Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Patrick Meehan, Co-Founder & Business Strategist of TEC Resource Center, located in Massapequa, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We help business owners achieve the work-life balance they dreamt of when they started their businesses by providing the Coaching, Training, and Resources they need to achieve the full potential of the organization. Our customers are Proactive Business Owners who want to invest in themselves and their businesses to build valuable assets for their families or to be ready for sale as they transition into retirement.
Tell us about yourself
I learned early on that business mentors, and I had a great one, enable people to achieve a future they would not have even imagined was possible on their own. My mentor enabled me to take the company of great people on an incredible journey that I will never forget. After selling this business, I was determined to pay it forward by helping others to achieve their version of the American Dream.
My wife Abbe was my HR director at my prior company (MMS), and she created a management development curriculum that allowed us to take good people and develop them into great leaders. It was through the development of that team that we were able to grow to a recognized leader in the field. Abbe left the company to open TEC a few years before the eventual sale. After selling MMS, I joined Abbe on a mission to teach business owners how to avoid the mistakes we made on our journey and how to build leaders of their own that, in turn, make their companies great! We offer small to midsize companies the ability to access resources they need to move their organizations to the next level without the burden of expensive full-time payroll.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Building organizations made up of talented people and watching those people grow beyond their self-imposed limits is the greatest accomplishment anyone could ever hope for. This is always at the top of my list when I think about those big things that have come out of my journey. I would have to say this is my biggest accomplishment.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Growing a business and not having it consume your entire life is real work. Most business owners start a business because they are looking for a different and better lifestyle than they have right now. In the vast majority of cases, the business takes over, and the owner loses track of the end goal. The occurrence of divorce and failed family life for entrepreneurs is extremely high even when the business itself is successful.
Why this happens because while a business plan is often the foundation of a successful venture, a personal plan is never created, without a well-thought-out picture of what your life will look like when the business makes it, you are destined for personal stress and potential failure. I often tell clients that there are multiple parties involved in a successful business, and the business itself is one of them. It takes on a life of its own life and requires feeding and nurturing. If you allow it to take control of you rather than the other way around, things can get ugly. In the end, delivering a good product or service to a well-defined customer is a sequence of steps that, if followed correctly, will deliver success and profit to the owner. However, navigating the journey to the life you want is where the hard work comes in.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Understand what you are looking for from this business.
- Differentiate yourself from others in the field, and you will never have competition.
- Sell value, not price. If you complete on price, your business will have a very short life span.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://tecresourcecenter.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084736628791
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patmeehan1/
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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