Small Business Entrepreneur Blog

Entrepreneur Robert Tuchman Guides Readers Who Are Young, Bold and Ready or Forced to Break Free From the Pack and Pursue Their Passions

NEW YORK, New York, June 2009 – “There’s no time like the present” may be a cliché, but clichés exist for a reason. As decades-old corporate warhorses continue to go belly-up, even the most tried and true “safe” career paths—say, the Bear Stearns trainee program or climbing the General Motors management ladder—are no longer guaranteed. The landscape is now perfect for young, resilient workers to quit waiting around for an economic recovery and recruiters to come knocking and instead direct their ambitions into their own ventures.

In Young Guns: The Fearless Entrepreneur’s Guide to Chasing Your Dreams and Breaking Out on Your Own
(AMACOM; May 1, 2009; $21.95 Hardcover), Robert Tuchman shows young professionals how to start and succeed in their own business, giving examples of many entrepreneurs under the age of 35, from mortgage giants to PR moguls, who thrived in the face of adversity. There is no better time to take a chance than when you’re youthful, bold and have very little to lose—and he knows from experience.

“A seismic shift is happening in the economy, with the tone moving toward an entrepreneurial world,” says Tuchman, who started his own company in the economic downturn in the mid-1990’s. “New forms of life are springing up, making possible ventures that seemed impossible just a short time ago.”

When Tuchman graduated from college in 1993, he entered the stockbroker trainee program at Lehman Brothers but quickly realized his professional path in the rat race would leave him unfulfilled. Armed with one phone, a fax machine and his tiny, one-bedroom apartment, at the age of 25 he funneled his passion for sports and business into his own company, Tuchman Sports Enterprises (TSE). Within two years, TSE was named to the annual Inc. 500 list of America’s fastest growing privately held companies and as one of the top 100 promotion agencies by Promo Magazine.  TSE, which was started with no money and no investors, sold for millions of dollars to Premiere Global Sports in 2006. Last year, TSE (now known as Premiere Corporate Events) earned more than $70 million dollars in sales.

“I can’t tell you how many people warned me against veering off the safe route at Lehman,” says Tuchman. “But I knew I had the drive and resiliency to make something else happen for myself instead of spending years being apathetic in my job, never knowing if I’d make it to the top. And given what ended up happening to Lehman and other corporations, playing it “safe” might have left me unemployed, broke, and in a career that I hated.”

In Young Guns, Tuchman shares practical strategies for not only getting a business only up and running but also ensuring its staying power:

“This is the moment to turn your passion into something tangible,” says Tuchman. “You’re in control of setting the rules for your life’s agenda. If you feel the drive in your gut, got for it now.”

About the Author:

Robert Tuchman is the Founder of TSE Sports & Entertainment, a company he started out of his one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan at the age of 25. TSE has gone on to appear on Inc. 500’s list of America’s Fastest Growing Privately Owned Companies. Tuchman now serves as President of Premiere Corporate Events, a division of Premiere Global Sports. A frequent guest on “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” he has also appeared on CNN, the “CBS Morning News,” BET, and has been the subject of features in USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Entrepreneur. He lives in New York City.

Tuchman’s Tips for Young Entrepreneurs

The Small Business Administration’s latest statistics show that a new startup has about a 50 per cent chance of surviving for five years or more. Robert Tuchman’s advises entrepreneurs to start doing the following early on to ensure a company’s longevity:

1.      Do business from home. Save money on renting office space by doing business out of your own living space. Install a separate phone line or purchase a cell phone for business use only. Print your own letterhead and business cards. Your clients will never suspect that “Suite 12-B” is really “Apartment 12-B.”

2.      Try to fund it yourself, or mostly yourself. It pays to go after the least amount of funding that is necessary. When you’re starting out, it feels good to say that some venture-capital firm invested millions of dollars in your idea. But a few years down the road, when you’re doing well, it will not feel so great to know that you own only 25 percent of your company.

3.      Put a positive spin on things. Does the timing of your entrepreneurial project coincide with you having been recently laid off? Don’t include that in your pitch to customers or investors. Nobody wants to think they’re doing business with someone who’s only there because they have to be.

4.      Build a culture of action and enthusiasm. During your first year, you will face a lot of questions about your experience. The best—and probably only—way to overcome them is to impress clients with your vigor and dynamism. If you want to be perceived as youthful, forward-thinking, and results-oriented, be proactive! Reward your people for taking the initiative. You’ll have a huge competitive advantage over established companies. Many clients will pay, and even take a bit of a risk, to get young, energetic minds on their side.

5.      Stay balanced. During the first year, and all the years thereafter, you will have to find a way to achieve balance. Basically, this means avoiding the temptation to work eighteen hours a day, seven days a week, without a break. Find an outlet—a hobby, an amateur sport, or an exercise activity—that gets your mind off work and relieves stress. It’s essential to maintaining perspective and the energy you need to keep your business thriving.