Catherine L. Hughes : Age: 64 Occupation: Founder and chairperson, Radio One
Advice to young entrepreneurs: "Sometimes the ones who love you the most will give you the worst business advice." By conventional standards, Hughes wasn't destined to build a successful multimillion-dollar media company. She was a teen mom by 16 and a high-school dropout. However, she later completed high school, followed by brief stints at area universities in her hometown of Omaha, Neb.
Those early years were rough. Hughes, who was divorced by then, slept with her son on the floor of her radio station because she couldn't afford to live anywhere else. "My mother tried her best to talk me out of the radio business because of that," Hughes recalls. It's for this reason that she advises young entrepreneurs to be wary about who they divulge their challenges to -- even family. "If I had listened [to my mother], I would be a government employee right now and there would be no Radio One."
Bert Jacobs Age: 46 Occupation: Co-Founder and CEO, Life is good
Advice to young entrepreneurs: "Try to shoot for a timeless business."
You've probably seen the beret-wearing, smiling face of "Jake," the Life is good logo, on the company's tee shirts and products. Co-founders Bert Jacobs and his brother, John Jacobs, 43, started peddling their tee shirts on the streets of Boston -- going door-to-door at college dorms and sleeping in their van to save money -- in 1989. It would take nearly six years, however, before their shirts finally caught on with consumers, thanks to "Jake."
"In the beginning, we made every business mistake in the book," says Bert. The brothers didn't have a business plan or growth strategy -- a formula for disaster, if you go by what's taught in business school.
Ali Brown Age: 40 Occupation: Entrepreneur, business consultant and publisher, AliBrown.com
Advice to young entrepreneurs: "It's important you seek out other business owners for information, advice, support and resources." Fed up with her dead-end job at a New York City ad agency, Brown decided to quit in 1998. Armed with her brother's hand-me-down computer, she launched her first marketing agency, AKB Communications, from her kitchen table.
While having her own business was exciting, the uncertainty of self-employment had its challenges. Brown remembers all too well maxing out credit cards and draining her bank account to stay afloat in the early days. One night in particular, she tried to withdraw $20 from an ATM but was denied because her balance was only $18.56. When it comes down to deciding if entrepreneurship is the right move for you, Brown says, "Entrepreneurship is for those who are willing to take the leap of faith.
Jill Blashack Strahan Age: 52 Occupation: Founder and CEO, Tastefully Simple
Advice to young entrepreneurs: "Having goals is absolutely critical."
For Strahan, starting her multimillion-dollar company, Tastefully Simple, a direct sales retailer of specialty food products, began with "a dream and a shoestring." She grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota and later started selling gourmet food baskets, which inspired her business.
In the beginning, the entrepreneur fed her fledgling company with $6,000 of her own savings and some loans from a friend and the Small Business Administration. Strahan's first headquarters was a 1,200-square-foot space with a concrete floor and no running water. Early orders were packed on a pool table. Today, the Tastefully Simple offices take up nearly 200,000 square feet on a 79-acre lot.
So, basically, any one of us in this, my fourthworld, is on the right track for a million.
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