Debra Neri was one of our honorable mention submissions in our Small Gestures Contest. She posted a great story and one that contains an important reminder for leaders.

Time is never wasted when you spend it connecting with the people you work with and creative activities that help teams connect with other is time well spent. Thanks for sharing your “Small Gesture” experience with us, Debra:

I once had a boss that thanked me every day for doing my job and always remembered every ones birthday and actually took time to talk to everyone. Also, having get togethers at the office like lunch at the end of the month when we closed for and hour or so even the receptionist could relax. In these days of every business being open 24/7 it is … Read Morehard get to know your coworkers and I feel that when people spend more time at work than with their family it is important to know each other and then there will a sense of community at work. I remember when businesses would close for lunch. I know for myself a workplace can be more than just a place to get paycheck. I know some people you can never please for what ever the reason, but we all want to feel important!

–Debra Neri

- George Washington

To those who stepped up to the call of our country and served–may your countrymen always remember, support and serve you. You ask little and yet give so much of yourselves.

Those of us at Essentials want to thank our veterans, past and present for their service. You have our gratitude and appreciation for the sacrifices that you and your families, have made on our behalf.

To my Father, Son, Son-in-law and the other veterans in my life, a personal thanks. You embody the ideals and values that are the foundation of this country and I am privileged to have known you.

Thank you from this grateful daughter, mother and citizen.

Alexander the Great

Before I announce the winner of the Small Gestures Contest, I would like to say that I really enjoyed reading the stories submitted by our participants. It was difficult to pick a winner, which is why I will be sharing some of their stories with you in future “Small Gestures” posts. But, I did have to make a choice and the winner of five (e3) assessments is Cynthia S.

Here is her entry:

“When I was just starting to work (over 30 years ago), my best skill was typing.  I went for an interview with a Harvard law consulting firm.  When I finished the typing test, the door was opened by the boss himself.  He said “I can always tell the sound of a good typist.  I will give you $100 to start tomorrow.”  It blew me away. He didn’t even look at the test.  I was so impressed, I quit my then temp job that day to start the new job he offered.  It wasn’t just the money, I felt I’d be really appreciated in this new job and that it would be full of unconventional approaches (it was).  It did wind up one of the best jobs I ever had, though the temp agency would never call me again when I needed them in the future.  I had made friends there and they were calling asking where I was and wondering what happened. I felt badly for leaving like that, but was too impressed by this ‘gesture.’  Also $100 went a lot further then than today.”

–Cynthia S.

Honorable mentions go to Ilda DeBord, Ms. Cheevious, and Debra Neri for their entries.

Congratulations, Cynthia S.!—We will contact you soon to give you the details!

Starting your own business can be rewarding, but it will take an enormous amount of research, resources and sacrifice. You may have a great idea, but does it make dollars and sense?

You start with the research on your potential business: costs, competitive landscape, barriers to entry, potential sales, availability of resources, and logistics just to name a few. And then there is the capital needed to get started and to sustain the business until it can support itself…

Here is where you jump into the shark tank. I have been there more than a few times myself. There is a technique to the pitch and to providing the right data to your potential investor. It is very important that you, the business creator, understand all of the intimate details of the operations of your future business. But, when presenting your idea to prospective sources of capital, you will need to suppress the desire to overwhelm an investor with too many details of your plan and the business climate around it.

More is not always better. Papering a potential investor with a plethora of charts, graphs, colors and fancy data can serve to confuse them and lead them away from the critical information they are looking for to make a decision. It should go into your presentation only if it ties directly to the critical highlights you need to make your point for capital. You can keep your back-up data at hand for further questioning later.

You should be able to describe your business and why it will be successful in less than three minutes during your initial pitch.

Key talking and presentation points should focus on the following:

1. A thorough, detailed pro forma. A pro forma is the complete financial plan for the business done in an accounting format on a spreadsheet. It needs to cover in detail your expected costs and projected income and do it in a way that is concise and easily scanned by the eye.
2. Your analysis should also include a sources and uses statement. Your sources could include bank loans, personal investments and any angel investments.
3. Your personal financial commitment to the enterprise. If it is an invention or other material aspect that is going into the business show the value that you will be bringing to the table. What makes you indispensible?
4. Your plan data should be broken out by month and go out at least two years. Know what is in your plan. You should be able to quote the numbers without looking at your written data, demonstrating an intimate knowledge of your subject. An investor wants to know that you understand the business and a quick concise presentation will tell them that you do.
5. Assuming your idea is sound, financial numbers are a primary interest for an investor, so providing detail and having well grounded numbers are important in obtaining financing.
6. The final point of interest is to have an exit strategy. The investor wants to know how and when he/she will get their money back and the upside to investing—what his/her ownership piece is to be and the expected return on their investment. This may necessitate the sale of the company into bigger hands or seeking refinancing through banking sources after you have demonstrated a proven track record of success.

Alexander the Great

internal customers. In a prior post, I wrote about the small gestures that leaders do to positively impact their internal customers or employees. Such an example as, a boss letting one employee leave work early to get another employee’s car home, so that the second employee can ride to the hospital with his spouse for an emergency situation.

I enjoy hearing about how leaders take care of internal customer service and so, I am looking for your small gestures. Do you have a great story of something that you have done or that someone has done for you that built trust, loyalty, or respect in your workplace? Share it with us for the opportunity to win a total of 5 (e3) assessments for you and your team.

You have two ways to participate. Either leave your story in the comments section of this post or if you have a blog, create an entry and provide a link to it on the contest post, by noon on November 4^th and I will announce the winner and any honorable mentions on the 5^th of November. Furthermore, the honorable mentions will be highlighted in later “Small Gestures” posts.

This is the loaded question. One that begs more questions to be answered, such as have you been in business before? If not, have you sought any counsel? From a Small Business Development Center or a SCORE counselor?

What about your family, will they be supportive? Do you have the core attributes to be in business for yourself? Are you a leader? What are you prepared to sacrifice to get a business started—time, money?

Being an entrepreneur can be rewarding, but it will take an enormous amount of research, resources and sacrifice. Before you do your research and try to raise capital, you need to know if you have the desire, essential attributes, paired with an idea worth sacrificing for. There are three areas that I think are key to appreciating what you may experience when going out on your own:

Stress and Pressures

People see the benefits of being an entrepreneur, but how many really understand the tough parts? How do you handle stress? Imagine what it would be like if you take a second mortgage on your house or a loan from family or friends and your business takes three years to turn a profit.

How about the pressures of making payroll every week, or trying to get the bills paid when you’re strapped for cash, while riding the ups and downs of your sales cycles. You have to ask yourself if you have the faith to believe in your process when others doubt that you can do it.

Work/life balance will be critical to maintain a healthy state of mind when owning your own business. Take the time to develop an outlet for minimizing stress.

Isolation and loneliness

It is lonely at the top. Ultimately you will be responsible for the decisions that make a success or failure of your business. Even surrounded by employees and partners, you may feel isolated. Do you have the confidence to stand alone, to be accountable?

To minimize feelings of isolation, involve your local SBDC, SCORE chapter, or if you choose an Angel Investor make sure that they have experience in your field. Establish an advisory board or a mentor relationship as your “go to” network. Choose individuals that have no emotional attachment to your business and so therefore can be objective advisors.

Perseverance or Tenacity

One of the most important qualities that I learned while being in business was perseverance or tenacity. You don’t have the luxury to give up on a bad day, quarter or even year. Can you talk yourself into getting up, and moving forward even when faced with what appears to be insurmountable challenges?

Seek to build a strong spiritual support system, whether it is a pastor, counselor or other person of support.

Whether you plan to make time to take a yoga class, have lunch with your advisor or seek the solace of your pastor—don’t forget to gain the support of your family first. They will be the strongest network you have and you must have their buy-in order to be successful. Just a few considerations before making the leap…