Mobeen Khan, COO of Metaphor Solution (www.metaphorivr.com); Jamak Khazra, founder and designer of Bluesuits LLC (www.bluesuitsonline.com); and Jennifer Prosek, founder and CEO of CJP Communications (www.cjpcom.com).
Some of the key points of advice provided by the panelists included:
Das: Talk to many knowledgeable people to get a wide range of advisory input before you start up. Use internet resources as well.
Prosek: Promote your successes through PR and other tools of marketing communications.
You can’t build a business totally on your own. Give commissions to those who help you bring in new business. “Spread the wealth,” advised Prosek. “You can’t do it alone.”
“Great advisors are important,” Prosek said. “Surround yourself with entrepreneurs. We’re all learning. “
Khan: “I carried forward some of my mentoring relationships of the past,” said Khan. “These were invaluable. This process allowed me to call on someone who I trusted to give me unbiased advice.” For example, I have called on my former COO at Cingular for this kind of advice. He can be very straightforward in his comments.”
You need to be able to communicate – with customers, employees, board members. If you’re not good at this, get an executive coach to help.
Khazra: Develop relationships with many people in your industry. You may be able to piggyback on the capabilities and experience of larger organizations without really spending a lot of money.
Das: Go into business for the right reasons. Don’t do it because you don’t like your boss and you want to get away.
You need to have a well thought out and disciplined business and marketing plan.
Khazra: Starting a business is like deciding to invest in a stock. In a stock, you’re investing in the idea of the company. In starting up a business, you’re investing in your own idea.
Determine your risk tolerance. You need to know when to cut the cord.
Khan: You need to love what you do.
Prosek: You have to love what you do, because you’re going to live it 24/7. It’s like a marriage. You have to believe you’re in love and it’s going to last forever.
Try to sell your idea to others before you start up – i.e., try to have one or two customers pre-sold.
On the Current State of the Economy
Das: The downturn is an opportunity, where a small company has an advantage. When things are going well, there’s no incentive for customers to change. If you can survive this period, there’s a huge upside.
Khazra: This is a good time for business suits, because so many people are doing job interviews.
What helps, too, is diversity of products, investment in social networking, add to market basket.
Khan: There are opportunities, but I spent a lot of time in the past six months trying to save my company. You better have a high risk tolerance during these times.
This is a good time to get great talent at cheaper prices.
Prosek: Your pipeline is your only insurance policy in a recession.
You need an army of entrepreneurs, not a single rainmaker. We’re basically flat.
Today’s talent pool is excellent, high quality and available at lower rates.
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