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CAN'T FIND SOMETHING? |
Charles ChangPresident, Sequel NaturalsAge: 39 Charles Chang thinks there are two important lessons that need to be learned in order to have a successful business, and he learned them the hard way. “The number 1 thing is who’s responsible for the top line, for bringing in revenue,” said Chang. “The other thing is to never have partners.” Prior to transforming his natural-food company Sequel Naturals into a $14 million business, Chang learned some hard lessons about going into business with friends. After he graduated with a business degree from Simon Fraser University in 1995, Chang started a business with two of his friends. After a year and a half, he folded the business and walked away $20,000 poorer. “We couldn’t manage each other being friends,” Chang said of the experience. “We had different agendas, none of us knew what we were doing and it ended being that I lost two partners and two friends.” But instead of giving up Chang joined the Great Little Box Company, a Richmond-based box manufacturer, where he learned the human-resources skills he would later use to make Sequel a success. “I begged, borrowed and stole much of that stuff from there,” he said. In 2001, Chang used those skills to create the company he is truly proud of. “We are an open-book company,” Chang said of Sequel. “We share all of our financials and our key performance indicators … we all share in our success and if there’s failure, that as well.” Sequel employs 14 full-time staff and as many as 100 on a part-time basis, and it’s Chang’s goal to make the business self sufficient so he can spend more time with his family. • Birthplace: Taipei, Taiwan Where do you live now: West Vancouver Highest level of education (if university): BBA in marketing from SFU Car or chosen mode of transport: BMW X5 Currently reading: Stirring it Up: How to Make Money and Save the World by Gary Hirshberg Last CD bought or music downloaded: I Got a Feeling by Black Eyed Peas Favourite movie: Gladiator or There’s Something About Mary Favourite local restaurant: Gotham Person you would most like to meet (living or deceased): Barack Obama Profession you would most like to try: Chef Mentor: Robert Meggy, president of Great Little Box Company Most memorable career milestone or event: Making No. 8 on the Profit 100 Fastest Growing Companies in Canada list Toughest business or professional decision: Leaving my cushy, six-figure, eight weeks vacation, VP of sales and marketing job to start Sequel Naturals in 2001 What’s left to do: Get myself completely out of day-to-day operations by mentoring my direct reports to become strong leaders and, in so doing, build a great, sustainable business that can continue to thrive without me This article from Business in Vancouver December 29, 2009-January 4, 2010; issue 1053 Business in Vancouver (www.biv.com) has been publishing in-depth local business news, analysis and commentary since 1989. The newspaper also produces a weekly ranked list of the biggest companies and players in a wide range of B.C. industries and commercial sectors, monthly features and industry-focused sections that arm its subscribers with a complete package of local business intelligence each week. |
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