THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505190242
SECTION: CHESAPEKE CLIPPER PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Random Rambles
SOURCE: Tony Stein
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Every year, thousands of men and women in Hampton Roads leave the armed forces and return to civilian life. They bring with them skills and energy and dedication that continually re-energizes the life stream of the community.
Many of them bring dreams, too; dreams of success in their own businesses. They want to use their skills, energy and dedication to meet, to overcome the challenges of the marketplace. The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and Navy Family Services are partners in a program to help them.
The program, a free seminar called ``Owning Your Own Business,'' is a success story in itself. As of this writing, more than 1,000 people have attended the seminars, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. That's a good omen for them and for the future of Hampton Roads because the program is an off-shoot of Plan 2007, the Chamber-sponsored regional development project. If skilled people stay here and create viable businesses both they and the community benefit.
There's no charge for the two-hour sessions, which have been held on every military base in the area. What they offer is straight-from-the-shoulder advice from a guy who's been out there in the small business world himself. He's Bill Holloran, vice president for small business of the Hampton Roads Chamber.
In a fast-paced, fact-filled presentation, Holloran tells it like it is. There's no pot-of-gold hard sell, like one of those high-pressure TV marketeers. They get an introduction to the real world of small business from a man with 10 years experience in the field.
The class began in 1990 when Dorothy Hundley, program specialist at the Navy Family Services Center in Norfolk, saw a need.
``Every year,'' she says, ``anywhere from 10,000 to 14,000 or 15,000 men and women leave the service in this area. Some want to stay here. Some want to go elsewhere, but many want to start their own business.''
And the hard economic fact is that new small businesses fail in their first couple of years at a rate that historically ranges between 65 and 80 percent. Clearly, those are dangerous waters. The fledgling business owner needs a skilled pilot to chart the course.
So Ms. Hundley got together with Holloran and the ``Owning Your Own Business'' seminar evolved. It's real-world stuff. Like how to determine if your business is commercially viable. Understanding your potential market. The need for careful planning and good record-keeping. Plus the need to be sure that the person has truly developed the talent or skill he or she is trying to sell.
As noted, though, Holloran isn't touting owning your business as the only way to go.
``It's not a rah-rah thing,'' he says. ``Too many courses say that a small business is the way to riches. Too many people jump without doing the necessary planning. The biggest single mistake they make is not having a sales or marketing program.''
Besides pointing out the pitfalls, Holloran suggests the alternatives - a full-time job, a part-time job or full retirement. One of his basic themes is the need for thorough exploration of all the options available.
There is a not-uncommon notion that ex-military people have a hard time adjusting to the business world because they have dealt so long in an atmosphere of vast resources and do-it-NOW order-giving. Holloran calls the notion a myth. The average person coming off a military career will have managerial, supervisory or technical skills, he says.
``Even generals,'' he adds with a grin, ``have had to take orders and have had to deal with a lot of different people on their way up through the ranks.''
In the seminars, Holloran gives his listeners the drill for two hours, then answers questions for half an hour. There is plenty of take-home material, too, including stacks of pamphlets from the federal Small Business Administration. Sample titles: ``Feasibility Checklist for Starting a Small Business,'' ``The Business Plan for Home-based Business,'' ``How To Buy or Sell a Business'' and ``Evaluating Franchise Opportunities.''
The introduction to the franchise pamphlet is an illustration of the kind of careful approach Holloran urges. ``One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to be in a hurry to get into business,'' it says. ``Don't be pressured into a franchise that is not right for you.''
Contacts for more information about the seminars are Dorothy Hundley or Janet Paulovich at 444-2102 (the Norfolk Naval Base), Diane Houston at 464-7563/8101 (Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base) and Linda Foshee at 764-3990 (Langley Air Force Base).
Meanwhile, instructor Holloran says he's thinking of a plan to take another dive into the small business pond himself. He says he's got a good idea, but his information flow stops there. Ask what his good idea is and he flashes another grin. ``I,'' he says politely but firmly, ``just won't tell you.'' by CNB