First-Time Owners Find Management Comes With Headaches

Wall Street Journal | Small Business By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN – FEBRUARY 24, 2010

When Cameron Madill launched Synotac Design LLC in 2003, wiping away tears and giving pep talks wasn’t on his to-do list. But once he began hiring employees for his Web-site development firm two years later, he learned that dealing with people matters comes with the job.

“I was interested in building a company,” says Mr. Madill, a first-time business owner in Portland, Ore. “I never thought through that it meant I would have to hire people, terminate people and do all of the things associated with being a boss.”

It’s common for first-time entrepreneurs to overlook responsibilities tied to managing people when starting out, says Edward P. Marram, a senior lecturer of entrepreneurship at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. With all the focus on selling a new product or service, “most don’t think about being a boss,” he says.

But at some point, business owners typically need help to grow, Mr. Marram says, and that means hiring staff, delegating responsibilities, and learning to be effective managers. For the inexperienced, those management duties can be challenging, depressing and sometimes plain awkward.

For instance, entrepreneur Lisa Morris last year had to deal with an employee who accidentally copied her on a highly graphic email to a hotel sales manager. “He was saying he’d do certain things to the person’s body for good rates,” recalls Ms. Morris, owner of Road Concierge Inc., a travel- and concierge-services firm in New York. “We’re all about servicing our clients, but not actually servicing them.”

Ms. Morris, who started her business in 2006, says she felt “really uncomfortable” scolding the employee for his behavior because ruling with an iron fist isn’t her style. “I don’t like to be very corporate,” she says, adding that she runs a casual office where employees’ pets are welcome.

Still, while it was clear that the email exchange wasn’t serious, nor was the recipient offended, Ms. Morris says she needed to stress that a repeat performance would be unacceptable. “I hate having to act like a mom,” she says. “But there are times when you can’t be nice. You’re the boss and you have to enforce policy.”

Many first-time business owners struggle with laying down the law because they are in fact former corporate employees who became entrepreneurs in part to escape rigid work environments. The worst situation, however, is having to tell an employee you can no longer keep them on board.

Sandy Sabean, co-owner of Womenkind, pictured center, meets with employees Lara Ngai, left, and Betsy Handwerker, right.

“You feel terrible,” says Sandy Sabean, co-owner of Womenkind LLC, a New York marketing-communications firm with five employees. Last year, she says, she laid off two workers for the first time after the company lost a bid. “When you have to let someone out on the street under those circumstances it’s hard,” she says. “It’s sad.”

Gary Hewing, co-owner of Bert Martinez Communications LLC, a sales- and business-training firm in Houston and Scottsdale, Ariz, says it’s just as rough to fire someone for poor performance. “You know they’ll have a tough time finding a job and that you’re giving this person the last check they may have for months,” he says. “It’s extremely difficult. I do not appreciate that aspect of the job.”

Some inexperienced entrepreneurs are caught off guard by just how significant a role a boss plays within a small company.

Mr. Madill, whose Web-design firm has eight employees, learned that lesson about three years ago when a worker who was hired to do miscellaneous tasks refused to take on a new assignment and subsequently offered her resignation.

A self-described pushover, Mr. Madill agree to let her stay on the company payroll for the next six weeks while she searched for a new employer. “She helped build the company,” he says. “You feel some loyalty to your first few hires.”

But the decision drew resentment from the rest of the company’s staff, says Mr. Madill, particularly because the uncompromising employee did little work from that point on. “It led to an unbelievably toxic atmosphere,” he says. And when the problem worker was finally gone, things changed dramatically. “Productivity suddenly increased,” he says. “You would’ve thought we hired a person the day she left.”

Mr. Madill says he since changed his outlook on business leadership thanks to the advice of counselors at Accelerator, a nationwide support organization for early-stage entrepreneurs. Other support groups small businesses can turn to for advice include Young Entrepreneur, Energizing Young Entrepreneurs and SCORE.

Now Mr. Madill believes that as a business owner, “you only have an obligation to make (your employees) successful to the extent that they give more back to the company,” he says. “And if someone doesn’t understand that, it’s not your responsibility to educate them.”

Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com

Overcoming Fears in Business

“Your greatest obstacle to success is yourself, it’s fear of failure”.
~Bert Martinez

Every new or struggling business owner wants to know how to manage their fears, particularly nowadays. Check out this list of easy ways to overcome your fears:
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You have to keep in mind that a large number of successful business were started during economic downturns, it drives out your competition and forces business owners to concentrate on keeping cost down and creating a leaner, meaner, more efficient business.
Thank you,
Justin Pesta
Vanguard Financial LLC
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As a recovering alcoholic, I have found that most fear is unfounded and grounded in my brain from childhood. Let me prove a point. Picture yourself hanging from a branch and I ask you to look down. Now I ask you, “How far off the ground are you?” Most people would say anywhere from 20 feet to miles. The point is that you are probably only 2-3 feet off the ground as an adult but your brain still recalls your childhood experiences. Getting over fear requires a strong belief in faith and that no one wants us to fail. Even the odds are against succeeding, who cares? Someone has to win. It might as well as be you.

Jeffrey Taylor
4844 E Andora Dr
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
http://booksbyjeffreytaylor.com
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I have started several high tech businesses in both Atlanta and Silicon Valley. Each time, there was fear and doubt. No amount of education, training, preparation or research will remove the lingering doubt…real entrepreneurs know and come to respect fear of failure. However, fear has to be used wisely and not left to run amok.

Here is the process I have used that seemed to help me overcome fear – I am also counseled other entrepreneurs on this over the years. First, when I am conceiving an idea for a business, I try to see if I can become emotionally involved in the idea – does it excite me, do I think it is something that will benefit people – do some good. This is very important and is the fuel for many entrepreneurs. Second, as I move into the data gathering mode, I attempt to remain completely neutral on the concept – really trying to listen as I do my research (both primary and secondary). I attempt to hear all points of view, get as much hard data as I can and apply as much rigor to the process as possible. Finally, in the final phase, before any commitment is taken on my part, I try to KILL THE IDEA. I spend quite a bit of time in this phase – asking people hard questions, going back over all of my data, seeking counsel from wise friends and business associates – asking them to please help me STOP NOW before I waste money and time. If at the end of this process (and there is no time limit – but as quickly as possible), I am still excited about the idea (or some variety thereof), I will proceed to the strategy development/development/implementation modes. I will also proceed without fear. My experience has taught me that fear has its place in the entrepreneurial process but not once the entrepreneur has made the commitment to move forward – fear at this point is a drag on the effort and hinders the chances of success. Fear is always “in the room”, so to speak but it is not “invited to the table”, once the decision to move forward has been made. Mental discipline and really understanding the entrepreneurial process is required.

Thank You and God Bless.

James D. Grady (Jim)
President/CEO
The Monticello Corporation
makers of The Paper Tiger software
Atlanta, GA
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“Once we drop from fear’s influence, a world of new possibilities emerges.”
Gayle A. Gregory – Author,
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Worry does not affect the outcome. And… nothing happens until you move. So, get a grip on your concerns, conduct the due diligence to determine whether your action is warranted, then take the initiative and move forward. The depression spawned many new movements in this country. Each entrepreneur needs to plan out his/her steps, then work the plan. This may be that person’s distinct contribution, so it is essential that they move.

www.Thrival.com

Paul O. Radde. Ph.D.
Thrival Systems(R)
DrPaul@Thrival.com
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I’m a small business owner, speaker, and author based in Conyers, Georgia. I started my business in 2004 after resigning from a full-time job as a web database developer. I didn’t know the first thing about starting a business or marketing it for that matter. I was very fearful but I didnt let the fear stop me. Instead, I let the fear drive me toward my goal by embracing it. Whenever I wanted to give up, I would read inspirational stories about other successful entrepreneurs who started with nothing and went on to be something such as Fred DeLuca, Truett Cathy, Michael Dell, and others. I also prayed to God a lot and built up my spiritual inner man so that I could not only have confidence in God but also in myself and my abilities. Lastly, I began associating with successful people which made me begin to visualize myself as successful. I began to develop the failure is not an option mantra.

Fear is a good thing but can become bad when we let it paralyze us and stop us from moving in the right direction. I hope that this can help other entrepreneurs as they battle with fear.
–
Lisa Sims
Author, Stretching A Dollar To Save And Make Thousands: An Entrepreneurs Guide To Doing More With Less
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“Do the thing you fear and the fear will disappear.”
David J. Schwartz, American Trainer Author of The Magic of Thinking Big
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During that time I have found ways to turn fear into my finest friend. My current best understanding, since this too is constantly evolving, comes in three parts.

1. Stop and pay attention to your thoughts and fearful thinking. This is called thought awareness. Slow down long enough to see what is really going on inside.

2. Let curiosity guide you. Get excited about learning everything you can about your fears. They stop you. They determine your success. They can be your friend and will teach you everything you need to know in order to engage life in a healthy and successful way.

3. Once seen, acknowledge your fears and limiting thoughts as aspects of who you are. Yes, the fears are present. Yes, they feel uncomfortable. Welcome them without agenda. Don’t play nice in order to get them to leave. Allow yourself to accept that they might stick around forever. Ugh! Yes, even that. Anything less than full acceptance of the fearful thoughts and beliefs empowers the fear and keeps it firmly in control.

We can distract ourselves with visions of a better life. We can envision letting go of the fear in innumerable ways. We can attempt to think only positive thoughts (great idea but impossible to put into practice). All of these tactics appear to work – and then the fear reappears in the same form or another. Or we can meet our fear once and for all, get to know it, and understand its real message. Fear is a gift that will help us heal all the ways we hold each other and ourselves as small. It has a lot to offer.

Gayle A. Gregory
Workplace Evolution, Common Sense for Uncommon Times
www.workplaceevolution.com