As the adage goes, good advice is hard to come by. However, these Upstate business leaders have the experience and the success to back up their words. They’ve put in the time to create businesses that continue to grow and evolve and, through all the ups and downs, have gained the wisdom that comes with it. The Upstate Business Journal asked them what advice they might give aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders. Here’s what they said:
Jason Boehm: CEO, Aileron Management, LLC
Business sector: Travel and Hospitality
Don’t start a business if you lack confidence, but don’t lose confidence when things don’t go as planned. Be flexible and listen to what the market is telling you. You may find a niche or a need or an underserved segment that wasn’t apparent when you started. And finally, don’t be afraid to hire top-level talent early — they will run your business while you focus on growing it.
Nika White: Founder & CEO, Nika White Consulting
Business sector: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consulting
When I discuss high performance with my team, we’re often talking about the values. In my business, high performance doesn’t mean stretching yourself too thin to achieve impossible goals. The mentality is that we’re always trying to “level up” and create a culture where we inspire our colleagues to level up, too. We stay focused on excellence and push our limits while also operating with grace and compassion when things go wrong. When we see our colleagues striving for more, reaching higher and taking chances, it permits us to do the same.
Ben Baum: Owner, The Rejuvenation Company
Business sector: Food and Beverage Production
Since every day is different, mapping things out ahead of time can ensure that the most important tasks get done. Try breaking the day into 15-minute increments. Estimate how many increments your most important tasks will take and then decide when those increments should happen. This can be done individually or as a whole team. What you will find is that by tracking smaller increments of time you get more done and keep on task. By writing this down ahead of time, you will have a map to refer to throughout the day.
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Marion Crawford: Founder, Crawford
Business Sector: Marketing, Advertising and PR
My business advice involves an unbusinesslike concept: love. Love what you do and why you do it. There will be nights, weekends and holidays when you would rather relax, but work sirens will call. Love for your career will help you stay the course. Love your team. Hiring the right people is step one. After that, you must lead, encourage, listen to, care about and support those people. Your people are business’s lifeline. Love your customers. They are why you do what you do. If you care about, respect and bring value to your customers, you’ll keep them.
Leighton Cubbage: Co-founder and chairman of the board, Serrus Capital Partners
Business Sector: Real Estate Investment
I would say schedule the best day you can. You do all you know to do that day. Just like the Lord’s Prayer: Give us this day, our daily bread. Take one day at a time and don’t leave anything unturned during the day. You can only affect one day at a time. It sounds trite, easy, simplistic … but I think that when you are pushing something, you better be doing all that you know how to do. There’s satisfaction in that.
