Mother and Son Entrepreneurs Find Way to Survive Recession

 From New York Daily News

Running a new business is hard- opening a dance studio during a recession may seem foolish. Food is a necessity;waltzing is not.  Bu the owners of a new ballroom studio in midtown, Elizabeth Chen and her son Steve decided to gamble.

The rest of the article details what motivated Mrs. Chen, 65 and her son, 38 to dump their clothing import business and open a dance studio in Manhattan. It also provides good pointers for anyone looking to transition to a new business venture:

• "We were losing money everyday". According to Mrs. Chen their clothing import business was hit hard by the recession. It’s important to keep an objective view of your current situation. Many times people can be blinded by emotional ties and fail to see the reality of their situation. 
• "..we didn’t jump inot this blindly. We did our homework".  It is equally as important to keep an open mind on the new venture. Things often look rosy on the other side. The Chen’s are attempting to capitalize on the popularity of ballroom dancing but they were smart enough not to assume that success was guarantee.  They looked into the viability of this business and created a plan to ensure success. 
• "He reached out to insturctors, students, and other dance studios". When doing due dillingence is key to seek input from all sides.  By seeking insight from instuctors, students, and dance studios the Chens will benefit from seeing the business from point of view of everyone involved in the business.  This will no doubt help them to make the business better for all stakeholders.
• "They could not find a bank willing to lend to them, so they relied on their savings as well as loans from relatives and friends."  Traditional sources of funding can be tough to come by during recessions. so you may have to go it alone. This is not bad thing. Having your own money on the line  wil force you to keep a closer eye on the bottom line. While it’s true that many small businesses die prematurely due to lack funding. This should not keep you from making the attempt.
• "The Chens are thinking of hiring a marketing manager". It’s a good practice to focus on your core strenghts and find experts to focus on other areas; people like CPA’s and lawyers. This may not be an option early into your venture. But it should be incorporated into your plans as soon as possible.  

 PHOTO CREDITS: NY Daily News.com