"Perseverance is even more important than
intelligence," says Stan Katz, a clinical and forensic
psychologist in Beverly Hills, California, who notes that many
graduate students pass wretchedly difficult courses not because of
their brain power, but because of their desire to succeed.
Entrepreneurs, Katz says, need to have the same thirst for
success that actors draw on to make it: "Think of your failure
as an audition. You have to learn something from it."
That echoes Coffin's point of view. "I could start 10
businesses tomorrow that are related to my business," he says,
"and I would probably beat any competitors if they didn't
have the experience I did."
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In 1999, Coffin realized he had a lot of experience-like being
broke, which led to his inspiration for LowerMyBills.Com, a Web
site that lets customers find better rates for necessities like
telephone service and health insurance. Coffin's Los Angeles
company now brings in more than $1 million a month.
"There are a ton of lessons that I got out of the Fashion
Reporter experience," Coffin says. "One, you've got
to raise a reasonable amount of capital to run your business for at
least 12 or 18 months. Second, don't just chase money.
Don't just start a business [in order] to have a business. You
need passion for what you're doing. Otherwise, you'll end
up failing with the financial end, or you'll fail
emotionally."
Johnson discovered she had a passion for Pilates, an exercise
first developed in the 1920s and recently made fashionable by stars
like Julia Roberts. That's right, we have another happy ending.
Johnson opened Studio Elle Inc., a Brookline, Massachusetts,
Pilates studio, in 1999, with $3,000 in credit cards, a $7,000 bank
loan and $10,000 from her mother.
In 2001, Johnson's five-employee enterprise earned $170,000.
She's projecting $215,000 this year. And, yes, she has paid
back her mother.
"It's scary to think that when you start a business,
you won't have a weekly paycheck," says Johnson. "But
it's scary to work for somebody else, too. Then they're
your only paycheck, and if they go, you're S.O.L."
A paycheck was exactly what Brandt was relying on. In the wake
of Cyberpix, he became an employee. But you can't keep an
entrepreneur down for long. After a while, Brandt was able to sell
the stake he still held in Cyberpix and pay off his debts. With a
lifetime of entrepreneurial businesses-from a lemonade stand as a
kid to a lawn service in college-paving the way, he was ready to
begin again.
Brandt was still working for Network Services Now in 1999, when
he created Dallas-based Skywire Ventures within the company. He
spun off Skywire in 2001 to become the parent company of Skywire
Technology, which invests in new technology businesses. Brandt, now
29, expects his company to make up to $5 million this year.
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