Entrepreneurs Share Lessons They Learned On Their Business Journey
Surviving and remaining profitable in the business world is no easy task. Every business has its unique set of challenges that it must overcome to stay afloat. In this interview series, we’d like to hear from business owners who faced many complex challenges but were able to come out on top. They share their lessons learned and offer advice for other businesses that may be struggling. This is an essential read for anyone looking to start or grow a business.
The question we asked them was — In your opinion, what changes played the most critical role in enabling your business to survive/remain profitable, or maybe even thrive? What lessons did all this teach you?
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Thomas Samuels
Title: President
Company: Cardinal Expo
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-samuels-70709414a/
Most business owners and leaders have heard that it’s more costly to gain a new customer than to retain an existing one. Yet time and again, I see businesses focus on bringing in new customers at the expense of old ones. In my experience, this advice has become a little outdated and simplistic, as consumer behavior and the business environment has changed dramatically since the origin of those findings. Today, it’s critical to keep an eye on both audiences. Use them to refine your offerings and ensure you’re providing genuine, unique value to your customers, whether new or old. Keep your current clients happy and get testimonials, case studies, referrals, and insights about your products and services from them, which in turn can help drive new business.
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Greg Gillman
Title: Chief Revenue Officer
Company: Mutesix
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greggillman
We have always believed that one of our biggest strengths is our agility and this has been especially apparent these past two years with the pandemic and iOS 14’s privacy regulations, which have all greatly impacted e-commerce. While strategic thinking, advanced solutions, and team building helped see us through, it was really our adaptability that helped us not only survive but thrive.
Through rethinking our team structure, campaign strategies, and data measurement solutions, we were able to think outside the box to find the best ways to tackle elements outside our control. By being adaptable, we were able to mitigate a slew of challenges and not only keep our business afloat but really take it to the next level.
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Mattt Miller
Title: CEO
Company: Embroker
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/millermatthewc/
A successful entrepreneur understands that they don’t know everything, and that is why it’s important to listen to your team. Many business owners have the mistaken belief that if they do not show they are right on every decision or they don’t display expertise in every aspect of their industry, they will lose the respect and confidence of their employees.
Yet the most successful ones understand that their job is not to showcase their authority but to bring the best out in their team. By listening to their advice, not being afraid to admit they don’t know something, or when they were wrong, they will make better decisions and create a more approachable persona. A business leader who listens to their team will see issues more objectively, and create a stronger business culture built on mutual respect that will be more likely to succeed.
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Burak Ozdemir
Title: Founder
Company: Set Alarm Online
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ozdemirburak
The most important changes that enabled our business to survive and remain profitable were the ones that made us more efficient.
When we started out, we had a very small team. We couldn’t afford to pay anyone very much, so we focused on making sure that everyone was working as efficiently as possible.
We did this by having weekly meetings where everyone got together and talked about what they were working on, how they were doing it, and what could be improved in their processes. We also had an open-door policy — if someone wanted to talk about something, they could come to see me at any time. This allowed everyone to feel like they had an equal voice in our company, which helped foster a sense of community within the group.
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Jay Baker
Title: CEO
Company: Jamestown Plastics
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jamestown-plastics-inc-/
My team has been solving tough engineering and business challenges for decades. At one time, we were the main packaging source for one of the largest toy manufacturers in the US. Then in the era of offshoring, the toy company moved most, if not all production, overseas. During this time when entire industries were transferring procurement from the US to China, I shifted the company’s focus to what business we could capture — using the company’s innovations, patents, and new product development like the Clamtainer® to attract new customers. We succeeded in acquiring new business, but I couldn’t have done it without the support of my team. We have built a strong team by treating employees like family. Many of our employees have been with the company for decades and some of their children have also been with us for decades. Our customer base includes many long-time customers, some who have been working with us for over 30 years. I believe the key to a successful business is showing gratitude to those with whom you work and to those for whom you work. My 93-year-old father, who owned Jamestown Plastics before me, once said, “Jay, at the end of the day people do business with those they like and respect.” That has not changed in the past 40 years since he shared this wisdom.
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Gauri Manglik
Title: CEO and Co-Founder
Company: Instrumentl
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaurimanglik/
The most critical changes that played a role in enabling our business to survive and remain profitable were the changes that made us more efficient and allowed us to adapt quickly to new challenges.
We recently started using a new CRM system, which allowed us to better organize our data and use it in real-time. This gave us the ability to make faster decisions. It also enabled us to use our resources more efficiently so that we could double down on what matters most: providing outstanding customer service, engaging content, and ensuring our product meets the expectations of our users.
Our team is also constantly looking for ways to improve communication across departments, which has led us down the path of adopting an agile development process. We’ve found that this helps us keep up with new technologies, stay on top of trends, and make sure we’re meeting customer needs as efficiently as possible.
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Alex Byder
Title: RE Investor
Company: BD Home Holdings, LLC
Linkedin: https://www.facebook.com/alex.bd.92
As a business owner, the most critical thing that you can do to remain profitable is to anticipate change and adapt as quickly as possible. As the saying goes, if you’re not growing then you’re dying.
For me in particular, this meant anticipating the increases in interest rates over this past year. It was clear that, after being near 0% for over a year, interest rates were going to start increasing. Once I settled on this decision, it was necessary to start make strategic adjustments in leverage, debt ratios, and other factors.
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Gayle Martz
Title: Founder
Company: Sherpa Pet Trading Company
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gayle-martz-12255286/
What enabled my business to not only survive but thrive is that I literally started when I had no money, no home, and no job. I didn’t have a second chance to allow my business to fail. I was equipped with nothing but passion for success, which I think is critical for every entrepreneur to have. I learned that an idea might be great, but it won’t get you anywhere if you don’t put in the work and lay a very strong foundation. And with information being so readily available today, it is much easier for entrepreneurs to vet their ideas to see if there is anything else on the market that exists like it, if there is a need, and literally any other questions you might have. I was so passionate about my idea of creating the first soft-sided pet carrier, The SHERPA BAG, that I was willing to commit to endless long days and nights, challenge after challenge, setbacks, and heartbreak. I did this because I loved and believed in what I was doing, which was not just creating a new product but an entirely new category in the pet industry. While it sounds cliché, something you are passionate about will drive you to keep going when the going gets tough. And let me tell you, things will most definitely get tough!
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Carolyn Young
Title: Business writer
Company: Step by step business
Linkedin: /
We went through a pivotal time when we had to decide whether to keep outsourcing certain functions for our company or hire an internal team. We chose to hire a team, and we were fortunate to find great people who have helped to transform our company from a bare bones operation into a thriving business. The quality of what we produce has increased dramatically and our team works like a well-oiled machine.
I think what we learned from this is that a full-time team is more invested in the company and therefore more motivated and productive. Outsourcing can work, but you’re never going to get the dedication that you’ll get from people who have a vested interest in the future of your company. Our team members add tremendous value to our business.
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Paige Arnof-Fenn
Title: Founder & CEO
Company: Mavens & Moguls
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paigearnoffenn
You do not exist today if you cannot be found online. If we learned anything during Covid it is that SEO key to getting noticed and is only growing in importance. Being invisible online is a terrible strategy so making sure your site is keyword rich/mobile friendly/loads quickly/produces meaningful content today is the price of entry. That also happens to be a great, cost-efficient foundation for effective SEO in my experience. To make SEO even more relevant today it must be optimized for multiple mediums. Searching by text, voice and image must all be addressed for example voice search adds usability/functionality to your site making it accessible to all users including those with limitations/disabilities. It’s not about complying with the ADA/responsible web design/CSR goals but it is also good for the bottom line by reaching a broader audience. It does not have to be expensive to improve SEO.
I think leveraging Content Marketing and social media also help scale to build your brand, increase your visibility more broadly, raise your profile and attract more clients/customers. Look for relevant audiences of likeminded people, quantity/size/reach in terms of volume of followers/friends and quality/reputation for link exchanges. Instead of trying to start your own blog or newsletter, I have had success contributing guest posts regularly to existing well trafficked blogs in my industry or newsletters of likeminded organizations reaching the same target audience as me. I make sure to put my URL or contact info on it so they can find me and follow up if they are interested When your articles or talks become available online, I also send them out via social media to all my friends, followers and contacts. For professional service firms like mine LinkedIn is a priority. If your customers are not looking for you on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram then find the platforms where you can stand out.
With LinkedIn, you don’t have to wait for a networking event to make meaningful business connections. You get one chance to make a great first impression so make sure every section of your LinkedIn profile is complete, with no blank spaces or gaps. Include a professional head shot and powerful headline followed by a summary with highlights of your brand, what you do well and how you can benefit potential customers/clients, partners or employees. Keep this section brief and easy to skim for best results. Keywords are a great way to help professionals in your industry find your profile and strategic keywords in your profile give you an advantage in networking too. Other tips for getting noticed, gaining traction and building momentum are:
Refresh existing content
It is no longer only about churning out fresh material, refreshing existing content from prior years you not only maximize your previous investment but the traffic drives the rankings too. Repurpose and reuse for best results, what’s old can be new again.
Page speeds improving
If your site doesn’t load quickly (typically 3 seconds or less), your users will go somewhere else and the opportunity will be lost. Common site speed solutions can include image optimization/compression, browser caching improvement, server response time improvement, and JavaScript minifying.
Content quality and length matter for conversion
Web pages that contain long high quality content get more visibility and shares so becoming that trusted source and influencer with timely and helpful answers to questions get rewarded quickly.
Mobile UX helps too
In a mobile first world, you have less time to grab people, attention spans are shorter than ever so video will be used even more to boost rankings. The world is moving to mobile first or mobile only, fewer people accessing web on big screens so everyone is tailoring their site, message and content accordingly.
Better use of bold colors and white space to stand out from the competition. The trend toward simplicity and minimalist design means less is more as the world becomes crazier and technology gets smaller, faster and more complicated, people are finding new ways to simplify their lives more than ever.
Eliminate all the unnecessary elements to maximize UX
For the best user experience keep only the necessary elements and be sure to eliminate everything unnecessary from your website to maximize conversions including unnecessary ads, blinking banners, irrelevant images, old and un-maintained social media accounts, and out of date and irrelevant testimonial/reviews. Having any of these issues in your website can kill visitors trust a key reason online buyers don’t buy.
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Mark Holtzman
Title: President
Company: West Coast Aerial Photography, Inc.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/photopilot
We started our business in 2000 with film cameras and a Thomas Guide (remember those?), so needless to say a lot has changed for us over the years. Transitioning to digital, adoption of GPS, Google Earth, drones, etc. But despite each one of these technological advances and new competition, we’ve survived and been able to remain profitable (growing, actually), by being adaptive and evolving our business practices to incorporate new technologies and offering our clients the new products that they want. In essence, the lesson we learned was: always remain flexible and roll with the punches.
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Kaylene Kaiser
Title: CEO
Company: The Wisery Los Angeles, LLC
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wisery-los-angeles/?viewAsMember=true
I had to get comfortable being the face of my company. By putting myself out there and really owning this business, I was able to connect with so many more women+ than before. This has been a game changer for The Wisery LA, but it was so uncomfortable for me at first! I wanted to hide behind my brand, but I didn’t realize that I was, in fact, my brand. This taught me that often the most simple changes can often be the most effective.
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Kader Meroni
Title: Founder
Company: Atlas Tea Club
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaderjohn/
I’m not sure if there’s one specific change that has played the most critical role in enabling my business to survive and remain profitable, but I do know that making sure our product is always relevant and sustainable is one of the most important ones.
We’re constantly trying to make sure we’re on top of trends, so it’s important for us to keep a finger on the pulse of what people are looking for when they want to buy a product like ours.
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Dwayne Kula
Title: President
Company: LEDLightingSupply.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwaynekula
Like almost every business, ours is also one of those that faced a crisis a while ago, but somehow we managed to keep it going. I think the biggest and most effective modification was focusing on improving our customer service quality. We needed employees who were qualified enough to satisfy the customers fully. For that, we started planning on providing them with proper assistance, training, and skill-building programs. It did seem like a big expense at that time, but later, after witnessing its benefits, we realized it was a much needed investment.
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Brett Robinson
Title: Head of Content & Marketing for Wired Clip
Company: Wired Clip
Linkedin: N/A
At Wired Clip, we made a huge effort to change how we approach employee engagement and enjoyment. With the pandemic affecting how people get their work done (remote and flexible options now being the norm), there is also the issue that workers need to be engaged in a different format to keep them from experiencing burnout, which will lower productivity. To help with this, we make sure to arrange calls during work hours for team members to chat, like ‘water cooler’ chat, that they would normally have in an office situation. This interlude in the day can lower stress levels and increase general well-being — thus maintaining work output and profit!
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Sam Willis
Title: Finance Expert
Company: RainCatcher
Linkedin: RainCatcher
In my opinion, transparency between my team proved to be the most critical factor in determining my survival and growth. Together we made marketing strategies and made our online profile visible, which were key elements of e-commerce sustainability.
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Christel Oerum
Title: CEO, Founder, and Content Director
Company: Diabetes Strong
Linkedin: Not Applicable
The biggest change I made to my business over the last year (that allowed it to thrive in the current business environment) was engaging with my audiences more through social media platforms. When I first started my business, I put all of my energy into my website content and my eBook because that is how most people would choose to consume my information and my thoughts.
However, with the changing social media landscape, I upped my business use on sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, which then allowed me to keep up with the audiences who had moved on from the website platform. Adapting to social media alongside my consumers has been eye-opening, and I certainly think that it has made a huge impact on my entrepreneurial success.
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Lynne McNamee
Title: President
Company: Lone Armadillo Marketing & Learning
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnemcnamee/
For many entrepreneurs, they are a critical player in their service offerings. Until you can bill more than once for the same hour, you’ll never really get your business profitable or sustainable. Shifting your business delivery so you can bill multiple times for the same hour is key.
I recommend standardizing practices as much as possible so you can train multiple people to execute. Related — as the owner, or any leader — delegate anything and everything that doesn’t HAVE to be done by you.
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Kevin Wang
Title: Co-Owner
Company: Inyouths
Linkedin: NA
There are a few changes that we implemented that were critical to our success.
First, we diversified our product offerings to include more high-end custom-made mirror items. This allowed us to capture a more affluent customer base and helped to offset some of the declines in demand for our lower-priced goods.
Second, we streamlined our operations and cut costs wherever possible. This helped us to remain profitable despite the overall decline in sales.
Finally, we heavily invested in marketing and promotion, which helped to raise awareness of our brand and attract new customers.
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Tomer David
Title: Founder
Company: Sourcing Monster
Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/tomerdavid
Unlike most, I didn’t really need to cut back that much in my business to survive. In fact, I needed to do more. I’ve made sure that my products are available on as many online platforms as possible. Amazon may be the leader in e-commerce, but there are still many people out there who prefer to support other platforms like Etsy, eBay, and even Walmart is growing now. Making my products available on more platforms takes a bit more work, but it does significantly help in establishing my brand in the online space.
It has taught me how to focus and manage my time better, because on other platforms I fulfill orders myself. I learned how to eliminate distractions completely by allowing only a specific amount of time to my tasks and putting my phone on Do Not Disturb. I am able to accomplish tasks very quickly this way, because we often don’t realize how much small distractions can ruin our momentum.
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