Words From the Wise
(Success Secrets of 7 Who Struck Out on Their Own)

Published by the Inside Columbia - John Little                                                                                       January 2006

           

Words From the Wise (Success Secrets of 7 Who Struck Out on Their Own)

"If you are not willing to live it, eat it, breathe it and sleep it, you shouldn't be an entrepreneur." 

1."A lot of people dream of opening a restaurant." But the dream can quickly become a nightmare, according to Adam Dushoff.

"So many people fell that they can come from a different career and make it in the restaurant business and that's just not right," he says.  "That's why the failure rate is so high."

Dushoff should know because with partners Jeremy Brown, Matt Jenne and Brad Pippen, he owns Sophia's and Addison's An American Grill.  Starting at the tender age of 15 in St. Louis, Dushoff has done it all.  He's been a busboy, a dishwasher, a bartender, a server and a cook.  He managed restaurants in Columbia for 10 years.  Being an owner requires a "special set of skills," he discovered, "that can't be learned by hiring other people to tell you what to do.  YOu have to have been there.

Addison's opened in 1999, followed by Sophia's in 2001. Although he knew the restaurant business from albacore to ziti, Dushoff found himself out of his element in financing and real estate.

"Our fear was not that we would fail, but that we wouldn't open at all.  We got lucky'" he says.  "Putting in the legwork is important."

"A well-run restaurant depends on its owners," he adds.  One of the partners is on the floor 70 percent of the time and that "makes a huge difference."  In fact, fear of being stretched too thin has prevented them from expanding this remarkably successful business.

2."Choose your partners carefully."  That's one piece of advice from Arnie Fagan, the owner of Cool Stuff, a retail store that sell unusual, interesting and ethnic gifts from around the world.

"Another mistake I see people make is not resisting the temptation to borrow money from friends and family," he says.  "And if you are not willing to live it, eat it, breathe it and sleep it, you shouldn't be an entrepreneur."

A 1987 graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Fagan started a business that same year.  Working with his girlfriend out of his apartment, he made and sold tie-dyed T-shirts.  Within less than a year, he found himself employing 50 sales reps who were selling the product to big department stores in 36 states.  After that, Cool Stuff evolved into "a kind of tie-dye outlet mall," he says.

Fagan is retiring and in the process of selling his building.  If he can't find the right buyer, he says, he may rent it out, leaving the fate of Cool Stuff as yet undecided.

"I want to do a lot of things," he says.  "I want to travel to the rest of the world, I want to write books, I want to give speeches, I want to sell commercial real estate and I want to create art."

"Wait a minute," a friend points out.  "If you are retiring, why are you starting five new businesses?"

"I guess I'm just a serial entrepreneur," Fagan says with a laugh.

3."Take off the rosy glasses."  That's what a budding entrepreneur must do, says Greg Wolff, founder of Marathon Office Interiors.

"You need a detailed business plan and really analyze your ability to execute it," he says.  Measure carefully what comes out of your mouth.  Don't overpromise and underperform and be sure to conduct business with the highest level of integrity.  If you say you are going to do something, make sure you are capable of doing it."

Wolff grew up in St. Louis, graduated from the University of Missouri and grabbed the chance to start his own business at the ripe old age of 23.

"I believe that people occasionally have life-changing opportunities, but most of them are afraid to pull the trigger," he says.  "that has never been a problem for me."

Backed by the Xerox Corp., he opened Marathon in 1987 "to take care of everything from lighting to carpeting ... and, of course, office furniture."  He and co-owner Frank Sovich employ 20 people, including interior designers, consultants and installers, and will even help companies relocate.

Early in his career Wolff was quite active with the Chamber of Commerce in Columbia and Jefferson City.

"I didn't just show up to sell something'" he says.  "I showed up to contribute."

These days he is actively involved with the Northwest Rotary.

"I look back to the early days and I find it really neat that I was able to accomplish so much at a young age.  I am blessed to have seen Marathon grow from a one-man show to the market leader in office interior solutions -- and I don't have to work 80-hour weeks anymore."

4."Embrace change."  That's what Don Helmreich advises -- because if you don't, the business world will leave you behind.  With his wife, Carla, and brother-in-law, John Graves, the trio own the longtime Columbia landmark, Downtown Appliance, Inc.  Founded in 1961 by Don's father, a Boonville native, the store is currently undergoing a major renovation.

"We will have almost triple the space," he says.  The spacious showroom floor will become interactive with many of the appliances not just on display but actually working.

"You need to update and upgrade constantly," Carla Helmreich says.  "We are going to have a live kitchen, and we will do cooking demonstrations.  We've also spoken to several local chefs, hoping they'll do some classes for us.  It's going to be really different.."

To be successful, Don says, figure out what you really enjoy.  Then be prepared to work plenty of hours.

If you make any mistakes along the way, Carla says, you have to change whatever it was that you made you make that mistake.

And at all costs, "avoid giving up," John adds.

What's it like to work with a spouse?

"It's unique," Carla says with a laugh.  "We've learned not to discuss business at home.  That's not usually a good thing to do.

5."Find a great mentor."  That's the counsel of Rob Wolverton, owner of R. Anthony Development Group LLC.

"Find someone who can quickly, easily and inexpensively dispel any myths you may have about your business," he says.  "We all think if we work hard enough, we will succeed.  But a mentor can steer you away from disaster.  A two or three-minute conversation can save you a lot of headaches and heartaches and help you avoid mistakes -- fatal mistakes."

With a background in accounting and real estate, Wolverton has been self-employed for almost 20 years and now develops land for builders.

A native of Kansas City, he says, "If you don't truly love what you do, you will never be a success as a self-employed person.  That's because you're bound to hit rough spots, but if you love what you do, you can persevere in difficult circumstances."

6."Have a tangible reason for every dollar you spend."  That's sound advice for every new entrepreneur, says George Pfenenger.  Getting a company off the ground is tough, so if you can't justify an expense, don't spend the money.

Spending and making money is what Pfenenger and his partners John Dupuy and Carson Coffman are all about.  they brought the Internet to Columbia -- before America Online or Microsoft.

"Back in 1992, John and I knew we wanted to start a company and decided that there was a pent-up demand for conductivity in the area," Pfenenger says.

Their discovery lead to the birth of Socket Internet two years later.  Socket then took off like a rocket and for three years running was cited by Inc. magazine as one of the top 500 fastest growing private companies in America.  After expanding into full business networking, the partners have now entered the local telephone service market through Socket Telecom LLC because "until we came along there was no competition and only limited options," Pfeneger says.

"I draw a distinction between an entrepreneur and an operator," he says.  "An entrepreneur likes to create something out of nothing.  An operator enjoys running an existing business."

More the entrepreneurial type, Pfenenger wonders if he would start from nothing all over again.

"I was able to take a chance because I didn't have any children then," he says. "I don't know because I didn't have any children then," he says.  "I don't know if I would be as aggressive today."

Originally from Jefferson City, Pfenenger is a graduate of UMKC Conservatory of Music.  He is also a classical guitarist who maintains a recording studio in his home.

"Unfortunately," he says, "I haven't much time to play anymore."

7."Have your financial affairs in order."  That's what Caroline Gower recommends to the novice entrepreneur.  As owner of the staffing firm Caroline & Company, she began the climb to success with a road trip.

"I was unemployed," she says, and not quite sure what to do with her life.  "So I visited my brother in Minnesota and we got down on the living room floor with a Big Chief tablet and began playing with various options."

The result was a brand-new business founded in 1982 "on a shoestring."  but equally as important as sufficient funding "is to have the desire and think you can succeed."

Gower's company provides office staffing -- from temporary help to temp-to-hire to direct hire.  What she likes best about running her own company is "the flexibility and the feeling of satisfaction I get matching people with jobs.  It's an opportunity to help people."

But she warns that you have to work day and night and do everything imaginable to get your business up and running.  To remind herself just how far she's come, Gower still has that page from the Big Chief tablet.

"This has been a very good business for me," she says.  "It just fits."

Would she have done anything differently?

"Yes," she says.  "I would have started sooner."