Job Responsibilities
Owner and co-founder of a wholesale flooring products company.
We deal exclusively with ceramic tiles. The products are
intended for high end consumers. The tiles are made in our
factory overseas in Europe. Most customers are home/apartment
owners while others are developers, architects, and interior
decorators. My business partner and I have to handle any and all
capacities of the job - from sales, import compliances,
inventory, marketing, and payroll. The time spent on each
varies, although I would have to say that sales takes up at least
75% of my time.
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Job Requirements
There is no such thing as an "Entrepreneurial School" that can
prepare you for a career in entrepreneurship. What they do is
teach you about business failures - which is handy but can never
prepare you psychologically for the real thing.
I would have to say that a great degree of flexibility and people
skills ARE essesntial. Control freaks need not apply. Events
can happen that are totally out of your control for good or bad -
either way is entirely possible. Its possible to close a
$250,000 deal with a home owner, only to find out that he has
been arrested by the IRS for tax evasion. Its also possible to
meet a client in the strangest places - like waiting to pay at a
gas station. Treat each and every stranger as a potential client
and/or business partner but at the same time, don't lose your
social graces by glazing their eyes over with business talk all
the time.
My formal education is tenuously related to business - with a BA
degree in Public Policy and Political Science. The applicable
skills that I took away from that education are an ability to
forecast demographic trends (particularly critical in my
particular niche market) and communicate clearly.
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Uppers
Independence. I have never worked for a large company and am not sure that I
would like to. There are no limits on what and who you can negotiate deals with.
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Downers
Prepare to spend lots of time away from family and friends. Do
not expect to have much of a social life - unless it revolves
around generating new client contacts. All this comes with no
guarantee of job security - no steady paycheck, benefits, fancy
titles, or recognition from superiors.
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Lifestyle
Sometimes, I feel like I'm on a lifeboat at sea, being tossed by the wind and
waves. Serendipity plays a large factor. President Eisenhower once said that
all plans fall apart when exposed to reality, but its the process of planning for
contingencies that really trains the brain to think in the right way.
Be prepared to work 80-100 hour weeks, odd hours, crazy flight schedules, and
live in abject poverty - all so you can achieve your dream of realizing a
positive cash flow business. You HAVE to be a chamaleon, changing dress, talk,
and style with the environment. As for diversity, you only want one kind of
worker -someone who is as committed to your dream as you are.
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Compensation
Whatever you think is necessary to maintain the image of your
company for the sole benefit of your clients. That's it.
Nothing else matters. You will often find yourself scraping just
to get by to make payroll and pay your other bills. There is no
compensation, stock options, or benefits. In fact, you may find
yourself getting into debt and exhausting conventional sources
like credit cards and family. The only compensation that many
entrepreneurs see is their realization slowly take on tangible
form.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Are you in it for the money? If you are, then get a job.
Entrepreneurship is not an easy road. In 5 years time, it is
possible for you to move up to middle management at an
established firm complete with benefits and security (what little
is left these days). You can "keep up with Joneses" - the social
circle from your high school and college days far easier with a
job than by starting your own business. Entrepreneurs are people
who work for a dream, a passion.
Get a mentor. Preferably someone who is AT LEAST 10 years older
than you. This person does not even have to be someone in your
chosen industry. Just make sure that the mentor is someone who
can listen you w/o passing judgment. If you find yourself
weighing your words around a person, then that is not a mentor.
You need constructive criticism, not plain criticism. Above all,
you also need someone to talk to during days when you think
everything is going all wrong - or even all right (lest your
success get to your head).
Keep costs down. Student interns come in handy. Scour the local
high schools and universities for low cost labor. Oftentimes,
they will be happy to work for free in exchange for letters of
recommendation and contacts in the business circle you are
exposing them to.
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