by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Starting a business is a lot like getting married, consultant Bob Myers told a group of aspiring entrepreneurs Friday. The experience can be alternately thrilling and heartbreaking, and they’d better understand up front what they are getting themselves into.
It was a typically full room gathered Friday at the University of North Florida to learn the fundamentals of starting a small business. A class of about 40 listened intently as Myers, a former publishing entrepreneur and program director for the school’s Small Business Development Center, dispensed the benefits and pratfalls of working for themselves.
In 20 years experience in management, Myers told the class, he had been involved in all aspects of running a business, “including” he said with a half-smile, “shutting one down.
“One of the most important things you might take away from this class is what to avoid, what not to do,” said Myers.
He began the class, comparing ownership with the marriage for a reason, he said. The chance of success at either enterprise was about equal.
“The divorce rate is about 50 percent,” he said. “The chance of business failure is about 50 percent. Does anyone here think there’s any correlation between those numbers?”
A one-out-of-two chance at failure was actually a heartening prospect for Myers’ class. Prior to hearing their actual chances, those in attendance figured their chances were as slim as one in 10.
Despite that prognosis and an unsteady economy, the aspiring entrepreneurs were still jammed shoulder to shoulder in Myers’ classroom. Tables built for four sat six, and a few stragglers sat in folding chairs at the back of the room. Myers said demand for the class had grown each year since it began 15 years ago. The desire to go to work for one’s self seemed not to be affected by the economy’s ups and downs, he said.
“In economic upswings people look around at everybody making money and they think, ‘Why can’t I do it on my own?’ On downswings people still figure they can do better,” said Myers.
Those gathered on Friday had taken a good step toward tilting the odds in their favor, said Myers. Contrary to perceptions, successful entrepreneurs are not risk takers, he said. They understand their strengths and weaknesses and those of those competitors. They know how much money will be required and where it will come from. Only after these questions have been answered and a business plan is in place, should the first dollar be spent.
Classes like these have been recommended by City planners for those looking to do business downtown. Particularly for businesses seeking City incentives, the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s board has repeatedly requested detailed business plans and cash-flow projections.
In an earlier interview, JEDC executive director Kirk Wendland recommended education for small business owners. Classes, small business centers like UNF’s, even an instructional book can help would-be proprietors understand why they should be in business and, sometimes, why they, shouldn’t.
“Sometimes the most valuable advice on a small business is not to start one,” said Wendland.”
Myers agreed with that assessment. He said the most significant obstacles facing small business downtown are relatively expensive rents and a lack of parking. He said more downtown residents would be needed to keep small businesses open past 5 p.m.