No Risk - No Reward

Frank Brenner and Arthur Samet were last week's guest lecturers in SOAR. Frank spoke about going into a business that others might shun. He told the students about taking what people might otherwise throw away after recycling and reselling - keeping items out of the landfill (environmentally sound) and generating revenue.

After recounting a bit of the history of his business, Frank shared his personal thoughts about entrepreneurship.

1. Take a risk; without risks there are no rewards. Assess your risk aversion.

2. Maximize your return on investments; stay in control of your own destiny.

3. Surround yourself with good people.

4. Don't be concerned about glamour. Be open to doing something no one else wants to do.

5. Be prepared to reinvest your profits. Think long-term!

6. Hope luck is on your side. Learn from others.

7. Develop relationships with your customers. Trust them.

Arthur Samet spoke about the history of Jewish-owned companies in the southeast - how immigrants came without a lot of capital and started their own businesses. Arthur's family started in construction. He told the students that business owners "need to prove themselves every day" and "must always improve; hit a triple every day." He emphasized that success is not about dollars; that a successful entrepreneur is passionate and excited about his business and takes pride in seeing others succeed. His advice to students:

1. Listen more than you speak. Get yourself a good advisor or mentor.

2. Be willing to adapt to make it work. Reinvent yourself if necessary.

3. If you take care of your customers and employees, the rest will fall into place.

4. Get as much experience as you can through education and on-the-job training through volunteering.

5. Always be ready to figure out the next thing; what's current won't be current for long.

6. Identify your risks and manage them well. Get smart people on your team and communicate.

7. Minimize your risk to reduce the impact if a project does not work.

8. Prepare for a crisis during good times.

A Vocation or Avocation?

Recent guest teachers at SOAR included Brad Semon of Painted Plate and Judith Altman of Judith Altman Designs. They spoke about their journeys to their current professions - journeys that took some unexpected twists and turns. Brad, a journalism major in college but always interested in cooking, eventually parlayed his passion into his profession. He told students he wanted to run his own business and control his own destiny. By owning your own business, he said, you "know what is going to happen," even in the current economy.

Judith, on the other hand, studied art in college, but her path diverged from her passion when she decided to acquire an MBA. She entered the corporate world and developed expertise in information technology and logistics, rising through the ranks of several corporations before eventually becoming the Senior VP of Global Operations for Burlington Industries. When Burlington closed, she returned to her passion for art and began her own artisan jewelry business - enabling her to be both an artist and an entrepreneur.

Students pondered Judith's introduction to marketing terms such as "product," "pricing," "placement" and "promotion" as they continue their own entrepreneurial at projects. This week, the class decided that their cheesecakes would sell more quickly with agressive advertising. Since they had already utilized the traditional routes of email, newsletters and posters, they fanned out into carpool lines, offering tastes to parents waiting for dismissal to begin.

In addition to refining their business acumen, students learned a few truths from Brad and Judith. Brad said, "The most important part of my life is my family," and Judith echoed this sentiment when she mentioned, "I managed 500 people at my old job, but I wasn't sure I was really doing anything productive." Both spoke of the satisfaction of a job well done - a superb meal served or a beautiful piece of jewelry bringing pleasure to its new owner.