Entrepreneurs in the News

November's been a big month for big publicity hits. Is your company getting the attention it deserves?

BVR guests and friends in the news: Tara Guerard, of Charleston, SC-based Tara Guerard Soiree, landed in the print and online edition of the Wall Street Journal on November 18th; she's featured in the lead and a photo of her is used for the online edition. Tate Chalk, CEO of ATL-based Nfinity, also had terrific exposure in the Wall Street Journal. Our favorite CPAs, Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, were featured on NPR's "All Things Considered" show. Partner in charge of the MFG industry practice, Richard Kopelman, discussed a recent MFG survey that reveals many MFGs aren't taking advantage of available tax credits and incentives. Stuart Dunkin, CEO & Founder of ATL-based, Data Profits, a firm that helps big retailers improve their supply chain and inventory management, was featured on NPR's "Morning Edition" on Black Friday 2010.

Are you trying to get your company noticed? Reach out to Bold Ventures Radio's sponsor, OrgPR LLC, who helped these companies.

Tate Chalk, CEO of Nfinity, talks to Bold Ventures Radio

Entrepreneur.com defines an entrepreneur as one who "assumes the risk of the initiation, operation and management of a business...who looks at a problem and sees it as an opportunity...who sets realistic and achievable goals...who is driven to make dreams a reality...and who is a participant not an observer; a player not a fan."

Tate Chalk, co-founder and owner of Nfinity, the first and only brand with a core focus of designing and producing high-performance athletic footwear for women, takes that definition a step further. Despite winning numerous entrepreneurial awards, including the prestigious American Business Awards' "Stevie" for Business Innovation of the Year, Tate sees himself simply as a business owner who found a hole in the market and filled it by meeting the needs of his consumer, the female athlete.

I recently wrote about an interesting discussion about fear I had with Tate prior to interviewing him on my Bold Ventures Radio program. As a successful business owner, Tate said he is scared all the time - scared of achieving success and even scared of maintaining it. In spite of, or because of, his fear, Tate continues to achieve serious success. During the actual interview, Tate shared with me some valuable "tips" that have helped him achieve this rocket-propelled success in a mere five years:

Be Patient: For Tate, meeting a need means truly MEETING the need, not simply addressing what you think people want, and being patient in process. I think we all can agree, as he said, that it's very easy to sell our souls to total brand extension in order to quickly "achieve success" by taking a successful brand to other categories and lines of a business. According to Tate, however, doing so diverts you away from the true core and authenticity of the business - which in his case is to build the perfect shoe for female athletes. Nfinity has achieved their success by being patient with their product. They have done and continue to do extensive research, both scientifically and in the marketplace, to understand a female athlete's needs based on her unique physiology (i.e., wider hips and gate) and to identify if and how those needs have been addressed. (As it turns out, they haven't, which is why Nfinity is so successful. They're the only ones doing it.)

The hardest part of growing their business, and an example of their patience, lies in the task of educating their consumers, the female athlete, that their needs actually aren't being met. This, in turn, has allowed them to grow organically using Web 2.0, e.g. Twitter, Facebook, mobile content and texting campaigns.

Be Open: Making a decision after a heated debate can be quite difficult. According the Tate, though, it's a practice he often employs. He has a very smart, talented staff who have their own thoughts and ideas about the marketplace. Tate often makes his best decisions about the company after listening to his staff, often in a fiery discussion. He also listens to the complaints among his consumer base by visiting female athlete-specific web sites and chat groups, as well as talking to various sports teams. Hearing these messages, even if they're based on negative thoughts, helps him better address the current need and thus stay true to his business.

Be nimble: Being nimble is easy do as a small company, but that doesn't make it any less important. Nfinity produces their shoes in China. They don't own the factory, but rather have to buy time to use the facilities, while at the same time sharing space and time with bigger manufacturers. Because it's a pay-to-play situation, and they can't pay as much as the big guys, Nfinity must be able produce whenever they can get the space. This often leaves small businesses somewhat at the mercy of the factory so they must truly know the people they're dealing with and trust they'll give them what and want they want it.

That said, it's important to have a back-up plan, being nimble enough to change locations if circumstances dictate as such (if a factory closes, if there's a mistake, etc.). Currently, Nfinity is looking into Vietnam to save about 8% in production costs. It's just a plan right now, though, because Vietnam is about 20 years behind China in that it doesn't have the infrastructure yet to produce as quickly and efficiently. Nfinity has done their research and established a plan anyway, in case they need to quickly cut costs or something happens to the Chinese market that would prevent business from being done.

Be relevant: Not only does Nfinity meet the relevant needs of their consumers, but they are relevant within current cultural thought. They believe in the Green movement and are in the top 20 percentile of companies using green products to create their vegan shoes, again setting themselves apart from the old-school mentality.

Nfinity is meeting their consumers' needs every day. Are you doing the same? How? Let me know!

Tate Chalk, CEO of Nfinity, Offers Useful Insights

Richard Warner, host of the popular television show Georgia’s Business, and I were talking the other day about what makes a great interview. We agreed that when a guest is honest and reveals his strengths and weaknesses the interview becomes a dialogue that can impact and inspire others. When a guest, whether it be on television or radio, really shares himself and his story the broader audience becomes deeply engaged, can learn, and gain insight. So it’s a real honor when a guest opens up and let’s himself be known. Its a selfless act with a huge upside for others.

Last night (August 12, 2009) on Bold Ventures Radio, the show where each week I interview interesting entrepreneurs from all over the country, I chatted with Tate Chalk, CEO of Nfinity. The awards this company has won are too many to name, but one stands out – the prestigious American Business Awards. Just a few weeks ago, Tate was in New York City walking away with the “Stevie” for Business Innovation of the Year.

While tons of great content is shared during the Bold Ventures Radio live broadcast, often information comes out prior to the show, as I meet and chat with guests. Such was the case with Tate.

When you listen to the 30 minute interview, you’ll hear about Tate’s journey as an entrepreneur, including being an actor (rent Dodgeball), but a critical insight was shared by Tate before we started the show.

Chatting around the roundtable, I asked Tate. “Are you ever scared?”

I hope his response is as meaningful to you, as it was to me:

TC: “Of course. I’m sacred all of the time.”

BVR: “So, how do you manage through that?”

TC: “My mother told me that courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s the ability to act in the presence of fear. So when I wake up in the morning, or thinking about starting a business -- at every level there is fear – scared to start a business, scared that it won’t be a success, and then, like in Hollywood, you start to meet with some success, and then what? And then when you start to have success there is a whole different kind of being scared. And then you get to a place where you’re making millions of dollars, and you have all this money on the line and when you get to a place where you’re only as good as your last hit everyone is demanding it, that’s different level of being scared. I joke with my wife that the days when we didn’t have a whole lot were a whole lot less scary. So Yeah the whole thing is scary.”

My impression of Tate is that he seizes opportunities, and he does so with courage. Acting on opportunities and being courageous are critical success factors for all entrepreneurs.

As an entrepreneur, how do you handle being scared? Let me hear from you.