By Baila Lazarus
What are you prepared to give up to run your own business? Do you care what people say about your ideas? Can you be more than just a leader – can you inspire? Powerful questions to ask yourself if you’re thinking about or already running your own company. And they elicited strong opinions from the three panellists who spoke at this year’s BIV Blue Breakfast: Dean Gagnon, president of Citymax.com; Judy Brooks, co-founder of Blo Blow Dry Bar; and George Moen, president of Blenz the Canadian Coffee Company.
BIV’s annual Blue Edition covers the topic of investment, and this year the focus was investing in your own business – what it takes to succeed.
For Moen, the ability to work hard is a key factor. “I don’t believe in lifestyle balance,” he said. “If people have life balance, they’re not pushing themselves.”
Gagnon added to the thought, saying you also need a healthy ego: you need to believe that you deserve earning the dollar that someone else is spending on your product or service.
Financing a business was a hot-button topic. Moen emphasized having personal financial commitment in a business.
“If someone says they’re not all in, I can’t trust them,” he said.
Brooks, however, learned from her experience financing her startup with her own money. “Now when I work with small businesses, I’m all about going after someone else’s money.”
The breakfast took place at SFU’s Segal School of Business last week. The next colour breakfast is the White Breakfast on philanthropy, which is scheduled for December 16. Register at www.biv.com