Small Business Blog from Atlantic Canada

I am "CA" Atreya (PMP, MBA), the author of this blog. I help businesses in Atlantic Canada achieve their BHAG successfully. You may subscribe to this blog using a feed reader (RSS).

I met Rivers on a LinkedIn group. Rivers is a very interesting individual. The enthusiasm in his voice when you talk to him about internet marketing and entrepreneurship is infectious. He is quite passionate about business. It won’t be inappropriate to refer to him as a serial entrepreneur. No prizes for guessing his passion – entrepreneurship. His biggest strength is to conceptualize ideas and lay a solid foundation of a business enterprise. We saw this in action with his cooking venture – The Chef Group. Additionally, he has recently launched The Marketing Factory – a series of internet marketing seminars in Atlantic Canada.

Rivers believes passion drives successful entrepreneurs. He says, “Passion is not just for business, but in day-to-day life too.” He loves to build businesses from scratch and perceives himself as a pioneer. So we caught up with him last week to discuss his entrepreneurial success. We wanted to learn what motivates him and what are the ingredients to be a successful entrepreneur?

CA: Good evening, Rivers. Thank you to taking the time to talk to us. Cash Cow Marketing – what’s that all about?

Rivers: Good evening, CA. Do you know what the number 1 problem business owners and entrepreneurs face today? They struggle to find time to build their business. They are so engrossed in running their day-to-day operations that they become employees of their business instead of remaining their owners. They simply exist day-to-day to serve their business rather than have their business serve them. Most business owners build their businesses around their products and services rather than around systems.

What do you think that McDonalds sells? Did I hear you say burgers and fries? No, they don’t. What they sell are business systems, including marketing, operations, accounting and human resources, to franchisees who then use that system to create a business success.

At The Marketing Factory, marketing – both internet marketing and traditional offline marketing – is the game. We have figured out a way to deliver as marketing system for any business that will create increased revenue, deliver more clients and reduce marketing expenses.

We call it our Cash Cow Marketing system and it works. Guaranteed!

CA: So how can entrepreneurs use this system?

Rivers: We work with our clients and help them understand the value of systems. We prove to them how much easier their life can be if they made small changes to their way of thinking. Then we introduce them to our Cash Cow Marketing system.The Cash Cow Marketing system radically changes the way they think of their business and delivers their marketing programs. This system has been taught around North America and the results have been spectacular.

CA: The Marketing Factory is not your first venture. You started The Chef Group before that. From your entrepreneurial experiences, what is the one important lesson that you have learnt?

Rivers: Yes you are right, The Marketing Factory is not my first venture. I have a friend who loves to cook. We realized that our skills were complimentary and teamed up. I match up my passion for marketing and business with his passion for cooking. We started the Rent-a-Chef concept and branded it “The Culinary Adventure Company”. We only started with $3,000 of start-up capital in 1999 and built it into a million dollar business in four years. We have now rebranded the company as “The chef Group” with over 2500 chefs across North America.

Teams build successful businesses. There’s no question about that. Business is team work. Each player comes with respective core competencies. If they are complimentary then you are on your way to build a successful business. A business owner cannot do everything himself/herself. Of all the things a small business needs to get into his head, it is this. He cannot do everything himself.

CA: If you were to advise an entrepreneur what three things would you say?

Rivers: Attitude – This is foremost. An entrepreneur has got to have a great positive attitude. Entrepreneurship is a roller coaster ride – sometimes with terrifying drops at high speeds. A positive attitude is important to help you during tough times. Understand that being an entrepreneur is not all a bed of roses. You are going to lose your shirt (or an arm or a leg) along the way. Understanding this, appreciating this and having the right positive attitude is 75% of the battle. The balance 25% is all about planning and execution.

Cash Flow - Without a doubt cash flow ranks second on my list. Match your revenues to your costs. Set up systems to track that. Cash is king. However, don’t treat credit cards, lines of credit, government funds, lines of credit as cash – they are buffer for rough times.

Work-life balance – It is necessary for any successful venture. Make time available for your life. That’s why your fist task as an entrepreneur is to set up a system. Once you have set up a system, monitor that people are following it. Once you are confident with your people, then get out of the way. As with any system tweaks will be necessary. But during this time, take the time off for your family, your friends. It is important to maintain a work-life balance.

CA: You mentioned that teams are important. But where do you find the people who are committed and aligned?

Rivers: Realize one thing –no one, I repeat – no one has the most passion for your business then you, the business owner, the entrepreneur. Employees will always think of themselves as an employee since most of the time they do not control decision making in a typical small business. Hence, it is important to have systems.

Get the right people on the right seat in the business. They need to understand what you, the business owner, want. As a business owner, you need to show them value; and it does not have to always be monetary. Little things like a thank you note, time off to spend the afternoon with their children is key to retention. Make them a part of the decision making team; take their inputs. Employees want a meaningful reward structure. You also need to delegate and make them responsible for tasks. Push them up once they have learnt. I have employees who have been with me for the last ten years. They are very committed and understand the business.

CA: Are you concerned at all about the current downturn? What steps are you taking to keep yourself and your business going in this recession?

Rivers: Recession, what recession? Just because the media says we are in recession I do not have to take their word for it. My business is growing and my goal is to keep growing – crisis or no crisis. In the business networking groups I participate, everyone is saying that business is good. This is a great opportunity to gain market-share and that’s what we are focusing on. We are getting innovative in our marketing and employee retention strategy. Internet marketing is going to explode now. There are lots of opportunities for people who have knowledge in this area. We have an advantage over millions who need help in this area. We are poised to exploit the so-called downturn.

I am on my path to my goal of tripling my income and doubling the time pursuing my hobbies.” Focus on the long-tail”, that’s my goal.

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