Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Doug Merritt, Founder and CEO of Headset Advisor, located in Rancho Cordova, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Headset Advisor is a value-added reseller of technology products for business professionals. We provide communication headsets as well as audio and video conferencing equipment to customers that range in size from the at-home worker to the small, medium, and enterprise-size companies across all major industries.
We provide a higher level of service which means our customers receive more than just a box delivered to their door. We consult with them so that we thoroughly understand their needs, and then we expertly match their needs to the right product. We assist with order placement, and finally, we follow up after the delivery to help with setup.
Tell us about yourself
I worked for Pitney Bowes as an outside salesperson and sales manager for sixteen years. I came to a point in my career where I wanted something different. My choices, it seemed, were to leave the company and go to work for a different one. But that left me feeling like it was like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. So after some soul-searching and a lot of flip-flopping, I decided to start a business. Looking back, that was a bold decision based on having a young family, but one I'd not regret.
What motivated me in the early days differs from what motivates me today. When I started the business, I had a mortgage, three children, and a stay-at-home wife who, thankfully, also helped out in our small home office while I was out making face-to-face cold calls. So my motivation then had more to do with simply making enough money to cover our living expenses.
Today, things are much different. The business will soon celebrate its 30th birthday, and all three of those young children I mentioned are in leadership roles bringing with them fresh ideas and creativity and driving the business in a different direction. So, the motivation today really centers around the continuous challenge of finding ways to grow the business and make it more successful. And when you see those plans unfold and succeed, it's extremely gratifying and motivating.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Perhaps my biggest accomplishment really centers around the fact that I survived those early years. It's no secret that the failure rate of a new business runs high. So, I feel proud of the fact that I beat the odds and managed to figure out how to keep the doors open and not become just another failed business.
I also feel extremely proud to see how committed and capable my three boys are in helping to grow our family business. There's no shortage of stories about businesses being taken over by a founder's children only to see the business suffer or worse. My situation is the opposite of that. My boys have been an amazing asset that, together, have set Headset Advisor on a new path and grown the business 10x.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
To me, the hardest thing about being a business owner is having to learn how to do so many different things when past experiences may have involved doing very few of them. Many business owners, especially the solopreneur, find themselves faced with the need to be a salesperson, marketer, bookkeeper, HR person, and of course, prudent money manager. Collectively, this can be very challenging. And when you factor in the ways in which you'll engage with government, insurance requirements, pandemics, and economic recessions, things can become even more challenging.
So, learning how to navigate these things is perhaps one of the more challenging aspects of running a business. And the truth is, business is very unforgiving, which means it's important to pay close attention to these things. Otherwise, you may find your business being added to that ever-expanding list of failed startups.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Plan on investing a lot of time. Being an entrepreneur, especially in the early days, isn't like working a regular job because it's more like working two. It requires more time than what most people plan for. Plan on working extremely hard and with a sense of urgency to onboard customers rapidly, but not beyond your ability to service them properly.
Don't get carried away in the beginning with taking out loans and feeling the need to set everything up, first class. Work to keep your startup costs low. I have a very successful, multi-million dollar business that was started out of my bedroom. Later, graduating from my garage, and later still, to a very small, inexpensive office after I hired my first employee. I chose to grow slowly and do my best to keep my expenses low. Others may choose a different approach, but for me, the thought of failure terrified me, so I adopted a mentality of failure not being an option.
Of course, there were times I wanted better furnishings, a nicer office, or to hire, but I never borrowed money and never really gave in to the urge to spend freely. I was pretty frugal because I felt that keeping my costs down and my sales up would help me to avoid failing. I'm sure that mindset helped me to keep the doors open. Later, as the finances improved, we were able to more easily afford the things we needed without the same degree of scrutiny.
The other thing that simply can't be ignored is the cold hard fact that to succeed in business, you need customers. And it doesn't matter what kind of business you might choose to start. Customers, and that revenue, is what fuels any business. So if you have skills in sales and marketing, brush up because the truth is, you're going to need both. It's a jungle out there, and only the strong survive.
Business can be a very humbling experience. Believe me, I know. You're going to need a plan on how you will acquire new customers, how you will keep them, and how you will get them to come back to buy again and again. Be cautious about outsourcing though, because, as I've learned, there are a lot of companies that will make lofty claims about the results they can deliver, but many fail to live up to those claims. This can consume your cash and consume your time, both of which are in limited supply. But if you do outsource, I'd advise doing your due diligence, hiring slowly, and if they're not living up to their promises, cutting ties quickly.
The bottom line is, starting and running a business is one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences. You create something from nothing, pour in your heart and soul, and take pride and joy in watching it grow and succeed. In a way, it's like having and then raising kids with the challenges, disappointments, and in the end, the feeling of a job well done.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://headsetadvisor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/headsetadvisor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headsetadvisor_/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/headsetadvisor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/headsetadvisor/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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