Small Biz Success Story – Grass Roots Flooring, an Online Business

My goal in interviewing small business owners is to provide my listeners with ideas and possibilities for owning and operating their own business. Jen Ortega of Grass Roots Flooring did not disappoint! She provided prospective small business owners with some great ideas for starting up and marketing an online business. During the interview, she explained why she and her partner chose an online retail business.

Here were some of their reasons:

·         They wanted to be able to drop ship their products so they wouldn’t have to bother with packaging and mailing a product

·         Low start-up costs

·         Low overhead

·         The ability to provide quality at affordable prices

·         Less stress

I would add that another benefit to having your own online store is that people can buy your products at any time of the day so you’re not bound by time constraints in selling your products.

She also related how they decided on the product they chose to sell (hint: it had to do with their love of watching HGTV!) and the essential steps they needed to take in order to become educated in selling their product. I think one of the best points that Jen made was that you don’t have to know everything about your business in order to start up your business – the knowledge will come as you move forward.

This point struck a chord with me as I see so many of people who never reach out and grab a hold of their dreams because they get stuck in analysis paralysis!

Jen and her partner are a shining example of believing in yourself and just going for your dreams – that begins with having the confidence that you will meet every challenge as it arises (she related some of these challenges in the interview as well).

After all, isn’t that what a life worth living is all about anyway?

It’s the ability to meet every challenge that comes your way with the confidence that you can handle it!

What would you do to make your dream a reality?

On May 3^rd I had the pleasure of interviewing Leah Wietholter who has a successful forensic accounting business. She has been in business for a little more than a year and already has had to hire people to help her handle all of the work that she has; a problem every small business owner would love to have.

When she decided to make the commitment to start her company she had 2 major challenges to contend with. She had to:

1)     Support herself while she ramped up her business, and

2)     Find customers as soon as possible

She immediately started contacting lawyers in her district to ask to meet with them to find out more about their practices with the intention of explaining how she could service them. Her strategy paid off as she received a major contract from one of her first meetings with a local attorney.

The most amazing aspect of her story was the sacrifices she consciously made in order to get her business up and running. To begin with, she made up her mind to live simply to keep her expenses down. In order to support herself while working to grow and develop her new business, she worked at odd part time jobs to raise enough money to live.  For example, she worked for a furniture refinishing company and made take home dinners for her friends – talk about resourceful!

Her sacrifice and hard work certainly paid off.

During the interview, Leah shared the great marketing ideas she implemented for getting her business started and her unique method for approaching prospective clients.

You can find out what they were by playing back my interview with Leah by going to: www.blogtalkradio.com/yourcareermakeover

Interview with E.G. Sebastian - #1 Reason Why Small Business Entrepreneurs Fail

To listen to the interview playback, go to: www.blogtalkradio.com/YourCareerMakeover

Have you ever dreamed of being your own boss?

Would you like to have unlimited income potential?

How would your life change if you did?

I recently interviewed E.G. Sebastian, a successful entrepreneur and sales and marketing expert on my live talk radio show, Your Career Makeover.  

E.G. shared his story of how he was able to go from making $100 per month as a surgical assistant to owning and operating his own import/export business and becoming a millionaire in his native country of Hungary.

While he has experienced both highs and lows as an entrepreneur, E.G. explained what some of the pitfalls were on the road to success and provided insight into what makes a successful business owner.

If you've ever considered owning and running your own business this show is for you!

Here are some key excerpts from our interview:

DB: Could you give our audience a brief overview of your career, how you got started as an entrepreneur and the level of success you’ve had?

EGS: I grew up in Budapest, Hungary. My first job was as a surgical assistant making $100 per month. While I liked my job, I was dissatisfied because I felt I wasn’t making a good enough income. In 1991, I decided that I was going to make a big career change - I would become a millionaire or street bum! I quit my job and joined a sales firm. I had a great deal of enthusiasm and drive, and while that first job did not work out the way that I had hoped, I was recognized by another business owner for my eagerness to succeed and my ability to speak multiple languages and given another opportunity in sales. I started from nothing and within a short period of time made $1K per week.  My customers were very wealthy individuals and I felt that if others succeeded I could as well. This thinking led to my partnering with a Chinese investor where I eventually became general manager of his business and 49% owner. Unfortunately, due to various business mistakes, I also ended up $300,000 in debt. After much hard work and learning from my mistakes, I earned my first million dollars at the age of 27. Only 5% of people in Hungary made that much money at that time. Once I made my first million it was easy to make more.

It was at that time that I decided to go to the U.S. to become an even bigger success. Again, due to poor judgment on my part, I lost almost all of my money. I didn’t do enough market research and had to compete with big businesses such as Walmart and Costco with my import/export business. At that time I decided to go back to school and get my college degree, eventually got a job as a project manager and while I had a good deal of success at that job, I realized that I missed being an entrepreneur.

DB: In your opinion, what characteristics should the ideal business owner have?

EGS: The desire to just jump in and do it – anybody can do it, but you must not be lazy.

I believe these character strengths are necessary to be a successful entrepreneur: a burning desire to succeed and the constant drive to accomplish what you set out to do. You also must set goals and mini goals to work on each day so that you are focused on accomplishing your goals.

Also, other characteristics that are helpful are being creative so that you can attract clients, good problem solving skills that can easily be learned and finally, risk tolerance.

DB: I’m sure you’ve heard that according to statistics, 50% of all businesses fail within the first 5 years, what are some of the mistakes they make?

EGS: Lack of marketing knowledge is what drives businesses under and not doing any marketing research before getting started with your business. Also, you must be sure to set your prices right and hoose the right location for your operation.

DB: What do you think is the #1 reason why small business entrepreneurs fail?

EGS: People do not know how to market their services effectively. You have to have a clear process in place to continuously market and grow your business.