The entrepreneur under discussion is JoAnn Puryear, president of Better Cable Systems, which is located in North Carolina. According to the website of the company, the firm specializes in telecommunication and construction. I interviewed JoAnn but some of the responses were from her husband, Kevin Puryear because he is the vice president of the company. The interview forms the background of the paper after which I will note what I have learnt about entrepreneurship from JoAnn.
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Image 1 1 . JoAnn (left) at the company offices. Source: http://bettercablesystems.com
ackground and Profile
As already mentioned, the company is known as Better Cable Systems, and was established in 1987. According to JoAnn, the company was started by her husband, Kevin. Kevin’s grandfather worked in the telecommunications industry, an aspect that led to his exposure to the industry when he was a youth. Consequently, he developed an interest in the industry, which ultimately grew into a passion. JoAnn attended Watts School of Nursing while Kevin attended NC State but quit after just one semester and started working as a lineman. JoAnn was an at-home nurse when she got married to Kevin but after some time, Kevin needed her assistance to run the company. In her reminiscence, JoAnn remembers that the company started with only two employees and she was solely in charge of invoicing and book-keeping.
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From the interview, JoAnn states that Better Cable Systems was the first company she was helping run, meaning that she had no prior experience. The challenge she faced at the beginning was transitioning from being an employee to an employer. According to her, as an employer, one needs to put a lot of energy into the company because the failure or success of the company depends on the owner. She would not let the company fail. She therefore had to establish goals and maintain focus on them. Maintaining focus and achieving goals in her opinion means carrying out tasks every day with the best team.
JoAnn draws her inspiration from Kevin’s grandfather. He had worked tirelessly in the telecommunication sector and had gained immense skills and experience. In regard to the business structure of the company, JoAnn defines it as an S-Corp and adds that they decided to choose that ownership structure after being advised by their CPA and attorney. Better Cable Systems initially had only four employees (including JoAnn and Kevin) but at the time of the interview, it reportedly had expanded to 100 in-house employees.
Concerning the mode of marketing, Better Cable Systems uses bid opportunities as well as trademark and branding. JoAnn points out that their marketing team pays attention to details and responds in time. These two factors have prompted new managers who transfer to new areas to invite the company along. Evidently, the company has a vibrant marketing strategy as well as a good public relations team. One of the aspects that the company strives to be at par with is technology. Since it is mainly a telecommunications company, it has to constantly update its technology. For example, it has to develop new materials, and embrace new processes and procedures.
When asked about the possibility of starting another business, JoAnn responds that they will only start another business if they sold their current company. Most importantly, JoAnn is optimistic to expand the business by venturing into new territories such as Georgia and South Carolina. She even gives a target of 60 days in which the company needs to have established itself in the new territories. When asked about the advice she would give anyone who aspires to be an entrepreneur, JoAnn says that people need to understand that any business is a journey. She also adds that one would require to have some knowledge in human resources, basic bookkeeping and communication. Lastly, she advises that aspiring entrepreneurs need to surround themselves with a team of people who have general knowledge, confidence, willingness to learn, and team player mentality.
Lessons
The first insight I drew from the interview is that one needs to develop an interest and passion for something. This passion implies that one becomes contented with what he or she is doing. Kevin is exposed to the telecommunications industry at an early age and he is passionate about it. However, an entrepreneur has to convert the passion into a profitable venture. Kevin does not even finish school because he has the urge to start a business. The most prominent lesson here is that an entrepreneur does not procrastinate, rather, when that ‘aha!’ moment strikes, he or she starts to work. Both Kevin and JoAnn are great entrepreneurs. Kevin realizes that JoAnn is a better manager and makes her the president of the company and is satisfied with the vice president role. This is another vital lesson that an entrepreneur needs to recognize his or her strengths and pave way for people who have better ability to implement the objectives. JoAnn is initially employed but when she is requested to help her husband run the company she obliges and takes up the challenge. She demonstrates that entrepreneurs are not afraid to take up new challenges. She has no prior experience of running a company but she is optimistic that she is she up to the task. She will definitely learn from the job experiences, make mistakes and correct them. She definitely had not learnt about invoicing and bookkeeping but she did the work in her own way. To begin with, she developed goals she wanted to achieve and focused on them. Even if she did not have any experience in running a company, she would let the goals guide her. This is another crucial lesson that an entrepreneur should come up with goals or a roadmap which needs to guide him or her to an even bigger objective.
Perhaps the greatest lesson from JoAnn is that entrepreneurship is a journey. That means that people should not expect instant success, rather, it is a process. Attaining success involves being committed to daily tasks, which count towards the overall goal. Evidently, entrepreneurship is a journey that involves persistence and endurance. Even when things do not seem to work out, one needs to look at the goals and focus. On the same note, an entrepreneur needs to be flexible especially in the contemporary world where technology is changing. The marketing department, in particular, needs to analyze such changes to improve on customer satisfaction. For example, the internet now presents lots of opportunities for entrepreneurs to market their products or services. Marketers need to analyze what customers want, pay attention to details, and provide timely responses.
Lastly, entrepreneurs need to surround themselves with a team that has the necessary skills and knowledge required to accomplish the set objectives. That means the members of the team need to be hired only on merit because the success of the company will rely on their input. Besides, an entrepreneur should not hire many employees at once, rather, the recruitment ought to be done depending on the growth of the company. That will ensure that entrepreneurs hire only those people they need. Most prominently, entrepreneurs also need to acquire basic bookkeeping knowledge, human resource skills and communication strategies. Such skills enable entrepreneurs to understand their businesses as well as employers. It is prudent for an entrepreneur to understand exactly what is happening in his or her business.
References
Better Cable Systems. (2018). Public Utilities, Telecom Solutions - Better Cable Systems . Better Cable Systems . Retrieved 22 October 2018, from http://bettercablesystems.com/
