Hello my name is Tom Montgomery.

I have had the good fortune of owning my own small business for more than ten years and having a long career with a few major corporations.  I guess some would say that I have lived the "American dream".

There is no doubt that I have been lucky enough to own, operate and sell a successful small business.

I have a short story to tell you; I hope it will help you. 

In 1981 I had what I called an "entrepreneurial seizure".

What does that mean?

I was driven to have my own business no matter what risks I had to face.  I have to tell you that my wife was not as enthusiastic as I was.  After all, I was about to make the decision to leave a very good job with a highly successful company.

In 1982 I purchased a franchise to sell computer supplies.  I left my good job and set out to own and operate a small business, I was thrilled to be in that position. My dream to become an entrepreneur was taking shape.

Within six months of purchasing the franchise my franchisor was in trouble; money trouble.  They did not have the cash flow to support operations even though they were profitable.  My dream was becoming a nightmare.

In the first six months of business I had hired a salesman and an assistant and I had to make payroll for all of us; it was a scary time.  The good news was we had already established 600 customers and they liked the way we took care of their computer supply needs.  Maintaining customer loyalty meant everything.

That was my first lesson on how important customer retention is to any business.

We forged ahead not knowing for certain where we were headed.  That was my first lesson in preparing a solid business plan.  I needed to get cash to survive.  I'm sure that most small business owners know how that feels.

I put together a well thought out business plan and presented it to several banks and potential partners.  Although the banks were very impressed they were not willing to extend credit beyond what I had already borrowed.  At the time I was confused by their unwillingness but I finally understood that banks were not angel investors.

My next step was to approach family and friends.  There was a small amount of help but not enough to keep us going.

What was my next step?  Keep on going, I wasn't about to give up on my dream! 

I talked with several small business owners but remember 1982 was the beginning of a deep recession in the U.S.  There was no help there.  These business owners had their own concerns about survival.  I couldn't blame them for looking out at their own interests.

All during this time, we continued to grow our customer base and the need for cash was getting greater. 

I went to the Small Business Association (SBA) to get help with my problem.  They understood my issues and were willing to provide some excellent advice.  They also knew a number of "angel" investors.  These are people who have successfully run organizations and businesses and were willing to invest in businesses that showed promise.

So I prepared several presentations to angel investors.

That is where I found how important a good business plan is to survival.

• I needed good financial information (P&L), balance sheet and funding sources, a breakeven analysis, cash flow projections, a receivables strategy, etc, etc.
• a good marketing plan
• a good sales plan
• an operations plan
• an employee retention plan
• a supplier plan - how was I going to continue getting the goods we sold
• a risk management plan (insurance to cover loss)
• an exit strategy (if I ever wanted to sell the business or bring in partners)

It was difficult to put all this information together but this is what investors required before they will even consider funding a business.

It taught me the importance of planning and served as an excellent roadmap to becoming a successful small business.

So why am I telling you this story?

Because I believe it is not an unusual story and it applies directly or indirectly to many small businesses.

That is why I created the website make-your-small-business-grow.com.

After a ten year period I was able to successfully sell the business which had grown to over $5,000,000 in revenue, 35 employees and 2200 customers.

My hope is that you can benefit from my experience and use the information found in make-your-small-business-grow.com.

It is my way of "paying-it-forward".

Good luck and best wishes for success!

If you wish to make contact with me please submit the form below. I will repsond to any inquiry as soon as possible. Thank You.

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