Important Advice for Your First Year in Business
Barry Thomsen began his entrepreneurial career as a 10-year-old running a paper route and selling lemonade to workers at construction sites. From there, he sold Amway and Avon, delivered pizza, and started and owned a number of businesses that ranged from a small manufacturer to a business forms supplier. During the course of some 30 years as an entrepreneur, Thomsen has observed and experienced many of the problems that occur in the all-important first year of business—a period when the majority of new businesses fail. […]
Recently, BusinessWeek.com’s Stacy Perman spoke with Thomsen about surviving those crucial first 12 months. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow.