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Small Business Owners Doing It Tougher Than Ever

Wed, 6 Jun 2012 12:38:54 EST

Continuing uncertainty and a five year downturn in global financial markets has resulted in record numbers of small business closures.
 
Multiple award winning entrepreneur Mike O'Hagan knows all too well the pressures of running a small business. Twenty two years ago he was the owner of three second hand stores.
 
'I was working harder and longer than any of my staff but I was more stressed and I was also earning less' he said. 'I thought to myself that there must be a better way and that's when I made the switch from business owner to entrepreneur.'
 
Mr. O'Hagan then founded Mini-Movers and, starting with $200, grew it to a $30 million business with 500 staff both. He is also the founder and current chairman of many other businesses.
 
'Entrepreneurs are different to business owners in that the former look for opportunities in the market place and then employ or contract others to fill that need. By contrast business owners typically start with a focus on their products or services and try to sell more of them' he said.
 
'The stress and poor quality lifestyle suffered by so many small business owners is often avoidable once a business owner learns how to think in terms of what the marketing place wants and begins to delegate increasing amounts of the work' he added.
  
In March of 2012 Mr. O'Hagan met Tom Poland who shares the passion for entrepreneurship. Together they decided to do something about helping business owners to make the switch to entrepreneurship and founded the College For Entrepreneurship (www.collegeforentrepreneurship.com).
 
Mr. Poland has also started, grown and sold multiple businesses including the 'Entrepreneurs' Success Program' which he launched in 1995 and then licensed internationally.