You Should Have Been There

This past Friday I had the pleasure of participating in the largest and best minority business conference in the Southeast United States. Among the numerous highlights and tremendous business opportunities flourishing (even within our troubled economy) was my interaction with four of the region's fast rising minority business entrepreneurs. The session entitled "Titans Share Their Business Secrets and Successes," was worth the price of admission. We were treated to a cadre of business insights and strategies for what companies must do to thrive in any economy.

Calvin Harris of the Harris Food group taught several principles that bear repeating. The first such principle is that entrepreneurs cannot afford to take no for an answer. He recounted the story of how he lobbied a national chain to sell a line of products that he created. Obstacles were placed in his way because it had never been done that way before. He had to persevere and convince the chain that his product was a must have. Today his products are featured in thousands of locations.

He also shared that you must surround yourself with the best people possible. In the real world, we know that this is easier said than done. There is always the temptation to settle, whether for budgetary reasons, expediency or other factors. The excellent entrepreneur, however, understands that the business will rise or fall on the strength of its people and invests accordingly.

Finally, he shared that the successful entrepreneur must build his business strategically. In short, you need a game plan. This is one of the points that I highlight in Tales My Grandma Told Me. A game plan allows you to plot a course and to properly focus energy and resources. The great thing about a game plan, however, is that it can be adjusted to account for market shifts or other factors that arise. It is up to the entrepreneur to be aware of what is going on around him and sensitive to what lies ahead in order to make the required adjustments.

George Abadie of Seacoast Construction highlighted that point. When the real estate market went south, he and his partners did not panic. They adjusted their game plan to focus on providing services to the distressed market. By doing so, they were able to create a niche business and will more than survive the economic downturn.

These are simple but powerful truths. The featured entrepreneurs all demonstrated ways in which they were thriving within a down economy. There was much taught, but on balance, much too few minority entrepreneurs on hand to learn.