How To Succeed In Business? Adapt, Serve, Believe

Adaptability, belief and an unwavering commitment to customer service are the keys to entrepreneurial success. That was the word from the opening panel Wednesday at "Igniting Innovation in Michigan: Entrepreneurs In Action," a WWJ Newsradio 950 conference aimed at boosting new business creation in Michigan

Around 200 people gathered to hear tips, advice and encouragement from successful entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial advisors.

[Scroll down for video from the event]

Joe Vicari, owner of Andiamo restaurants, joked that he got into the restaurant business because he didn't study hard enough in college. But he turned very serious when he talked about how to respond to the recession -- value pricing, employee pay and benefit cuts and more family-oriented restaurants. [photogallerylink id=31493]

Andra Rush, founder, president and COO of Rush Trucking Corp., talked about how she built her transportation business while still working as a nurse. She said her company has also had to adjust to the recession -- the company grew from three trucks to 1,900 but is now at 840.

Stanford Blanck, owner of Taylor-based Wallside Windows, said customer service is the key to his success.

"That's why I am there every morning at 7:15, beating it into everybody's heads, that there is nothing we won't do to make the customer happy," Blanck said. "Price is price, but the only thing people will remember is how you treated them, and that's what they're going to tell all their neighbors about."

All three owners complained about how much harder it is to get bank credit today than it was a few years ago, even for well-established companies.

Rush said she hoped recent legislation to boost small business lending -- signed earlier this week by President Barack Obama and based on a Michigan program -- would help solve the problem.

A second panel said Michigan offers numerous resources for would-be entrepreneurs and people who would like to grow their businesses.

Included are the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Centers (http://misbtdc.org/), the Ann Arbor New Enterprise Forum (www.newenterpriseforum.org), the Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quest (www.gleq.org), and the latest effort from the Mott Foundation, moving Ideas to Market (www.mi2m.org).

Charles Rothstein of Beringea, Michigan's largest home-based venture capital fund, pointed out that the state's venture capital climate has also improved, growing from five VC firms to 30.

And Reginald Turner, a member of the labor and employment group at the law firm Clark Hill, called Michigan fertile ground for investment, with great transportation and logistics infrastructure, a strong labor force and cheap land.

A third panel featured advice from successful entrepreneurs. Among too many ideas to list -- be willing to fire even close friends and relatives, and hire people smarter than you are.

The event continued with one-on-one entrepreneurial coaching from more than 20 business experts recruited by Ann Arbor Spark and other entrepreneurship organizations, and a "lightning round" of one-minute elevator pitches.

Video -  WWJ Technology Editor Matt Roush and WWJ/Fox 2 Business Reporter Murray Feldman talked some event attendees:

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