Читать книгу Single. Women. Entrepreneurs. Second Edition - Erin Albert - Страница 78

Tracey Brame

West Point Financing

Tracey Brame is an Indianapolis native from birth. At age 9, she declared she was going to a top 10 school, putting the Newsweek list under her bed. At age 18, she was accepted to every top ten school in the country. She settled into West Point because it felt closest to her Pentecostal upbringing. After leaving the Army, she created an IT recruiting firm, working almost exclusively for EMC2’s channel division. The downturn in IT during the early 2000s left Tracey looking for a new angle. In 2007, she started West Point Financing, a national equipment lease and financing firm. Her biggest deal to date is designing a $50 million vehicle lease program for the city of Indianapolis’ Department of Public Works, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and Indianapolis Fire Department. She is in current contention for leasing agent for one of the state’s largest hospital systems. Her company is online at: www.westpointfinancing.com.

What advantages do you think you have as a solo business owner that married people don’t have?

I have to succeed. No one is standing behind me with a safety net in case things don’t work out.

What about disadvantages?

I don’t have a safety net. It’s a dual-edged sword. When I network, no one else in the room has vested interest in talking about my company except me.

Do you think business ownership has led you to remain single?

No. Once I get more experience under my belt, I will settle down.

What advice would you give another single woman who is thinking about starting a business?

Make sure you have the guts to do this. If you doubt that you have the resolve, you may lack it. There is no crying in baseball or ownership. Own your success, and own your failure.

Do you think there are advantages/disadvantages to being a single business owner? Do you think it is harder, or easier?

I do not think that it is either. You access your strengths. If you do not have a safety net, then make sure you have more liquidity than the next person.

How did you discover and access your own strengths?

I’ve always assessed what it takes for me to survive—a failed marriage, West Point, etc., throughout those situations I never lowered by lifestyle. Characteristics about me that prevent my failing are my strengths. One of them would be a belief that I can do what anyone else can do. If John can jump out of a plane and not die, I can do it too. If they survived and had the brains to walk away, I can too. I can do anything an above average person can do. I admit I can’t do what Michael Jordan can do, but I could if I worked hard at it.

I had a superior upbringing with my grandparents. It is amazing that people can get through this life and I marvel at how they do without having known my grandparents. I had a fantastic upbringing. It was a good foundation, so when I got to a place like West Point I could handle it because my grandfather was a preacher and had a lot of rules too. I broke some rules but I didn’t go bad—I basically assumed that rules were reasonable and unless it was being imposed on me because I’m black or female, I should follow them. Little things like that gave me strength so that even when I’m in a situation where there are no rules, I create rules to give myself order.

What about being a single WOMAN business owner?

Do you think it is easier, the same, or harder than being a single man starting a business?

I think those who have someone helping with the ancillary roles in life are at an advantage, male or female. The challenge with being black or female is that some Caucasians and men will test you in unnerving ways to tip you off your course. Of course, they do this to each other too. It is just part of the game. During half time and breaks, having a cheerleader squarely in your court has to be worth something.

What was the best training you received to prepare you as a business owner?

West Point taught me what the ‘man’s game board’ looks like. I am in a male dominated field where frankly African Americans tend not to tread. I think that my education and upbringing taught me to perform well when alone among strangers in the room.

What else, if anything, did your military training play a role in your entrepreneurial career path?

You can’t quit West Point. You can, but your family is disappointed. You’ll always be the daughter who quit West Point. You can’t quit. Some people get kicked out, but most people don’t quit. The idea that you have to hang in there helped me as an entrepreneur. There were years where I had negative tax returns—negative $25K. I was bleeding and couldn’t get a break—but I couldn’t quit. Some other person is doing it, so I can. Not sure that’s healthy, but I just can’t quit.

Did you, or are you running your business as a part-time or full-time venture? Why?

Full-time. I cannot waste time doing most things part-time.

Did you take on a partner in your business at any time?

I have not taken on a partner. I am signing up referral partners.

How important are mentors in your entrepreneurial career?

They are immensely important. Successful men are helping me more than any other group. This is not an attraction issue but a mentor issue. I appreciate getting good answers to my questions.

Did you start your business with your own capital? Did you try to obtain capital from other sources?

My capital. No.

Why not?

I couldn’t obtain capital. If you start a service company based upon yourself, it is not financeable. I’m a saver and try not to spend the money I have. I’m irritated if I have to touch my savings. As a single parent, I have to keep a lot of money on hand, and when I don’t have that there, I’m stressed. I ran near empty and then took off just in time. All the time I’m thinking I can do it—I just haven’t had my break yet—I can do it.

How important are your social and personal networks to the success of your business?

Social and personal networks are not a factor. Professional networks are key.

So, you view your networks differently? If so, why?

Easy. You can go to NAWBO (the National Association of Women Business Owners) and hug everyone, but I feel it is a professional association. If you need help, they’ll help you. I had a question and asked another NAWBO member and talked with her for 7 minutes one day before work. She put me on the right path; that was good. I professionally network with them but don’t hang out with them at night because I need to be with my son, who is a teenager. There’s no expectation of me to drop by friends’ houses during their family hours. I wouldn’t readily talk to my professional network about my personal problems—that’s the difference between a social network and a business network to me.

Why do you think more single/divorced and widowed women start more businesses than men in their respective categories, and does your theory match your own rationale for starting a business?

We are told that we can’t do things more often. Once you have tried the whole love thing and realized that your goals will be unfulfilled if not filled by you, you activate. I do not need a man to be happy. My company is like a child. The business world is the surrogate father. I can do this alone. When people say you need a husband, they’re saying you can’t make it on your own. Women don’t need to have a husband and don’t need to cook. We are told what we have to do, and I reject that. I always have. My grandmother told me to go to a specific large company and get a job and not go to West Point, but I went anyway, and now that large company is laying off thousands of employees. Women must focus on what they want and can do, not what society explicitly and implicitly suggests that they need to do.

What is your personal definition of success, and have you achieved it?

I want to be debt free and independently wealthy. It won’t ensure happiness, but it will curb certain fears. I am on my way.