September 2008 On Sale Now!
Check out our newest issue landing on the stands!
Silver Dollars
Michael Newman saw a hole in the complex web of senior care services. He filled that void and in doing so created a business model that has no match in the industry for both the services it provides seniors and their families and the opportunity it offers prospective investors. Newman is the founder and president [...]
Star Power
Susan landed her dream job in sales. It had everything—pay, perks, reputation and challenge. She started the job with lots of energy, enthusiasm and high expectations. However, within six months she was running out of steam; in twelve months, she crashed. Susan left the company disappointed and disillusioned. What happened? Employee retention has moved onto [...]
Fiscal Fitness
Twenty-six-year-old Ash Robinson, president and CEO of JW Tumbles, seems as though she was destined to lead the franchisor of children’s fitness and learning centers. Her grandfather, a successful antiques dealer, and his three sons – including Robinson’s father, Mark – have become self-made millionaires in the facilities management, restaurant and real estate development industries, [...]
Fun & Fore Profit
Patrick Vitagliano, Christina’s husband of six years, ran his own highly successful sound and lighting production company that counted major Broadway productions and large concert tours among its clients. He was used to his wife’s whims changing on a dime. After all, she had formerly been director of marketing for a multi-level entertainment complex filled [...]
Ground Floor Opportunity
The first Tile Outlet Always in Stock® opened in Sacramento, Calif., in Nov-ember 2001. Within three months, customers were arriving in droves to buy first-quality ceramic and porcelain tile and stone products at wholesale prices. Founder Doug Disney had spent 10 years working for two major tile distributors before setting off on his own with [...]
Take the Plunge
Starting and growing a small business and maintaining its vibrancy are not easy things to do. Entrepreneurs must be willing to take risks others won’t, working around the clock if necessary, often acting not only as CEO, but as head of sales, accountant, and whatever else it takes to get the job done. But it [...]
Avoiding Pitfalls
Everybody makes mistakes and entrepreneurs are no exception. But for an entrepreneur with a limited budget, committing mistakes too often can be very costly. Here are 7 costly small business marketing mistakes every entrepreneur must avoid: 1. Failing To Realize Marketing Is About Value Creation To create a sustainable small business, you have to market [...]
Slice of Success
Slow and steady wins the race…just ask Steve Jackson, president of Hungry Howie’s Pizza, one of the nation’s largest franchised pizza chains and “The Home of the Original Flavored Crust Pizza.” Jackson is refreshingly modest when talking about the pizza chain that began in a converted 1,000-square-foot former hamburger shop outside Detroit in 1973 and [...]
Revel in Riches
Proforma, a leading provider of print and promotional products, achieves a record-breaking $30 million in systemwide sales. This represents a 10% increase over the previous record, achieved in December of 2006. These record-breaking sales come as Proforma prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2008. “We are proud to announce this milestone in the growth [...]
Home: Where the Money Is
In the late 1980s and early ‘90s, Mark Armstrong was a CPA working in the small-business division of one of the country’s “Big Five” accounting firms. Working with small-business owners every day, he soon recognized a common thread among them. “I saw that they weren’t any smarter than I was, but they all shared the [...]
Start Your Own Business Spring 2008 On Sale Now!
Check out our newest issue landing on the stands this Spring!
Dreamy Fortune
One morning last fall, Michael Lezberg was handed a message marked urgent. It said, “The ship is sailing. Call immediately.” Returning the call, Lezberg, owner of a pillow factory, discovered that the ship was a major luxury cruise liner and it really was sailing the next day. “But they needed 3,000 sleep pillows, or they [...]
Driving Passion
As much as Joe Assell loved golf, he was ready to walk away from it in order to focus on starting his own business. But almost as fast as you can say, well, fore, instead of leaving the sport behind, he simply found a way to do both. “I was looking to get out of [...]
