Research

Lessons from the ASU Spirit of Enterprise finalists

When do you get an opportunity to peer behind the curtain and learn other businesses' best secrets for getting ahead and making a difference? Sidnee Peck, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, shares what she has learned about the successful businesses nominated for the Spirit of Enterprise Awards.

2014-09-29

By Sidnee Peck Director, Center for Entrepreneurship When do you get an opportunity to peer behind the curtain and learn other businesses' best secrets for getting ahead and making a difference? This month, the Center for Entrepreneurship at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University selected 12 finalists for its 2014 Spirit of Enterprise Awards. These awards honor some of Arizona's best businesses and entrepreneurs. The judging process includes a live presentation — a chance for the panel to hear stories and lessons learned from these incredible entrepreneurs and leaders. This was my first year joining the panel for the entire process, and I want to take the time to share with you some valuable lessons I heard consistently throughout the experience: People are the secret sauce. Almost all of our semifinalists made a point to communicate the importance of their employees to the success of their businesses. I noticed a few recurring themes, including being deliberate in hiring, thoughtful in creating employee benefits (traditional and nontraditional) and encouraging in employee bonding. For example, one nontraditional benefit that The James Agency, an advertising and public-relations firm, employs is a regular bonding day, when everyone takes off a bit early on a Friday to participate in a fun activity together. This enables friendly competition and the creation of stories to be shared and laughed about for months. Great leaders show gratitude to others. Every leader we had in the room acknowledged and thanked key employees and partners for their contribution to getting to where they are today. These individuals have taken incredible risks, invested their own time, money and reputations and spent countless hours building economically viable (flourishing, actually) companies, and they never took the full credit themselves. Trish Bear, founder of tech company I-ology, acknowledged the significant role a key employee played in the past few years to help her rethink her operational model. She has since created a team with no management hierarchy, a model inspired by a goal to empower her team, and this enables her to run the kind of business she wants to run. Focus on innovation. We honor two Spirit of Enterprise Award finalists specifically for innovation in entrepreneurship, but all of our finalists are examples of innovation in various aspects of business. Melrose Pharmacy, an independent, highly personalized pharmacy, was built out of the desire to give patients personalized care above all else. Founder Teresa Stickler is a strong example that listening to the needs of your customers can lead to a thriving business, and when her customers needed a better way to manage multiple prescriptions, she made it happen by using a new piece of innovative equipment to presort, package and label the patients' right medications for each time of day. Never stop. Starting a business is no walk in the park, that's for sure. You have plenty of opportunities to give up along the way. (Everyone who has ever started a business will tell you that.) Raveen Arora, founder of The Dhaba, a restaurant and marketplace, shared his story of facing and overcoming challenges throughout his journey. He inspired me to remember that successful entrepreneurs are the ones who keep trying, keep moving the needle forward. His success is a direct result of an incredible work ethic and a commitment to making dreams come true (not only his, but others on his path). So, if you're in the thick of it, keep on going! Managing the Spirit of Enterprise Awards is a true honor, and I hope you'll consider nominating or applying next spring. Until then, please come and meet our finalists, hear their stories and network with many other Arizona businesspeople at our 18^th Annual Spirit of Enterprise Awards November 21 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix. More information on the awards luncheon is available at www.wpcarey.asu.edu/spirit.   First published in The Arizona Republic September 29, 2014.

Entrepreneurship Management