Entrepreneurs on the panel at Part 2 of the Entrepreneur Education Series shared their secrets of success – and one of those was learning it’s OK to fail.
Andrew Yap, president of LEASA, a family business, recounted how he almost hit bottom during a particular rough time for his then-overextended company. He advised to always know where the company is financially and if it is cash flow positive -– he learned that the hard way. It was “six weeks of very dark days” but he didn’t give up, he learned a lot about himself as a leader and about business and today his company is strong. ”I’m here to tell you to have courage, perseverance and faith and you will come out of it.”
Other successful entrepreneurs recounted their own challenges at the event attended by about 75 and put on by YPN Miami, a Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce leadership group for entrepreneurs and professionals under 40, along with Florida International University’s Pino Global Entrepreneurship Center, which also included an interactive event where new entrepreneurs lobbed their biggest business challenge at the panel and fielded their advice. Along with Andrew Yap, the panelists were Felecia Hatcher, founder of Feverish Ice Cream; Cheretha Ferguson, director of marketing, The J3 Agency; Olga Ramudo, pesident of Express Travel; Leigh Toney, founder of C3 Career Consignment Clothiers; and Mike Tomas, CEO of BioHeart. (Photo of panelists provided by YPN Miami)
Leigh Toney advised entrepreneurs to run a lean startup. In fact, read the book by the same name (by Eric Ries).
You should be prepared to make a large personal investment in your business, of course, but let the business pay for its growth, she also said.
Other advice from the panelists:
* You can’t outsource your business plan. It has to be your own and it’s a dynamic document. But that doesn’t mean you have to start from scratch. Launch a browser and buy a copy of Business Plan Pro and fill in the blanks.
* Debt is cheaper than equity. If you can afford to, borrow, pay it back and keep your company.
* Too many people don’t really know their target customer. Close your eyes and paint a picture of your target customer. How will you get your product to that customer?
* Get rid of the noise – the doubters. Free yourself from the energy vampires in your life.
* And lastly, you have to truly love your business and believe in your product to persevere through the long and sometimes dark days. Read "Do it Anyway" by Mother Teresa.
Mike Tomas told of Bioheart's expensive and exhausting challenge of getting its life-saving heart therapy approved by regulatory authorities and on the market available for all. "I'm not stopping. I'm going to get it done."
Here is a link to a recap on Part 1.
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