How I came to be an Entrepreneur: Part 2

This is part two in the series of how I became an entrepreneur.

Although there are several different types of leadership in business, for the most part, there are two different types of roles and people who take them on.  There are those who create projections, understand cash flow, expenses, employee roles, payroll, taxes, and start up costs. And there are the rest of us.  We figure it out, estimate, plan in our heads, see the plan, move forward while creating the plan and bend like a river to accomplish our goals.

Knowing where you fall on the spectrum of leaders is key to your success.  If you don’t take ownership of your strengths and weaknesses, they can become your biggest internal struggle.

There are plenty of books that can guide you towards marketing, sales and how to run a business, but trying to take on the wrong role will most definitely hinder your progress.

Once I figured out and expressed my vision for our company as the key sales and marketing person, I was very clear with my partners with what I needed from them.  I knew my skills and they were and are sales and marketing, being a good cheerleader, thinking on my feet and having several balls in the air at once.  Lastly, as a business owner, I owned my statements, if I made a statement it was fact, if I made a commitment I honored it. I knew and know to this day, what I bring to the table.

If you have a partner, you need to make sure they are just as committed to their task and your success as you are.  You also need to be confident in their ability to perform their job, so you can do yours.  The right partner will make sure that you have what you need to accomplish your goals.

As a team, we set out to build a whole new company model, brand and product.   As the sales/marketing arm, I set out to bring in new employees and new business.  We spent months planning and projecting our new income and expense opportunity.  It was a realistic, not pie in the sky, very simple but aggressive plan.  In the very first couple of meetings I had with prospective employees, I found out what I already believed to be true, that our model was conceptually a game-changer and a winner.  What I also found out was that the first prospective employees I met with knew their value and would want 20% more than I had anticipated paying in compensations.  I had already accounted for a competitive increase, but not an additional nearly 20% increase.  We wanted and needed these specific industry people to make our plan work.  Well, there went our payroll budget, which affected our projected profit almost immediately.

Once our key prospective employees committed to join us, we reached out to the next tier of prospective employees who also raised the bar on our payroll expectations, but again we were already building out a new location for the new business, we were all in so to speak, so there was no turning back.  It was on me, the sales guy, to make sure we hit our stride.

Deborah Sweeney

Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With extensive experience in the field of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah provides insightful commentary on the benefits of incorporation and trademark registration. Education: Deborah received her Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees from Pepperdine University, and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in corporate and intellectual property law. Experience: After becoming a partner at LA-based law firm, Michel & Robinson, she became an in-house attorney for MyCorporation, formerly a division in Intuit. She took the company private in 2009 and after 10 years of entrepreneurship sold the company to Deluxe Corporation. Deborah is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with some of the top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites including Forbes, Business Insider, SCORE, and Fox Business, among others. Fun facts/Other pursuits: Originally from Southern California, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin and Christopher, and practicing Pilates. Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Deborah, and MyCorporation, have previously been honored by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal’s List of the Valley’s Largest Women-Owned Businesses in 2012. MyCorporation received the Stevie Award for Best Women-Owned Business in 2011.

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