Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 11, 1991 TAG: 9104120748
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GENNY ELIAS/ STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And although Saunders and White Accountants has been successful for 11 years now, White says that its success has been due more to a philosophy.
"For my partner and myself, bad times are being a black man in this type of field. We're always facing bad times," said White, the managing partner of the business. "So being in a recession and having to watch and be careful is nothing new to us. That's a fact of life for most black businesses.
"It's almost always bad times, so I'm prepared."
Of the firm's clients in Roanoke, about 60 percent are black, whereas in Richmond, the firm's clients are predominantly black, he said. Both offices are in predominantly black sections of the cities.
White's firm opened its Richmond office five years ago. Another office is planned for the Norfolk area soon.
From the beginning, the two accountants watched their money carefully, White said.
They began the business in 1980 with what he called "very little capital and a lot of sweat equity."
Amazingly, though, they began turning a profit almost immediately because they used no long-term financing to start the business.
"We began turning a profit almost immediately because we kept costs below income from the very beginning," White explained. "We didn't go out and buy any piece of equipment we didn't need. We built [the business] as we went. It was a lot of sacrifice.
"One thing you have to know is you have to live within your means. You have to do what you can afford to do and not worry about what you can't do," he added.
The philosophy seems simple yet is a real problem for many small businesses, said White. One of his firm's goals, he said, is to concentrate on providing services to small and medium-sized businesses.
White said he sees many small businesses fail. And he predicted that many more will fail before the recession lifts.
"People who have not prepared themselves and overextended themselves are having a tough time," he said. "A lot of them are not going to make it."
Although White predicted the recession will ease in the third or fourth quarter of the year, he said that easing will not be felt among many small businesses and especially minority businesses for another 12 to 18 months.
The reason, he said, is that small, minority businesses depend heavily on public funding to make ends meet. And budgets for governments will not have growth in them for another year.
For White, having his business succeed fulfilled one of his dreams. Yet he cautioned other prospective small-business owners to tread carefully when considering going into business for themselves.
Owning a small business is a lot of hard work, and, he said, it's not for everyone.
There are certain personality traits that go along with being a successful small-business owner, White said.
Some of these traits include:
A take-charge personality. "I like to be able to get things done when they need to be done," he said.
Being stimulated by challenges. "In a small business, I think daily you're going to face challenges." Each day is a new challenge with unique problems.
Being self-motivated. "You have to be able to get yourself up [daily]."
Having an interest in developing people. "You must be concerned about developing people. The greatest resource any small business has is the people you develop to carry out the work."
White also attributed his success to having a family that understands his need to concentrate on building his business.
Reflecting on his success, White said, "I never thought that I would have the opportunity to open a practice in Roanoke. But things have been pretty good."
White added that racism hasn't figured into his business very much.
"I can't blame racism for any lack of opportunity," he said. "I'm 43, 44 years old and it was here when I was born, and it will be here when I'm dead. But I've always found a way to overcome it and achieve my goals."
by CNB