“The ability to acquire the skills to be an effective CEO is as difficult as an average singer becoming a great recording artist.  Unfortunately many entrepreneurs as their companies become more and more successful fail to acquire the next level of skill sets…”  Roy Cammarano, former leader of three INC. 500 companies and author of Creating Do-It-Yourself Customers and the award-winning book, Entrepreneurial Transitions.

The Rich Niche Group blog interviews and enables you to hear directly from successful entrepreneurs and product managers about the steps they took to grow their businesses/products and how they were able to create, penetrate, and/or dominate their niche.  In addition, we also interview those that provide services entrepreneurs and small businesses need in order to help them build their companies.  This week we interview Roy Cammarano:

Interviewee:  Roy Cammarano, former President of three INC. 500 companies, business consultant, public speaker and author of Creating Do-It-Yourself Customers and the award-winning book, Entrepreneurial Transitions.

Why Selected:  Having had the pleasure of working with Roy at two different companies, I can attest to the fact that Roy’s perspectives and insights into helping entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial organizations and businesses of all sizes grow themselves and their companies is invaluable.  I would encourage every entrepreneur to read Entrepreneurial Transitions, it is one of the very few books that can help you move from being an entrepreneur to a leader.

In the following interview, Roy discusses how starting and running a business is analogous to starting a family, helping it grow and some of the mistakes to avoid along the way.  As you read the full interview, here are some points that stood out to me:

1.  As a company grows, the founder and/or leader of the company must transition from being the “entrepreneurial genius” to visionary leader.  One key to this relies on the leader of the company building a strong executive team and then enabling them to run their departments.

2.  Entrepreneurs need to realize that at some point in order for their company to reach its full potential, they may need to bring in someone to run the business.

3.  When times get tough, focus everyone on a common goal and use that to rally the troops by celebrating small wins and build positive momentum. 

4.  When hiring outside consultants, only hire those that provides the skills the company needs and does not already possess.

5.  Companies that continually dominate their niche are always asking themselves, “how would I compete with me” and then building the barriers to keep them competition at bay.

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“Today, we have an unprecedented opportunity for entrepreneurship.   With the advent of the Internet and all of the technologies that are associated, an idea can become a business quickly and efficiently.”  Ara Bagdasarian, CEO and Co-founder of Omnilert, LLC. 

The Rich Niche Group blog interviews and enables you to hear directly from successful entrepreneurs and product managers about the steps they took to grow their businesses/products and how they were able to create, penetrate, and/or dominate their niche.  This week we interview Ara Bagdasarian:

Interviewee:  Ara Bagdasarian, this is Ara’s second start-up. 

Why Selected:  Omnilert (www.omnilert.com) was one of the first companies in the unified mass notification systems business (urgent text messages) for colleges and universities.  Ara and his partner started Omnilert in 2003 and have since become a leader in the space.  I had the pleasure of working with Ara in the past and he is one of the most innovative and customer-focus individuals I know.  In addition, he is very active in his community of Leesburg, Virginia serving on many non-profit boards and as the Chairman of the Town of Leesburg’s Economic Development Commission.

In the following interview, Ara takes us through the concept for Omnilert, how it changed based on feedback, and then managed the hyper-growth caused by the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007.  As you read the full interview, here are some points that stood out to me:

1.  If your initial concept does not resonate with your target audience look for others where it might

2.  Innovate in all areas of your company, not just with technology

3.  Publicize every new client you get and get existing clients to tell your company story  

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“Frankly, I think this is an ideal time for new start-ups to capture significant market share.”  Bob Cowan, founder of American Teleconferencing Services, Ltd. (ATS) 

The Rich Niche Group blog interviews and enables you to hear directly from successful entrepreneurs and product managers about the steps they took to grow their businesses/products and how they were able to create, penetrate, and/or dominate their niche.  This week we interview Bob Cowan:

Interviewee:  Bob Cowan, started ATS as a 1st-time entrepreneur. 

Why Selected:  With no previous business experience, Bob started ATS from scratch by borrowing $35,000 from friends, family and a second mortgage on his house.  Defying the odds, he grew the business and sold it, 13 years later, for approximately $60M.  I had the pleasure of working with Bob and ATS and I can tell you it was one of the most rewarding and formative times of my career. 

In the following interview, Bob provides you with some insights on how he and ATS were able to enter a market dominated by AT&T, carve out their niche and grow the company before selling it to Premiere Global Services (NYSE: PGI) in 1998.  During the interview, Bob brought up many relevant points about what it took to start, persevere and grow ATS and three key aspects kept jumping out to me:

1.  Focus on solving your prospect’s and client’s pain by constantly talking to them and getting to know their business

2.  Continually innovate

3.  Get to know your employees as they may have additional talents that can help your clients and your business. 

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