Guest Articles

A Business Ups and Downs  by Sarah Gentili

My husband and I have been working on a start up for the past six months, and like all small business people when first starting out, there have been ups and downs. Our particular business is a taxi company. We have never run our own business, so when we decided to do this, it was a leap of faith.

Looking back over the past few months, I can see there are things we should have done differently. One thing we did not do well was to have the right expectations of the time involved. Starting a business can consume your time and inadvertently your life. Also, it would have been helpful to have a more detailed business plan worked out before actually starting the business.

We did several things right. My husband gained work experience as a taxi driver for two large taxi companies in our metropolitan area. He learned a lot of things about the business. Based on this, and our desire to work together, we took the risk and invested our time and energy in an endeavor that could be built into a successful business. Without some risk taking, small businesses do not start and grow. Finally, we were willing to accept advice from others.   

We have a very supportive family that encourages us in all our endeavors.  Having this kind of help and support is another key to success when starting a new business. We have received some financial assistance and training in our accounting and taxes. Without a support base, there is a greater chance  your business won’t make it. I know that this has been a key in our success.

Because our taxi business is a 24/7 operation, we can never completely disconnect from it. There is always a phone to answer or something that can interrupt our scheduled off time. When this happens, we take care of only the immediate needs and then continue with our scheduled off time.

As a new business owner you must be able to allow for what I call “the human factor.” In essence you need to find the time to detach from the business and have a reality check. Remind yourself why you’re doing this work and what the long-term benefits are. If it’s a joint venture, try to remember that the other person will need to do this same thing.

If you’re a family person, make sure you take time to stay connected with other family members who do not live with you. For my husband and I, this means taking time to visit them in their homes and share some activities together.

Finally, I would advise anyone going into business for themselves to cultivate the ability to think outside of the box. You will try to think of all the variables and things that could happen and plan accordingly. This is a good thing to do. However, you need to be prepared to think outside the box. Something will happen you didn’t plan for and you will have to do some quick thinking to keep things going.

While our first six months have had there share of ups and downs, it has been a success in my mind. We are stronger, more independent people, and working together has been a blast.  This has been one experience I wouldn’t trade.

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