June 1, 2005 - SmarTrack.net

Interview With Terry Espy

How It All Began

Inspiring SBO Stories - Terry Espy and Momentum Group

Raleigh NC --(Great lessons to learn from Terry are bold and in italics)

How it all began

Terry Espy started the Momentum Group in 1999. Her company helps clients to purchase, finance, design, and construct commercial real estate and structures, building from the ground up. Momentum Group also offers competitive prices for furnishing and finishes, and integrates telephone and computer systems, as well as other needed services into their projects. They are specifically known for their work in medical and dental facilities.

Terry's background includes more than 20 years of diversified management experience in several different fields including marketing and interior design. But I admire Terry for the fact that she has overcome both serious illness and serious business challenges with grace and light. She's bounced back from difficulties that might have overwhelmed most of us to build a highly respected, fast growing business which generates $1.5 million is sales and which she truly loves.

What where the three biggest first year challenges

In Terry's own words:

1. "My goal was to grow the company through profit margin alone….no outside funding. That took a lot of patience and dedication.

2. Forming a clear identity of who we are and what we do…..actually it has taken 5 years to accomplish that.

3. Gaining the confidence to only work with clients that "fit our guidelines". Generally, start-ups tend to grab at any sale that enters the door. I had learned through past business experiences that you really have to be confident and have a lot of faith that you should be selective about your client base….That there are clients that will do you more harm than good and that you need to be able to determine very quickly which ones to move forward with."

What were your most effective marketing methods

Terry:

"I knew the best way to grow our company was through a great referral base and that would not happen overnight. I had to be patient and focused. As far as the initial marketing of the business goes, it was totally word of mouth--no advertising. We did attend trade shows focused on medical and dental professionals. When we focused on the medical niche we knew that it would take time to gain a reputation."

When did your business make the leap from start up to significant sales and what was responsible?

Terry:

"That actually took about a year before I realized what had happened. I was definitely selling our services short the first year, but soon realized that I had to look at the time and talents required and bid accordingly. Surprisingly, when our rates went up more clients wanted to work with us. A good friend and successful developer in the area told me once that 'You guys seem to be too good to be true….outstanding service, knowledge, reputations and your fees are so far below what anyone would expect to pay. You need to bill what you are truly worth!!' "

Many of us make this mistake when we start. Terry proves that charging what we're worth is essential in order for us to use our time and talents efficiently and build a viable business.

How many hours do you work each week?

Terry:

"I am now down to about 45 hours a week. It took me awhile to realize I needed to work smart and not necessarily hard. Again, increasing our billing rates put us at a new level that allowed me a better standard of living, a sense of calmness and more time with my family and friends."

When developing a growth strategy for your business, did you take life balance into consideration?

Terry:

"Oh yes. After dealing with breast cancer 3 years ago I didn’t have any choice. I loved what I did for a living and realized that it not only allowed me a wonderful income but was truly instrumental in changing the direction of many of our client’s lives. When I discovered I had cancer I had to eliminate many frivolous activities from my life and focus on what was truly important…whether to me, my family or clients that valued what we did for them."

Running a rapidly growing, profitable business (what we call Level 2) has its own set of challenges. I wanted to know what the three biggest challenges were.

Terry:

1. "The biggest challenge was learning that I was not responsible for fixing all the "broken wings" out there. So many people came to me wanting jobs or hand outs and I felt I had to take care of them. I soon realized that MOST people are where they are in life because of choices they consistently make. I had a hard time learning to look after my family and myself first.

2. Not to continue to "grow" the company the way most people understand growth. My goal was to become more focused…fine-tuning what we did while continuing to grow our reputation, not number of employees.

3. To always evolve…..I had to constantly watch the market--watching trends, the economy and always looking at what we could be doing next month that would keep us ahead of the competition. It is so dangerous to ride on your successes and feel like you have things down and there is no need to change. My years at Delta Air Lines taught me that you can be at the top for many years but as soon as you become complacent or confident the bottom can drop out.

What do you know now that might have made you do things differently in businesses you’ve owned?

Terry:

"Primarily [I learned] to trust my own abilities and not be pushed into doing things that I was not confident in doing. I listened to too many people who really didn’t have my best intentions in mind.

What wisdom would you like to share with other small business owners?

"LOVE what you do first and foremost!!! I look at life as a "time limited offer" and I feel it is important that I make important improvements or changes everyday."

I really admire Terry for her loyalty, strength, vision and commitment to growing a business that reflects her personal values. I thank her for sharing her story and I hope it inspires you.

To learn more about Momentum Group, you can reach Terry at 919-829-0888.