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Guest Column
Are You CEO Material?
By Keshia L. Richmond
What makes a successful entrepreneur or CEO of a start-up company? To paraphrase a motivational essay I recently read, an entrepreneur is someone who's willing to take a chance, who walks the line between the known and the unknown, and who won't accept failure.
Still, entrepreneurial spirit can embody so many other traits: working hard but smart, visionary thinking, great business instincts, a knack for creativity and the determination to do what you love while keeping your head above water.
My entrepreneurial spirit developed, in part, due to a pivotal person. Growing up in the beautiful Appalachian mountains of southwest Virginia, that pivotal person was my father. The son of a coal mining inspector, he worked at the region's second largest employer, the telephone company. In a freak on-the-job accident, he lost his left leg. Yet he continued to work and, on the side, enrolled in a martial arts school. He went on to become one of the highest ranked martial arts instructors in the nation-all as an amputee. He eventually left his day job and opened his own dojo along side a photography studio which he has owned and operated for more than 20 years.
Learning the Ropes
My first start-up business began in 1994, when I lived in Schenectady, N.Y., and worked at General Electric as part of NYIT's Cooperative Education Program. Working in
generators and turbines by day, churning out brochures, flyers and other collateral by night, I had an armful of clients who depended on me for desktop publishing solutions. Soon, demand for Richmond Design Services was overwhelming.
I had no idea that I was, in effect, nurturing an entrepreneurial seed or on the brink of what might have been the start of something profitable. More than that, I didn't even know that you had to choose a business structure, register business, hire an accountant, etc. Okay, I did learn the difference between a sole proprietorship, partnership and
corporation in one of my courses, but for some reason, I didn't make the correlation quickly.
Perhaps I was too busy with my primary career. As I ran my business, I landed information technology positions at the Marriott, the Bank of New York, Quantum Chemical Company, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Cheyenne Software and Computer Associates. I gained corporate polish, knowledge of the enterprise and government sectors, and a breadth of experience working for these established organizations.
The experience helped my currentcompany, Richmond Technologies, land its first major contract in 1999, providing technology training and staffing and support to a local organization.
Networking 101
Despite all my hard work, it's only recently that I recognized the value of a strong circle of networked people-the ones who help make things happen and help you make things happen for others.
To jump-start my circle of influence, I network at a number of industry associations, civic groups and charitable organizations. I also network through a number of online business and social forums like Ryze.com, Worldwit.org and Actionplan.com. I now have
a proven system for generating contacts, follow-ups and keeping in touch.
Success as an entrepreneur many times comes after a series of failures. Turn to resources like the Small Business Administration (sba.gov) or S.C.O.R.E (score.org) for free or low cost business advice and access to funding. You should also reach out to NYIT's Office of Alumni Relations (mailto:alumni@nyit.edu).
Keshia L. Richmond is on track to earn her B.S. from NYIT. She is president of Richmond Technology Solutions Inc., a Long Island-based firm that helps businesses run, grow and transform their operations through the innovative use of information
technology. Share your thoughts with her at keshia@richmondts.com.
Send your column ideas to alumni@nyit.edu.
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