Personal growth, professional success - entrepreneurship

Nation's Business, Feb, 1994

In November 1990, I was scared and desperate. Laid off for months from a sales job at a company that sold industrial safety equipment, down to $100 in savings, and trying to sell my car to keep my head above water, the only thing I was sure of was that I no longer wanted to work for someone else.

On the other hand, I was afraid to fail and wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of being in business on my own.

My former customers had promised that if I obtained the safety equipment they needed, they would buy from me. They had a confidence in my ability that I lacked in myself. I had long dreamed of running a business, but I had envisioned having a partner, maybe a husband or a friend.

So when I started C&B Industrial Safety Inc. on my own out of my home in South Florida, I made myself vice president. By doing so, I gave myself something of an imaginary boss, someone who really couldn't tolerate mistakes because the business was still so new and every decision so critical.

The plain truth was that I couldn't afford to make mistakes while the company was in its start-up phase.

Although C&B was named for my two whippet dogs--Candy and Buva--I'm sure people thought it stood for "Carla & Somebody." They had no idea or concern that I was a one-person company, that the back supports I sold were stored behind my couch, that I stored safety glasses in my linen closet, and that my dining room table doubled as the shipping department.

The results were that C&B delivered exactly what it promised, on time and with no pricing surprises.

No one ever questioned my title or whether the company had a president. The few people who knew exactly what was going on didn't care because they were the ones who believed in me all along. And as the business grew, I came to believe in myself.

But there was such pressure when this company was started--as I am sure there is in most shoestring start-ups--that having the bigger title would have almost been a burden. Being a vice president allowed me to concentrate on what I was good at--sales and communicating to learn the needs of my customers--without feeling the other pressures that I believed were inherent in "heading up" a company.

With no overhead, my business was profitable from the first day. My comfort level increased, and growing into the role of president felt very natural. I actually assumed the title when I wanted to make my first employee, Linda Pomerantz, a vice president. Her support and her work had earned that designation, even if she didn't feel quite comfortable with the title.

Where I once had that imaginary partner to hold me up, today I have four employees who act as a supporting team. By working closely with them on important matters and keeping lines of communication open, I can make key decisions comfortably and without the nervousness and pressure that so many entrepreneurs go through.

The whole experience has given me more self-respect, and I believe that people look at me now as president of a successful company. Where I once felt that I didn't deserve the title, I now know I have earned it.

I have the same natural fears as most entrepreneurs, but I now have confidence. C&B Industrial Safety's revenues topped $700,000 in 1993. The company now operates out of an office and a 3,000-squarefoot warehouse in Sunrise, Fla.

The moral of this story is that what is most important is the business itself and the support it can generate from appreciative customers--like the people who believed in me--not what title the entrepreneur takes. It doesn't matter whether you are a vice president or "supreme commander," so long as the customer knows that you can deliver.

It's frightening being a start-up entrepreneur, but fear of failure can be a terrific motivator. Coupled with good business sense and accurate advice from people you trust, it can help you grow into the position, no matter what the title.