Minding Your Own Small Business
Minding Your Own Small Business Save Email Print
Advice and tips shared at conference
Posted: 6:15 PM Aug 20, 2008
Last Updated: 7:17 PM Aug 20, 2008
Email Address: sixonline@wowt.com

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Ever thought about starting your own business? Those who have joined with the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday in sharing their advice.

Juggling all the tasks of a small business isn't easy for anyone. "It's definitely more challenging than I thought it would be,” said Mike Jones. “As an owner you wear a lot of different hats during the day, you don't just focus on one thing."

"I think you struggle more to balance your family life and your work life when you work for yourself," says Becky Kane.

The Chamber of Commerce held the conference to teach owners, employees and those who only have a dream the key to running a successful business.

“There's all these moving parts and in many cases if you're a one or two-person shop, you are the CEO, you're the head of marketing and you're the person that un-jams the copier when it gets stuck, too," said keynote speaker John Jantsch.

Denise Magill knows the struggles. She started her own business Comfort Keepers, an in-home care center, six years ago and says the seminar provided helpful tips.

"Through a lot of pain and anguish we're now doing a lot of those steps, what's your purpose, what's your vision, what's your ideal client? I wish I would've gotten more of that years ago."

By starting her own business, Denise not only has to worry about supporting herself, she also has over 100 employees that work for her.

“Now we're to a point where we have a full office staff where we're all after the same passion, all after the same mission and we're all supporting each other in that team."

Financially, starting out can be difficult as well. "You know we went out to 12 different banks to get an SBA loan,” said Denise. “That SBA loan paid off in a year-and-a-half and we were able to keep growing and now we own the building that we're in."

The real payoff comes from other rewards. "Living your dream, living your passion and seeing it being done in other people," said Denise.

The keynote speaker from the conference focused on marketing a small business. He said many owners may not know how to do that, but it's one of the most important aspects to consider when starting out.

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