Key Idea: Learn from Your ChildhoodBill Tobin says he knew early in life that he wanted to work for himself. Like most of us, he got his first business loan from his Mom. |
Key Question:A:
Only if you are driven to make something happen. What if you love cooking and open a restaurant that serves your favorite recipes. If you are able to make one location profitable and create a nice lifestyle for your family you might be completely satisfied. However, if you imagine multiple locations and you see yourself as a major restaurant tycoon you have an entirely new goal. Bill Tobin is saying, it might be a bad idea to try to add locations. If you pour money into buying equipment and leasing space and don't see returns, you should give up or change the strategy. Think about itWhy would you want to start a business? Do you tend to be the person who gets to work early and leaves late? Do you enjoy solving hard problems? Do you love people? Are you healthy? What did you do with your free time when you were still living at home with your parents? Clip from: PC Flowers & GiftsStamford, Connecticut: Bill Tobin has always risen to a challenge. He's always been an entrepreneur. When FTD Florist told him to go away, he began looking to find a way to take over. He said, "I had to do it. I had to do it. Everybody said it couldn't be done. Everybody said, `It won't work.' " PC Flowers & GiftsBill Tobin, Founder
134 Davenport Circle Visit our web site: http://www.figis.com/
Business Classification: Year Founded: 1989 Learn from Your ChildhoodBILL: I started my first company when I was 11. I actually borrowed my mother's credit card and she bought me a lawn mower at Sears and a hand edger, and from 11 through 16, I did it manually, and then at 16 I got a car. And by the time I graduated college, I had 50 guys and I had 12 trucks and I owned one of the largest landscaping companies in Long Island. And so I then used that experience, went in the Army and came back three years later and decided that there was just no way I wanted to work for anybody because, unfortunately, I was being offered salaries that were about a quarter of what I was making as a landscape entrepreneur in college. Not a member yet? Learn! Be empowered! Join us! |
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