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Charlotte Rinderknecht

Animating and Inspiring — Studio Kinate's Success Story

by Jay Snider on January 19, 2010

What is a full service animation studio doing in a quiet Northern Virginia neighborhood?

Producing animation for “the big screen, the small screen, and all the screens in between,” says its founder, Charlotte Rinderknecht.StudioKinateLogo

Studio Kinate is a “concept to completion” studio whose artists use traditional hand-drawn animation to create its projects.

But it’s not just its unusual location and old-school style that set Kinate apart from other animation studios. “It is our process that makes us stand out. I believe in apprenticeship. The animations we produce rely on interns and apprentices working alongside veteran and senior animators,” Rinderknecht says.

Rinderknecht feels this is an important part of what makes her company special. “Our films not only engage audiences, they inspire a new generation of animators. Each and every Studio Kinate project includes the work of student, intern, and junior animators.” This, she says, is the key to creating relevant and progressive storytelling that resonates with young audiences.

While she had been involved in other businesses, it wasn’t until she decided to seek funding for Studio Kinate that she embarked upon writing her first business plan. “When I was looking for help, it was the reviews that made me turn to Business Plan Pro, because I had no idea where else to turn.”

“My business model is unusual, so people who were advising me had a hard time seeing the possibilities outside the norm,” Charlotte notes. Then she discovered the Business Success Coaching service, and found a coach who supported her vision and helped her achieve it. “My coach, Paul Gibson, was amazing. He helped me keep on goal and helped me with questions that were related more to my industry, that helped me understand how to write my plans. For instance, since my company produces animation for feature distribution, I need to build a plan for each of those projects. Paul was amazing and encouraging.”

Charlotte Rinderknecht

Charlotte Rinderknecht

Charlotte considers any business plan a work in progress. “The business plan is a living document and should be revisited to help keep track of where you are going. I feel it is like a map, and you don’t just look at the map when you begin a journey. You need to review and plan new routes as you travel.” On her planning journey, she’s found the most challenging part to be crunching the numbers. “It takes considerable research and planning to develop the funding requirements of the studio. Business Plan Pro helps me get organized and walks me through the process. It also provides additional resources,” she says, which provided valuable assistance in finding the data she needed to complete her plan.

Studio Kinate is not just a business. Its productions include both traditional hand drawing techniques and innovative digital technology, says Charlotte, “because we believe the warmth and artistry of hand drawn animation is an art worth preserving for the next generation.” And since the animations are created by young animators sitting alongside seasoned professionals, viewers and creators alike benefit from the process.

And so does Charlotte. “I love watching people come together on a project. Working with young people and introducing them to veterans in the industry has been priceless. I love watching them work together to produce something that audiences will love. Don’t get me wrong, this is the scariest thing I’ve ever done, but it is also the most rewarding.”

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Jim

Be Passionate and Be Prepared — What Martial Arts Taught an Entrepreneur

by Jay Snider on December 15, 2009

Jim Glasgow has a black belt in karate, does jui jitsu, kickboxes, cycles, and has competed in triathlons and marathons. Oh yeah, and he operates a successful business too.Jim

What connects these pursuits? The passion that he brings to them all.

Jim had always wanted to have his own business. And as  a long time devotee of the martial arts, he says he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather be doing than introducing other people to his passion. But while teaching martial arts was fulfilling, he says,  it wasn’t going to pay the bills. When he had an opportunity to start a business producing a line of products specifically for martial artists and athletes, he jumped at it. “There’s really nothing better,” he says.

Sick Gear is based in Chicago, and launched in December 2008. They manufacture and sell uniforms, shirts, and gear for martial artists.  “Sick Gear was an idea I had a couple of years ago, to come out with a line of products that really dealt with the individual athlete, and recognized how that athlete is separate from somebody in a team sport.” The main product focus for Sick Gear is jui jitsu gi’s, with logo branded apparel and training gear rounding out the line.

Glasgow had a fleeting previous experience as a business owner. “In the past I worked with entrepreneurial  companies. I’d been involved with small companies, and I’d wanted to start my own company for years. So I started a small consulting firm in 2005,” he says. “I was only in business for two or three months,” before an old employer lured him back. “They gave me an offer I really couldn’t refuse,” he remembers with a smile.

But it wasn’t what he wanted to be doing. Looking back, he says, “I spent a lot of years in business dreading going to work, just hating it and wondering what I was doing. Life is too short to do that.”

sickgear logoWith a motto of “succeed or fail, you just have to take a shot” when you really want something, Jim took his shot. And a few years later, Sick Gear became a reality. “I’d written some very rough business plans before, when I started my consulting business,” he says, and had covered the topic in college as well. “I had some classes that included the concepts and components of business plans. But they never brought you through a thorough business plan, integrating the financials with the marketing… This is the first time that I really put everything together.”

“When I did the Sick Gear business plan, I used Business Plan Pro. That was really a nice tool. It was very user friendly, and just walked me through all the steps. It helped me think about the plan in a logical format,” he recalls. He added that the process of writing the plan, and the questions and issues the software brought up, made him think about areas of his business that he might not have previously considered.

Jim continues to use Business Plan Pro to help him manage his business. “I truly believe a business plan is never done. It’s a living document that you have to incorporate, every day, into your business. It makes it a lot easier using software like this.”

Through his martial arts training and his business experience, Jim says he has learned the value of seeking advice and listening to other people’s stories. “I think the more advice you get from other people, the better. You pick up on the success stories and learn from the mistakes. It’s so helpful getting the advice from people who’ve been through it.”

Ultimately, says Jim, success comes down to a few key factors. “You’ve got to have a passion for what you do. You’ve got to be resilient, and you’ve got to be prepared.  If you don’t do your homework and put together a business plan, you’re doomed to failure. There are going to be things that come around that you just didn’t plan for,” he adds, but you’ll be better prepared to deal with them. “And Business Plan Pro really helped me do that.”

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James P Shelley

Professional Writer Uses Professional Tools — A Business Plan Pro Success Story

by Jay Snider on December 8, 2009

James P Shelley

James P. Shelley

James P. Shelley creates business documents for a living. He writes full business plans, financial plans, summaries, even Web copy and employee/employer documents (like employee manuals). He works with startups and ongoing businesses to craft their documents, and explains, “my specialty is to work with principals and key employees of existing businesses of all types to create changes that will help them reach their next level of organization, leadership, and performance, and to improve their profitability.”

Back in 1996, Jim was launching a health information consulting company with a few partners, and used Business Plan Pro to write the plan for that business. Since then, he has used several versions of the software to write plans for his own businesses, as well as all business and financial plans he writes for his clients. “I like the simplicity of Business Plan Pro,” he notes.

“In 2004 I engineered my own business plan for a venture separate from my writing business. The lending institution told me that it was one of the best plans they had ever seen; very detailed and easy to understand. This resulted in a business loan that included the purchase of a business and the associated real property.”

A business plan is an important document, according to Jim, because it helps to determine if a business idea will work. “Many people have great business ideas, but until everything is fleshed out — until they look at how all the numbers gel together — it’s a guessing game.” But almost as important as the plan is for determining the course of the business for the business owner, is the tremendous impact it has on lenders and investors. “Having a properly prepared business plan has ensured my clients present their ideas to the proper people in a proper format. It must be perfect. There is no un-ringing the bell.”

Writing a business plan is an everyday thing for Jim, but he experiences the same difficulties as anyone who sits down to the task. “The biggest challenge of engineering a business plan without Business Plan Pro is the financial plan component. Engineering a financial plan as comprehensive as that in Business Plan Pro, using a workbook with spreadsheets, is simply too time consuming.” He tells the story of a client who handed him a bundle of 36 spreadsheets, prepared by a CPA. Though it was challenging, he was able to cull the information from all those sheets and use Business Plan Pro to create a finished product that made his client happy. “I’m not a CPA, but when everything folded together in Business Plan Pro, the end result was a comprehensive financial plan easily understood by most any banker.”

While the financial tools were his favorite part of the software, he says the flow of the program was really helpful as well. “The outline feature is very appealing. I like to see where I’ve been, where I’m going, and enjoy being guided towards a conclusion. I also like the review feature… which identifies the success or failure of your work.”

One feature of Business Plan Pro that Jim doesn’t use is the plan versus actual comparison. Since he’s writing the plans for other people, he doesn’t usually have the opportunity to follow up. “However, for my clients, I encourage them to purchase Business Plan Pro Premier Edition so they can use that feature once they’ve established their business.”

Jim has been writing business plans for clients for over four years, and says he has not written any of them without Business Plan Pro. “While I consider myself very organized, I found the intuitiveness of Business Plan Pro quite appealing.  It really is a smart approach to engineering such an important document.”

Before starting his writing business, Jim says he labored in the corporate world — “Been there, done that.” He finds a great deal of satisfaction in what he’s doing now. “I enjoy helping people identify, reach, and enjoy their hopes, dreams, and aspirations through proper planning.”

Check out Jim’s website for more about what he does, samples of his work, or to contact him directly.

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Bruce's picture

Betting on Web Bartering — A Success Story

by Jay Snider on November 13, 2009

Bruce's pictureBruce Mayberry is what’s known as a serial entrepreneur. He’s been self-employed for over 20 years, and his business ventures have run the gamut from selling high-speed data circuits to owning an art gallery, and a lot of other businesses in between. He’s used both Business Plan Pro and Marketing Plan Pro to write plans for his own businesses, and has even written them for clients as a tax consultant. His first business, he says, “was all smoke and mirrors. I started a trucking firm with $20 and a big smile.”

Now he’s writing the business plan for his newest venture and he feels confident that he’ll secure the $4 million in funding he’s seeking. “As to the receipt of the funds, I’m not worried. With a good plan and good management, money is always around.”

Bruce’s new startup is a modern-day barter organization called BarterPX. It’s a website that allows users to easily post their goods and services and exchange them amongst a large member community. According to the website, bartering produces new business and allows users to expand their markets. At the same time, it conserves cash — instead of spending money to purchase needed goods and services, users can trade their own goods and services, keeping cash in their businesses for other purposes.

Bruce has been working on the BarterPX concept for a few years, and has been going at it full time now for about six months. A quick glance at the website reveals a vibrant trade community, using modern technology to barter goods the way it was done centuries ago.

In the past, Bruce has written business plans for businesses that were already up BarterPX Logoand running. “Sometimes you just need to re-focus to grind some more profit out. Those programs really help you get a new perspective,” he comments. For this current business, though, he has a different goal for the plan he’s writing. For a startup, he says, “The properly written business plan tells you how much capital you’ll need, and everything else is inaccurate, unsubstantiated guessing.”

Business Plan Pro is to credit for some of his successes, according to Bruce. “Every single time I have ideas and brainstorms, they pay off big when I use the software. The process of answering all [of the software's] inquiries really opens you up to some opportunity you’ll miss otherwise.”

Crafting a business plan isn’t easy. For Bruce, as for a lot of “idea people,” it’s the financials that pose the biggest hurdle. “For me the hardest part is the balance sheet. I’m an entrepreneur, not an accountant. I can do a balance sheet, but it takes days of detailed work that I rarely do. What a relief to enter the numbers and it happens,” he says, describing how Business Plan Pro handles the calculations in the balance sheet based on numbers the user inputs elsewhere.

When asked what he thought the most exciting part of being an entrepreneur was, Bruce’s answer was telling. “Exciting, are you kidding? Doesn’t everyone like 90 hours of work a week, biting their fingernails over payroll for a year, worrying about sales forecast, competitors, advertising cost, staffing…?”

“Well I love all that, but this is not for the thin-skinned. It gets in your blood like speed for a NASCAR driver. I’ve never sold a business and not had a huge emotional response — a sense of sadness and joy. It’s about more than the money, but it is always about the money.”

His obvious enjoyment of the process aside, Bruce is quick to point out that there are challenges, especially when dealing with investors. “You better be ready when you’re talking to venture capitalists. Business Plan Pro really helps — a lot!”

While not everyone may have the entrepreneurial spirit that Bruce Mayberry clearly has, he has some good advice for anyone starting down the entrepreneurship path. “More is lost by indecision than the wrong decision. The human mind is a powerful thing; so is hunger. Get out there and make it happen!!!”

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Tantalizing Testimonials

by Cidnee Stephen on November 11, 2009

The world of testimonials is changing and with it are some incredible opportunities to strengthen your credibility in the marketplace.  But the very first question I need to ask you is,

“Are you even collecting testimonials?”

Don’t panic if the answer is NO. Most of us aren’t as diligent as we can be in the collection process.  The main reason I hear is that people feel they need to ask for them.  While this certainly is one way, there are some other ways I find work extremely well.

1) RECAP – My favorite way to capture a strong testimonial is when someone has shared a success with me verbally.  When this happens to you, ask them right then and there if you could quote them for a testimonial.  When the answer is yes, take 2 minutes to type out the testimonial as you heard it.  Put it into an email to the source along with any other info you require (like a result or the link to their site, etc).  Ask them to confirm that this is correct and “ta da” you have your testimonial.

2) FEEDBACK FORMS – Once you have finished working with a customer, send them out a feedback form regarding the experience.  Add questions, like “how would you describe this experience to a friend” or “what is the biggest result/benefit you received?”  When you get some great responses, go back and ask if you can use this as a testimonial.

3) TESTIMONIAL PARTIES – I love connecting people so the idea of a testimonial party really appeals to me.  I got this idea from John Jantsch with Duct Tape Marketing and can’t wait to try it out.  Consider renting a videographer and asking individuals to record a structured testimonial or asking the videographer to approach attendees and capture testimonials.

4) PHONE IN TESTIMONIAL – Do you have an extra extension you can set up on your phone system, or perhaps just have individuals leave a voice mail message on your phone.  Either way your message or instructions can direct them as to what type of information they need to include and then you can either transcribe or use as audio samples on your site!

Capturing Killer Testimonials
Okay, so now you know how to collect them.  My next question to you is how strong are your testimonials?  Those that simply say you’re great or your product is great are what I call  “VANILLA”  or washed out testimonials.  Avoid run of the mill and aim for RESULTS and testimonials that point out what makes you different or better than others in your industry.  In order to garner stronger testimonials, you need to ASK for this type of information.  Consider encouraging your sources to share the following:

Why they chose you
What they were expecting
What they ended up getting
How that helped them and/or exceeded their expectations.
Why would they recommend others should work with you?

Answers to questions like this will get you some KILLER TESTIMONIALS!

Types of  Testimonials

While text emails are great, these days it’s becoming a no-brainer to add audio and video testimonials as well.  The technology has made this super easy.  Digital Recorders and VOIP phone systems will conveniently record in MP3 or WAV formats.  Inexpensive Digital Video Cameras are on the market to record your own video testimonials and services from companies like BizBoxTV have made it cost effective to get nicely produced videos as well.  When your product or service is emotion based or complex, I highly encourage you to use audio and video!

WHERE

Of course your testimonials should go on your website.  But I hope you don’t hide them under some lame tab called testimonials!  Be creative.  Pepper them throughout your website, or rotate them in your header or along one side.  At the very least, change the name of the tab, to “What OTHERS have to say”

Remember to also use your testimonials in promotional pieces and sales presentations.  Why not add them to your email signature or even to your business card?  The opportunities are endless and remember: we always gain more credibility when OTHERS say we’re great!

ducttapemarketingbadgeCidnee Stephen is the owner of Strategies for Success – a marketing company that focuses on the needs of budget-minded small businesses and professional services. She has helped hundreds of small businesses get out of their peak and valley ruts to finally achieve that next vital level of success. Cidnee is also a sought-after speaker, writer and blogger on marketing topics that affect small businesses and B2B service based operations.

If you would like to build a system to reach those goals quicker, check out Cindee’s Speak for Leads & Expertise Program.

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diane cropped

A New Fan of the Plan — Diane Peloquin's Success Story

by Jay Snider on November 5, 2009

Diane Peloquin found out recently that she had secured the property she was hoping for: a much sought-after piece of commercial real estate in Surrey, British Columbia. She intends to turn it into Cafe Pelorina, a high-end cafe featuring not just coffee, but art, books, and a community involvement component.diane cropped

When she first began exploring locations for her cafe, she says, “I was told by my commercial realtor that the developers would not even look at an offer unless I had a business plan. Being of the strong mind that you don’t re-invent the wheel, I went on the Internet to search programs that offered business plans.”

Peloquin needed to get the business plan together quickly, as there were several other businesses interested in the property she had her eye on. She had never written a business plan before. “Instead of taking time, which I didn’t have, trying to figure out what a business plan is even supposed to look like, I Googled business plan software.” And that’s when she found Business Plan Pro, and discovered how helpful it was.

She says the planning process provided a lot of insight into her business. “As I was going through I realized how much detailed information I really had to get to be better prepared. I also realized that it was going to actually cost twice as much as I had thought!”

Her cafe hasn’t even opened yet, but Peloquin is already going back and fine-tuning her business plan. “I have already had to go back a couple of times to adjust numbers when I would look at the final outcome and see where there could be a problem in prices I had set. I was going to be paying too much for some supplies, which led me to get new suppliers and allowed me to achieve the margins I needed to make to be successful.”

Now a big fan of business plans, Diane would hate to think of what would have happened if she hadn’t written one. “If the developer hadn’t required that I have one I wouldn’t have made one, and I now realize this could have led to a huge disaster.”

Peloquin believes there’s no substitute for having a concrete plan when you’re starting your business. “Until you have everything in writing in front of you, you don’t know everything you should know.” She adds that Business Plan Pro made the entire process painless for her to accomplish. “I was amazingly impressed by how easy it was to do and how very professional the finished business plan was,” she says.

“I feel that doing a business plan gives you a great idea of how your business is going to work. You will be amazed by everything you learn about your industry.”

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Melodie Ellis

Learn Piano in Your Home — A Success Story

by Jay Snider on October 29, 2009

Melodie Ellis knows what it’s like to work for somebody else. And she knows what it means to work for herself. In fact, she managed to do both for almost eight years, holding down a job as an employee at a private piano studio while also teaching students on her own in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In 2004, she decided to make the leap to full-time self-employment. She left her studio job and started her own business – Learn Piano in Your Home.

Melodie Ellis

Melodie Ellis

“I guess I was tired of dealing with politics… When you work for somebody else sometimes it can seem like no matter what you do you’re not going to be able to make things better,” Melodie remembers. But she had learned that things are different when you are your own boss. “When you have your own business, you can change everything by your actions.”

Five years later, 14 contractors now work for Melodie, and Learn Piano in Your Home caters to over 200 students, providing private lessons not just in piano, but also in voice, guitar, drums, brass instruments, and more.

“As I started to grow, I saw the need to write a business plan,” says Melodie, but since her business was so small and she had such limited time at her disposal, it wasn’t a huge priority. “What really motivated me to do it was that I  wanted to apply for a grant.” As a member of the National Association for the Self-Employed, she was eligible to apply for a $5,000 Business Development Grant. Applicants are required to meet certain criteria, including submitting a business plan.

Melodie knew she would have to do some research. She bought a few books to help guide her through the plan-writing process, but says they weren’t nearly as helpful as she had hoped they would be. “I found them to be very theoretical and not practical at all. I didn’t get anywhere with them. I understood the concepts, but when it came down to putting it all on paper… the books were just really poor at trying to help me do that.”

Next she hit the Internet, looking for some business-planning software to help. “And that’s when I found Business Plan Pro. It was definitely worth it, because it allowed me to put everything together and it made it all practical and very real.”

One of the challenges Melodie faced in writing her plan was the fact that her business had been in operation for several years prior to putting the plan together. “I had to go back and think through things very concretely. I hadn’t always paid attention to the numbers or tracked them that carefully…  I had to get all those numbers from my history and somehow incorporate them into my plan. And that can be hard when you don’t have an MBA,” she says with a laugh.

In the end, Melodie’s hard work paid off. “I know that the fact that my business plan was well put together was definitely a major factor in getting the grant,” says Melodie.

learnlogo“One of the most helpful things about the software was that, at the beginning, it asks you the question about whether you’re an existing business or a brand new business, and it tailors the plan based on your answer,” Melodie comments. She had tried other tools but found that they didn’t make this distinction, and in fact seemed to be based on the assumption that business plans were only for start-ups. That made the process harder for her, trying to fit details about an ongoing business into a start-up format.

“Just that one choice made all the difference in the world.”

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Customer Spotlight: Migrating to New Zealand? You'll need a business plan

by Jay Snider on August 20, 2009

J. Peter Hendrikx is a native of The Netherlands who immigrated to New Zealand seeking a more laid-back lifestyle. After years working for large, international corporations, he went to work for the Business Migration Branch of the New Zealand Immigration Service. It wasn’t long before he decided to launch his own company, combining his knowledge of the governmental process with his interest in helping others succeed in business and his firsthand experience as an immigrant.

In October, 2002 Peter started Terra Nova Consultancy Ltd, a business migration consulting agency specializing in assisting people and businesses from all over the world in migrating to New Zealand. Terra Nova provides professional assistance to their clients in obtaining temporary or permanent residence by taking them through the daunting paperwork process and making sure they meet all the criteria required by the government.

You have to have a plan
As part of their application process, businesses must submit a business plan. “I must have written about 200 business plans using Business Plan Pro, covering a wide array of business types with a variety of investment levels,” he says, including the business plan for Terra Nova Consultancy itself in his estimate.

With that kind of plan-writing experience, it’s safe to say that Peter has an appreciation for the planning process. “The older you get, the more you realize that you do not have the answers to an increasing number of issues, compared to when you were young and you thought you knew everything,” he says. Writing your business plan forces you to “assess situations and look for possible solutions” in advance.

A living document
“I have always advised my clients to use their business plan as a guide for their company, and to be flexible enough to react to changes in the market,” Peter notes. “You need to know the market you are going into, your financial situation under at least two scenarios (a positive and a negative situation) and what you have to do to remain successful.”

To that end, Peter recommends his clients continue to use Business Plan Pro to adjust their plan regularly. He suggests revisiting the plan every six months, creating  a “pathfinder” plan that looks ahead five years, as well as a more detailed three-year plan, and a six-month action plan.
“This obviously means that the business plan is a living document,” says Peter.

Peter doesn’t write business plans for his clients just because the New Zealand government requires it of them. He feels a plan is a valuable tool for all businesses, whether they’re migrating to a new country or not. “Business planning is a must for all who go into business. Without it you bring yourself into a situation that may be a real challenge to get out of!”

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Customer Spotlight: Peters Path plans for philanthropy. And success

by Jay Snider on August 13, 2009

Most new businesses start out narrowly focused on the bottom line. With so much financial uncertainty in the market today, building philanthropy into a business plan can be a scary proposition. But that didn’t deter Christine Crowley Peters, President and CEO of Peters Path. Her philosophy is, “Don’t let fear hold you back.”

Christine Peters,

Christine Peters, President and CEO of Peters Path

Writing a business plan is like getting an MBA

Peters put that personal credo into action in 2008 when she left a career in cosmetology and started Peters Path Corporation, located in Atlanta, Georgia. The Peters Path website launched in March 2009, selling fashionable and hip clothing and providing customers with an opportunity to experience socially responsible shopping.

Peters Path is Christine’s first venture into entrepreneurship, and she says she found just planning the business to be quite a learning experience. When she started using Business Plan Pro to write her business plan, it broadened her ideas about her company. “Our business plan was developed as the primary tool for planning and managing our business. The process forced a rigor into both the breadth and depth of our thinking about the business. In many ways it led us into areas we might have preferred to defer, as they were difficult, time-consuming, and stressful. The education we got as a result feels like it would be an MBA.”

All that time spent was worth it. She says she and her partner, Vice President/CFO Ronda Balfe, work diligently to maintain the ‘for-profit/philanthropy’ business model they’ve adopted and have built into their business plan. “It was my focus and I made it fit. We do regular pro formas based on the data built in to our business plan. Further, the plan is a dynamic document which we flex with new information as it evolves.” In fact, says Peters, she has gone back to the software to update her plan so many times that the CD with her saved plan file “has scratch marks through all parts of it!”

Charities benefit from every sale

Peters Path donates a portion of the proceeds of every sale to non-profit organizations that promote equality and empowerment, fight poverty, aid those less fortunate, and foster community service. Customers choose from a select list of charities when they purchase online, letting the shopper select where they want their money to go. “Peters Path was started as a way for me to combine my love of fashion with philanthropic endeavors, which have played an important role in my personal life, and my children’s lives,” Peters says. The company’s products include comfortable, stylish clothing and unique, hip jewelry, from brands including Alternative Apparel, Johnny Was, Angel Court, Young Fabulous and Broke, DL1961 denim, and Acholi Beads, which are made from recycled materials in Uganda by women who fled the civil war. They also carry bamboo clothing, and Peters Path’s own label of organic T-shirts.

In addition to the money donated from each purchase, the company also holds online fundraisers, where 100 percent of the profits from the sales of their t-shirts are donated to a specific cause. A recent sale raised funds for Helping Children Worldwide and the Child Rescue Centre. In additional to aiding these charities financially, the company seeks to help raise awareness of their causes. “I know that everyone has the power to make a difference. Whether it is by purchasing a product, becoming active in your own community, volunteering your time… there are so many ways to help. We want to help others ignite their own flame and let their passion make the world a brighter place.”

Teamwork is a key to success

To be able to donate as much money as they do, Peters Path has to keep a watchful eye on spending. “We are operating on one corporate debit card, and only one credit card account with a $2,500 limit that has to be paid in full monthly. It is very difficult to operate with limited funds like that. I could never do that part of our business,” Peters say, praising Balfe for the skills she brings to the table. Peters is emphatic about the value of a good partnership that involves people with different skill sets working together. “She [Balfe] complements me perfectly, as we are very different, and she brings a perspective to the table that is vital and crucial to our existence — that of managing our finances and understanding our budget. She is the left brain and I am the right brain.”

Peters advocates doing “stress tests” on your business plan — she acknowledges that the term may have a negative association these days, but adds, “the concept is very important to every business. The factors to use to stress-test different business plans will obviously differ, but should be developed.” She suggests creating worst-case scenarios that are actually far worse than you would expect, reducing your best-case scenario numbers by 20%, even dropping income forecasts a significant amount to see just how much your business will handle. When you do this, you provide yourself with an idea of what your business would look like in a whole range of situations. And by planning for that range, you’ll be in a better situation should any one of those scenarios come to pass.

Learning from mistakes

Being an entrepreneur is a new experience for Peters and, as she says, “I’m loving it.” She says she actually enjoys the roller coaster ride that running a business can be — knowing that for every good day, there’s bound to be a bad one. “While hopefully there are many more victories than defeats, both are sure to transpire. The challenge, of course, is to be resilient after the knockdowns and keep increasing the ratio of victories.”

Peters has found great value in learning from her experiences, and from the people she brings in to help run her business. “When you fail in an area, which you will — I do regularly — learn from it and really consider how you will do it differently next time. It’s from my mistakes in my life that I have learned the most.”

Peters is a big believer in figuring out what you want to do and making it happen. She says there are all kinds of resources out there for people starting up businesses. “I have attended many classes given by SCORE, and their advice and informational resources are incredible. I would recommend starting there to anyone considering starting a business. If you spend some time researching small businesses, you will be amazed at what is out there and available to you.”

A final bit of advice from Peters is that it really doesn’t matter what you’ve done before or what you think you don’t know. “What matters is today and your desire to learn new things. You just have to learn how to combine [your fears] with perseverance, determination, and passion, and then let those emotions overpower fear and be your driving force.”

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Todd Pearson

Testimonial — Global MRO Products

by Jay Snider on June 26, 2009

In order to be successful in business, entrepreneurs need to be flexible. Sometimes flexibility means rethinking your ideas, other times it just means letting circumstances guide you.

Todd Pearson

Todd Pearson

Todd Pearson learned this early in his path to business ownership. After 11 years at the same company, Pearson decided to open his own distribution/import company. In 2002, he started Global MRO Products, which assists companies with the international procurement of MRO (maintenance repair operations) products.

“Our clients are either manufacturers or distributors/resellers who then sell to manufacturing. What they have in common is that they need internationally manufactured parts for their factories’ equipment,” says Pearson.parts

When he started Global MRO, Pearson thought he’d be seeking funding from investors. “For this, I needed a business plan,” he remembers. When he started working in Business Plan Pro 2002, he learned a great deal about his business. “It really puts things into the right perspective. Using the software made me answer questions that I had not really thought of in much dept. It made me take a harder look at some of my ideas.”

After shopping his business plan around, Pearson determined that going the venture capital route wasn’t the right fit for him. “I found out that unless I was willing to give away a large portion of my company to a venture capitalist or deal with bank rules and issues, my best bet was to use the equity built in both my partner and my homes,” he says. But he was impressed with the feedback he got on the plan he had been presenting. “They were shocked at the level of my business plan. I even had one venture capitalist ask me if I had the business plan professionally written and by whom!”

The work Pearson had put into the plan wasn’t wasted just because he hadn’t used it to secure funding, however. “Eventually, the plan was used more as a tool to gauge success and to map out the next step,” of his company, he says. Over the next few years, he found himself going back to his plan, updating the numbers to reflect what was actually happening. “The results gave me a very good indicator of where we were headed compared to what we had projected,” and allowed him to make adjustments as needed.

The difference between working for somebody else and owning his own business is like night and day for Pearson. “It is fun to come into work each day — which by the way stopped seeming like work since it is my company — and look for new ways to increase sales, customer satisfaction, or make my employees just a little bit happier!”

Pearson’s company has been doing well, and he says doing what he loves is at least part of the reason why. “You will be married to [your business] and will be giving it all the spare time you have. It is taxing and until you reach a point beyond profitability, it sucks every extra minute out of your life.” If you don’t truly love what you’re doing, it won’t seem worth it. Pearson is also a strong advocate for having a business plan, which he says “will help you see where you are succeeding and where you need to perform better.”

The one downside to his company’s success, according to Pearson, is that it “cost me the time to continue the important practice” of revisiting and revising his business plan. “However, I now need to secure new financing to help support two new business ventures. Once again, I find myself needing one of the most crucial documents a business needs. Hello Business Plan Pro 2009!”

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