Business is Everywhere: The Guide of How to Survive in the Business World

Alison Farrington

 Mrs. Robinson

English II

21 November 2008

Business is Everywhere: The Guide of How to Survive in the Business World

In every city, down every street, and everywhere you look, several flourishing businesses exist. But, did you ever wonder how they got started and what it took to get them to where they are today? In the mix of the business world, the role of the entrepreneur is vital. Entrepreneurs manage their own restaurants, clothing boutiques, construction companies and multi-million dollar corporations. Entrepreneurs must formulate a thorough outline of their business to make sure the business is meeting its requirements. Most entrepreneurs are passionate about two things: making their ideas come to life and working with people who share their same interests. Having the distinct qualities of an entrepreneur, constructing an excellent business plan, and using historical examples to help create their success make it possible for an entrepreneur’s company flourish in the business world.

“Taking an adventurous leap toward owning a business could mean committing economic suicide. Entrepreneurship is not the field for everyone and looking at each step with a conservative eye is a crucial key to success” (Business Plan). To begin in this business of entrepreneurship, the potential businessman must understand what the actual definition is. An entrepreneur is “a person who takes risk at organizing and managing any enterprise” (Dictionary). Whichever field the business owner is in, doing what the owner loves should be part of the equation. Why would entrepreneurs spend twelve hours of their day not doing what they love the most?

In today’s economy it is survival of the fittest; and often times a businessman has to make a tough decision between doing what a businessman loves and having a guaranteed income. There is a major difference between being an employee and being an entrepreneur. Employees receive a paycheck every month, but may not be passionate about what the employee is doing. For instance, the regular John Smith is crammed into his small cubical and glued to his desk chair everyday- may not be excited or passionate about his job. Even though Mr. Smith feels secure with his regular pay. Many types of people fit this description and need regular jobs to pay their bills and put food on the table. Their boss tells them their hours and instructs them on what to do. On the other hand, entrepreneurs are their own boss and are at major risk of not receiving a fixed monthly income; but hopefully entrepreneurs are passionate in their work because whatever time and effort they put into their products determines all. Doing what one love is essential in being a successful entrepreneur because it gave them motivation. Theses entrepreneurs are successful because uses the most successful key: doing what they love.

Anyone that has access to the internet can visit littlefollies.com: Christina Ambrosino is the owner of Little Follies; a well-tailored and stylish child’s clothing line. She has become a very successful entrepreneur selling her clothing in New York City and in 2005 her sales topped one million dollars. She and her mother started in 1997 raiding her closet to get ideas for her first summer designs. Then she sketched five designs and sent them to a manufacturer in her hometown of Hong Kong. She and Victoria Brown, her sister, hosted a launch party for Little Follies at their home and it was a great success. Word of mouth began. She hired representatives for trunk shows located in hotels or halls; now she is doing fifty shows a year and has twenty representatives to assist her. In 2002, their business became profitable, taking close to five years. Ambrosino credits this new tool, the internet, for their 2005 success. She finds happiness in what she does by dressing children in their most adorable years. Little Follies took five years to become profitable, but Ambrosino and Brown’s hearts are in it and now they are extremely successful (Dream Job).

Yvon Chouinard, the owner of Patagonia, is often referred to as the accidental entrepreneur. His passions as a teenager were fishing, climbing and exploring. Chouinard fills the requirements for being an entrepreneur; he is the adventurous type. He traveled from mountain peak to surf break and along the way his clothing and climbing equipment business grew more popular. At age eighteen, he borrowed around $830 from his parents, which helped him jumpstart his business selling climbing equipment out of the trunk of his car. This once small business has transformed into multi-millionaire company. Patagonia gives away ten percent of the company’s profits. This quickly added up to twenty-two million dollars in donations by 1985. By 1990, Patagonia was making over 100 million dollars a year. Chouinard’s success did not stop at his thriving company; his book, Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of the Reluctant Businessman, explained to his readers about the process he experienced to become the most successful owner of the popular international climbing and outdoors clothing corporation (Beyond and Back). Unlike Ambrosino, Chouinard’s success was not intended and his work ethic differs from Ambrosino as well. He would rather take the opportunity to experience nature than be working. If the waves were big one day he would go surfing instead.

Fig. 1 Let my People go Surfing. <http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Let-My-People-Go-Surfing/Yvon-    Chouinard/e/9780143037835>

Located in downtown Morehead City, a small clothing and art boutique: James is owned and operated by Jamie Dickenson. In my interview with Dickenson, I discovered first-hand what it takes to start your own local clothing boutique. For three years Dickenson pondered opening a business in her hometown. She met with her parents and the three of them started constructing her business plan. Jamie explained they first had to tackle the task of creating the store’s budget:

Trying to decide where to spend money was the hardest part of the process because it made me chose which things were most important. Inventory, furniture, hangers, clothing racks, display tables, bills, rent … and the list goes on. People don’t realize how much time, effort, and stress small business owners go through to get a business up and running.

 

On clothes alone, the bill came out to be $ 40,000 in inventory. Then the store has to pay a monthly rent of  $ 1,500. The price of advertising fluctuates with the season, spending $800 to $1,200 a month. In her business plan she decided to buy a two- year lease on the building. She hopes that her business is booming and has the option of purchasing another three years- making it to the five-year mark, “the first two years of a business are when you are hopefully getting out of debt.” After those couple of years, the business owner must revaluate the business plans and predict if it is smart to continue to the five-year mark. Jamie hopes to start a high-end men’s clothing store and possibly own a restaurant. So far she has met her targeted goals and if she continues on a profitable course, she may very well meet these future expansion plans and do very well. (Dickenson)

When comparing Dickenson, Ambrosino, and Chouinard, a pattern seems to surface. All of’ them had help starting their businesses; their parents contributed to their plans for their business and financially helped the business’s budget. It took them a while to regain their money and become successful, but they took a great risk and battled through the years of debt; now Ambrosino’s and Chouinard’s companies are multi-millionaires. Dickenson is still at the stage of regaining her money, but her business is on the way to the top.

Constructing a business plan for any company is a crucial idea. An entrepreneur must use the basic, who, what, when, where, and how to make sure the plan is thorough. One of the biggest mistakes is writing long-term about the company; keep the timeline within a year or two and do not be afraid to change the plan at any time. Incorporating a visionary statement is a great idea because it makes the owner strive for a goal and outlines the business purpose: “the primary value of your business plan will be to create a written outline that evaluates all aspects of the economic viability of your business venture including a description and analysis of your business prospects.” Jamie used business plan templates found on the Internet to help her write a successful outline. Even if someone becomes an entrepreneur, one most know that he or she is human and are not perfect. One should not be worried if one is not an expert in a certain field of their corporation: the entrepreneur must include their strengthens and their weaknesses. Hiring an expert to fill-in spots that one is weak in is a smart idea because it shows future audience that the entrepreneur is trying their best to make their business the as close to perfect as it can be. Work on the business plan as it progresses and use the outline as a selling tool is a great idea to head towards success.  The more an owner plans ahead the more the business will progress, thus; the more successful the business will become (Business Plan).

Whether the company’s goals are to become international, have online success, or be a local business, each type must have a solid business plan. They pursue their passion and take many risks along the way. In the business world it is difficult not to give up when times gets tight. The companies that keep a level head are the companies that one passes walking down the street, the companies that one drives by in the metropolitan city or the companies that ones comes across when surfing the web. The beginning, middle, and end stages of creating a company are extremely difficult and exhausting, but the owners love what they do. I have always desired to become a business owner and I have been striving for the subjects that I am passionate about my junior year in high school and letting it guide me to a successful and promising future. I dream of designing my own clothing, managing my own corporation and selling my artwork to people around the world. I possess the adventurous qualities of an entrepreneur; I now know how to formulate a genius business plan by using key historical examples and templates on the internet to help make my dreams become reality. This career is going to long, hard, and difficult process, but when my business comes together my dream will come true.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Business Plan. “My Own Business.” 2007. My Own Business, Inc. 19 Nov 2008

http://www.myownbusiness.org/s2/.

Dickenson, Jamie. Personal Interview. 14 Nov 2008.

Greco, Patricia. “Dream Job.” nclive.org. 2008. EBSCO Industries, Inc.. 20 Nov 2008

< http://wfxsearch.webfeat.org/wfsearch/search?cid=10611>.

Hopkins, Michael . “Beyond and Back.” nclive.org. 2008. EBSCO Industries. 20 Nov

2008 <http://wfxsearch.webfeat.org/wfsearch/search?cid=10611>.

“Let my People go Surfing.” Book. bn.com 2008. 20 Nov 2008

<http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Let-My-People-Go-Surfing/Yvon-         Chouinard/e/9780143037835>

Entrepreneur: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. New. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., 2004

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