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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1998)
CWMb B ; .. . • . • • • . O c to b e r 7,1 99 8 • C 8 (The sportiani) (Dbacrurr’» íD O R íty f e ß ja s in e s s F fö’j A c k n o w le d g e s M in o r ity B u sin e ss W e e k «A •i A « U T E C T NO RTH .. I '1 ;i I A| . A ccutech N orthw est is a com puter netw orking and sales com pany that services the govern m ent and large corporations. It is based in SW Portland. H on’ did yo u r business g et started? ■ Steve M auzey actually started I it in 1987 and I joined him in 1993 W e had been in the com puter field since 1979. W e got tired o f w orking for large corpo- rations. A t som e point in m y ca reer, I decided that w orking for m y self w ould be the only w ay I could determ ine my future. H h a t was im portant to you in choosing a business partner? V It’s extrem ely rare to find som eone that you can totally trust your w hole livelihood and life with. Trust has to be the m ost im portant thing that goes both w ays. A lso, there shouldn’t be any personality conflicts. Y ou have to w ork as hard as the other partner. Business part nerships d o n ’t last w hen you’re not on the sam e page. I see a clash there. W hat were y o u r com pany's grow th challenges? ■ p a l • *• - -• /• " • ■ I ■ -••'< ••. i. < ■ ? ! • • 1 j ' r V < ’ ' V 460-3830 I 11 Q U A L I T Y A T L O W P R IC E S Native American business owner, Larry Lugo and Steve Mauzey o f Accutech Northwest It’s been steady growth. W e are at tim es ready to hire another person, but w e’re kind o f conservative about doing that. W e w ant anyone who w orks here to have a jo b for as long as they w ish if they continue to work hard. Laying o ff people is som ething w e d o n ’t w ant to do. W ew eren't spending enough busi ness hours on large corporations and governm ent. We now have about 100 O w ing and operating your ow n business offers many exciting chal lenges: being your own boss, the prospect o f earning a lot ofm oney, or sim ply ju st doing things “your w ay” . It also presents other, serious chal lenges, w hich not everyone is up to. A re you up to these challenges? Slipping in any one o f the areas m entioned below could do the oppo site o f w hat you w anted in the begin ning. It can bring a loss in investm ent m oney, loss o f face, and big-tim e depression. 1 he sad truth is that more individuals or groups fail in the startup and long-term m anagem ent o f a busi f B E S T G R E E N S IN P O R T L A N D businesses? T he best thing to do in the service industry is that you have to be an expert in w hat you do first. If y o u ’re not, you c a n ’t survive. It’s extrem ely com peti tive in this field. T here are lots o f very good people out there. Being m ediocre in this industry is not good enough. Be an ex pert first. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ il cess really h hinges on your ability and capacity to deal w ith m any, different individuals, including em ployees as w ell as customers. 6. Pace Y o u r G ro w th : D oing everything else correctly can lead to unexpected success and overw helm you w ith dem and for your product or service. C ontinued T o P age Kirby Fox, founder o f EXCELL picture in your m ind o f w hat you w ant your future to look like), and stating w hat kind o f business y o u ’ll be in to get there. Follow ing this, you ♦take an inventory o f w here you 1. P ro d u c t o r S ervice: You may think your product or serv ice will sell w ith ease. H ow ever, that s far differ ent from know ing it will. Fundam en tally, eith erth e m arket w anted it, and buys it, or, w hen you open your doors for business you sim ply w on’t make sales. No one will need or want what are now, ♦model or design w hat you’ll need you have to offer. 2. S ales, Im ag e to M a rk e t an d M a rk e tin g : N othing happens until you sell som ething, no m atter how good your product o r service. You m ust be able to ask for the order, and 5. P eople Skills: Everything gets done TH RO U GH people. Y ou m ust respect them, be sensitive to their to get w here you w ant to go, ♦and lastly, you produce an action plan (with specific tim elines and who is to do what) to m ove you from w here you are to w here you w ant to be. ♦ 1 Business: (503) 283-0201 Fax: (503) 283-0203 Mv Brother’s Bar-BQ C15 Dad’s Oil Servie as w ell, potential custom ers m ust conclude from the w ritten m aterials that you provide to the m arket, that you are an organization ofsubstance, capable and w illing to provide the best quality value anyw here for their @ to pay. A n y advice f o r m inority-ow ned 1 1 J __ _ needs and 1 never . talk dow n to them. T reat them no differently than you w ould w ant to be treated. Rem em ber that they grow and change along with your business. As a business owner, you m ust invest in their ongoing de velopm ent. This area, far m ore than anything else I have experienced, presents the greatest num ber and variety o f problem s in business. Suc K irby F ox ceed. e large customers. T hat’s about it. What cou ld you have done differently to expan d yo u r business? W e could have probably done m ore governm ent sales. It requires a larger cash flow. The federal govern m ent doesn’t pay quickly. Five years ago, it w ould take them 3 to 6 m onths Eddie Richey Josie Richey ness than succeed. Forgive me ifthese insights below seem negative. T hey are intended to alert you to the dangers that await you so you can avoid them and suc f J 1 __• by a axee&! ! ! 5 1 2 8 NORTH ALBINA STREET (AT SUMNER) Beginning And Successfully Operating A New Business i 7 BIG CITY PRODUCE < c ;i • a . ' ■ s; Opea Salutes M in o rity Business W e e k Specializing in good down-home southern style cooking We appreciate Minority Business & Salute Minority Business Week Bring My Brothers Bar-BQ catering to your next. Picnic Special Event Grand Opening Every occassion deserves to be catered by... My Brother's Bar-BQ If this sauce doesn't send you , you have nowhere to go. heating oils 7339 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd. Portland, OR 97211 Best Cash Prices Speedy 104 NE Russel _ Service Portland, OR 97212 . 282-5111 F" e" d'y Call For Quote VISA EWEB T h e E u g e n e W a te r & E le ctric B o a rd money. 3. Q u a lity a n d C u s to m e r S e r vice: Q uality is the w ord for today. C ustom ers expect it as w ell as low est prices. Y ou m ust be prepared to offer your very best, at the low est possible price, w hile m eeting all expectations o f your custom ers in a courteous, tim ely, respectful w ay. A nd if they are not satisfied, you m ust be pre pared to accept returns, or re-per- form your service. O bviously, it do esn ’t m ake sense to be placed in a position to accept returns and p er form a service a second tim e. Y ou w o n ’t m ake any money. T herefore, do it right the first tim e, all the time. 4. P lan n in g : If you d o n ’t plan to get w here you w ant to go, you 11 never get there. T he journey to busi ness success is full o f potholes. I he process begins w ith understanding w hat is im portant to you (your val ues), w riting dow n your vision (the (E W E B ) L o c a te d In E u g e n e , O re g o n A a p ro v id e r O f E le c tric , W a te r & S te a m M i Ml S e rv ic e s To T h e C itiz e n s O f E u g e n e / S p rin g fie ld S a lu te s “ M in o rity B u s in e s s W e e k ” . E W E B V a lu e s D iv e rs ity In T h e W o rk F o rc e A n d l * Is A n E q u a l O p p o rtu n ity E m plo yer. To L e a rn M o re A b o u t E W E B , V is it O u r W e b S ite A t W W W .E W E B .O R G . 7 518 NE M arli» Lather K iig J r. B iv i. P• r11 a■d , Orego« 8 72 1 1 (503) 218-5303 '>?£.* '- * • / ’ ’ • * ' - T t v ; *ZV *" -i"' -•A :- am a * - " i ? i
