George Greenwood, a volunteer service missionary at the Polynesian Cultural Center, shared lessons he learned over years of running his own multi-million dollar construction company during the BYU-Hawaii School of Business entrepreneurial lecture series on October 4.
Greenwood, who sold his Utah-based company — Greenwood Construction Company — in 2002, told the business students that he was an average student in high school and only went to two years of university. But he loved construction, and worked 11 years in the industry before deciding to start his own business.
"Find a business that you like, a trade or service that you would like to provide, then go to a company and learn from them first," he said, "and if you're entrepreneurial, you'll know that you want to start your own business."
Still, it was a big step, and he admitted his wife wasn't initially excited. "We had three little children under the age of four. I told her I think I can do this, and she ended up being my best booster. There was no safety net. There was no education to fall back on. We went forward with hard work."
He also got his old boss to agree to hire him back if his business failed. "He gave me a lot of training, but he also let me know he would be a competitor."
Greenwood stressed it wasn't easy. "The first five years are tough. There will be setbacks when you first start out. You're also going to make mistakes. Learn from them, and try to do your best. I did anything and everything to survive in the beginning. It was an education process," he said, noting he got his first good opportunity when he was asked to build a flower shop in a mall.
"Over the next 23 years we grew this little start-up company into a$35 million-a-year construction business. We were building over 250-300stores a year, and we were doing it with about 180 employees. I was fortunate to be able to find, hire and retain great employees."
"Sometimes as entrepreneurs, we wonder what's our greatest asset: Computers? Location? Your greatest asset is your people. One of the things I learned is to treat people how you want to be treated. Treat your business associates how you want to be treated, and your customers the same way. That something we came to live by," he said.
Greenwood also offered some other practical advice:
"Do what you say you're going to do. That doesn't seem like a difficult thing, but you've got to add when you said you were going to do it. Everybody gets busy and there are a whole bunch of wonderful excuses. You can't miss your deadlines and keep long-term relationships with your customers. We did everything we had to do to make that deadline."
"There are only two problems in construction, that relate to other businesses: Too much work, and not enough. Then the problem is managing resources when you have too much."
"As you practice business, it's okay to be a little fair with your friends. Good friends won't expect you to work to the point where it endangers your business."
His grandfather taught him "sometimes you have to toot your own horn, because no one will toot it for you. That applies to sales and marketing. If you're not an outspoken person, you need to hire one."
"All the experiences you receive in your life will help you in business," he said, specifically citing honesty. "Take bad experiences and learn good judgment from them. You do not have enough time to have all the bad experiences in life."
"On a personal level, one of the things that helped me was prayer, because you're walking on the edge. I'd never been in business, so you walk with a lot of faith. Through that humble process, you can call and ask for help. You've got a Father in Heaven who wants you to be successful. If you have righteous desires, He'll help you."
In conclusion, Greenwood said, "Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the people you work with and your customers. Don't become so involved that you forget what's important: Your family. Enjoy and love them."