Ron Busby, President & CEO, U.S. Black Chambers Inc.:
I think growth needs to really take a back seat to sustainability. Ninety five percent of our small businesses are small businesses for a reason. There’s a need for the corner dry cleaner. There’s a need for the corner shoemaker. And I don’t want people to think, ‘Gosh, I have to get into business to become this millionaire,’ when in fact, we need sustainable communities, and the only way you’re going to do that is by having sustainable businesses.
Lindsey Braciale, Founder & CEO, Advocations:
If you think about the amount of businesses that actually fail before they get to that five year point, it’s significant. And so, once you start doing it, you gain so much value through it that it makes sense. So I think that if you’re starting a company, align yourself, and get yourself in the right groups to hold you accountable. Because I think it can be really easy to get so busy that you forget that you need to continue to see other things. Because the business I started isn’t the business I have today. And as I’m launching another company, understanding, kind of being able to say I’ve learned a lot of tough lessons. And now I can actually do this and be more confident in what I do. I think the biggest change that happened is that I gained confidence in what I was doing, whereas I’ve always believed in the mission and vision of my company. But I’m not sure I’ve always believed that I could actually do it.
Bob Marshall, Wells Fargo Small Business Banking:
In my experience, the business plan is great, but it’s not practical or actionable. Smart goals. I want something that I can say, ‘This is what I can do, and I can get there in 12 months, I can get there in nine months, I can get there in six months.’ I think that’s important.
Busby:
I think the problem with a lot of small businesses is they’re working in it versus working on it. When you’re in it all the time, you can’t see the future. You can’t see down the road because you’re too busy trying to make payroll or put out the fire that started last night to try to get it done before the end of the day. I think as small business owners, when they take a step back and say, ‘how am I going to get to five years? How am I going to get to next month or next year?’ And really start to say, ‘Let’s look at our strategy versus just a tactic,’ that’s where you’re starting to say, ‘okay, I can now see myself having sustainability. I’m not going to get caught up with one client or one customer, or one bank.’
Marshall:
On the other side, as we’re looking at someone’s receivables, and as a banker you scratch your head and say, ‘We love the fact that you have this big customer, but it’s 85% of your receivables. That concerns us.’ ‘Why? We’ve been with them for 15 years.’ Well, at the drop of a hat, they could say, then what do you do? And so, it’s been interesting to kind of watch people who love the relationships that they’ve built in the customers then get the feeling, wow, what if it does happen? What do I do now?
Braciale:
I have had that experience. So, for the first three years, we had one primary customer, and they decided to do a funding change. And it was really, really tough, because I used to have my team. We’d all come together for taco Tuesdays, because it was dollar tacos, and if you bring food to anything, people show up. And I’ll never forget that taco Tuesday conversation where I said, ‘We’re net 60, net 90. I have 90 days of runway. I need you guys to start focusing on getting your own jobs’. At the end of the day, I don’t know how we can afford to sustain. And it was really, really tough, and it made me realize the liability that I had.
Busby:
I think we need to just, as business owners and advocates for business owners, we need to be telling our businesses, ‘ Look at as many options as possible. Work on it as much as you’re working in it. And make sure you’re always looking in the future as opposed to the past’.
