(This is the second installment of my series on how people start their own companies. Today I address the basic issue of deciding what the company does. In working with someone who wants to start their own company, it is important to determine precisely what it is that the company is supposed to do).
There are as many paths to entrepreneurship as there are entrepreneurs. Every one has a story behind them of how, and why, they got started. The most common is that the founder was unable to get a job.
When looking to establish a company that will provide an income, the first question I ask someone is, what do they like to do? This is actually a very hard question for most people to answer. Most of my clients have come to me with a vague feeling of enjoying their dogs, going fly-fishing, cooking, hosting parties or watching football. Some people really enjoyed their last job working as a computer systems manager, or mail room assistant, or being an executive secretary. But it’s a rarity. To quote a friend of mine, “there’s a reason it’s called work.”
The problem with the fun stuff is that most people cannot see how to turn any of those activities into an income producing company. This is when a business attorney with an outside perspective comes in. An experienced business development attorney sees that someone who loves their dogs can build a dog walking business, dog-sitting business or doggie day-care company out of almost nothing.
A man who likes to go fly-fishing can create a company that specializes in trips to Idaho to teach people how to stand in a river and flick flies. Martha Stewart took a flair for cooking and home crafting, and built a multi-million dollar industry around herself. A football fan could become a publisher by putting together playbooks for sale.
Then there is the downsized employee who really likes their work. But it’s not easy being an executive secretary if you do not have an executive to work for. However, that skill set can be turned into a personal concierge for hire. The cry of all working mothers and fathers these days is they don’t have the time to get everything done. Someone who has the skills necessary to run a busy executive’s business life can transfer those to coordinating the various parts of someone else’s life.
For example, I’m planning a trip in March to take a nephew skiing. This is something that used to be taken care of by my travel agent, but he has retired and I want someone I can trust to do the research on flights, coordinate the travel details and take it off my plate. A good executive secretary will be able to handle this and I will gladly pay to have it done. There are many self-employed people in Southern California who do not need a full-time executive secretary, but would like to be able to call on some help every now and then.
The computer systems manager is a more difficult transfer to being an entrepreneur because that job requires that there be large computers and systems with a need for a manager. But the person who is a manager of systems can easily become an outside consultant for smaller companies that are growing, and have a need, but not a full-time need.
The mail room assistant who really enjoys his job probably has a good memory for faces and names. They are generally sociable and serve a great need in a large enterprise. Taking those skills and making them into a new business is challenging because only large enterprises need a mailroom. But there are many needs in this world. The UPS store, which used to be Mail Boxes Etc, exists because small companies that need to send and receive packages and mail were frustrated with the service available at UPS.
The challenge is to take what you love to do — and it does not have to be an all consuming passion — but take that and build a business model around it. I love to work with the new entrepreneurs because they have such enthusiasm. Sometimes all they need is just a little push to get them to see over the next hill and what lies ahead. A great deal can be accomplished with someone who sees the possibilities and has a road map. (David Pisarra is a partner in the Santa Monica law firm of Pisarra & Grist, he welcomes questions, and (310) 664-9969 or e-mailed at DPISAR-).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 10, 2004. Read the original PDF.