This story appears in the
June 2001 issue of
Startups.
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When Krista Bard started Bard
Associates in 1985, she was looking for a challenge.
Dissatisfied with her situation at the time, she started the
Philadelphia-based integrated marketing and consulting firm with
the assurance that she had the know-how to do it properly.
"There was this driving need to keep moving, and I was looking
for greater satisfaction," says the homebased entrepreneur.
"I wanted to find something that was more fun, satisfying and
challenging."
Unlike many first-time entrepreneurs, Bard was confident in her
ability to run her own business successfully. "I got to see
all the different ways people did it [at my other jobs], whether by
their bootstraps or with a lot of funding," explains Bard, who
previously worked for the Department of Interior as well as an
entrepreneurial company. "Since I was exposed to entrepreneurs
before, I knew that it was really just a matter of saying,
'Yes, I will; yes, I can.' "
That statement is true whether you're just starting out or
you're preparing to expand your homebased business-because once
you stop aspiring to new levels, your business will likely stagnate
as well. With the launch of two additional companies last year
(Nanodate, a speed dating service, and Competitive Intelligence
Report, a trend analysis and prediction company), Bard has learned
that lesson well. "I have this theory that you should always
be doing your best and working at your highest potential," she
says. "Everybody's great at something, so you need to
focus on what that is for you."
And though running three different companies requires extra
demands on Bard's time, she sees it all as a means to an end.
"There are tradeoffs," she says. "If you want one
thing, you have to accommodate and compromise others in order to
get it."