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Money Matters
By STEPHEN DRAVIS Scared to start a home business? This month, millions of people flocked to the movies to watch a movie about breaking the bank in Las Vegas. For most people, "21" is a fantasy. In reality, the house always wins in the long run. But here is a harsher reality: "The failure rate for new businesses five years out is 75 to 90 percent," said Keith E. Girouard, senior business adviser of the Berkshire Regional Center for the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center. "What's the failure rate for playing the slots in Las Vegas? That's 68 percent." The good news is that unlike the one-armed bandits, the business world rewards players who work hard and use their heads. That's why Girouard says that even in a slow economy it is possible to start a new business and get ahead - with the right plan. "If you look at the headlines, the economy doesn't look good," he said. "But it's not true that you're better off in Las Vegas. "You can significantly increase your chances of success if you do certain things .. in a good economy or a bad economy." What kinds of things? You can start by attending one of two workshops planned this week to help entrepreneurs get their businesses going. On Advertisement Tuesday, April 15, Berkshire Enterprises will hold a half-day workshop titled "EBAYsics: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started Buying and Selling on eBay" at Berkshire Community College from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. On Thursday, April 17, Girouard's MSBDC will host "Your Business Plan" at the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce from 5 to 8 p.m. Girouard said his workshop will help aspiring and existing business owners develop the skills they need to form a business plan. "It's only three hours," he said. "But we'll be laying the groundwork in terms of understanding what some of the issues are. And they will leave with a worksheet so they can start working on their business plan." Even as economists on Wall Street and politicians on Pennsylvania Avenue debate whether the nation is in a recession, economic activity continues to occur on Main Street, Girouard said. "Any time - good economy, bad economy, changing economy - there are opportunities to consider," Girouard said. "We see probably 20, 30, 40 businesses a month come through our office. Some are planning expansion. ... Some of them want to strengthen their existing positions and position themselves for market changes. "This would be a good place to start. It's a good workshop for them." While many new businesses are "brick and mortar" undertakings, e-business remains a growing segment of the market. And one of the giants on the e-business block is eBay, the virtual flea market that allows sellers to market their goods either for a fixed amount or through online auctions that pit potential buyers against one another and, hopefully, drive up the price. Myk Daigle of Pittsfield has been running an eBay "store" called MaD Mercantile for more than a year as a full-time job. He started doing eBay as a hobby in 2002 and developed a business model with the help of training provided by Berkshire Enterprises. Daigle, who will conduct the April 15 seminar, said he is not the only area resident using the Web site to build a business. "I know a couple of other people who took the Berkshire Enterprises course who are doing it," he said. "One concentrates on books and the other on jewelry." Daigle's eBay store concentrates on antique weapons, cars and motorcycles. He acquires most of his inventory in the "real world," visiting estate sales, auctions and antiques shops and looking for underpriced items that he can sell for their true value online. "EBay allows you to work from home, but it does take a lot of time," Daigle said. "To keep it up, you do put quite a bit of effort into it. You can work late into the night, on weekends. If you're a workaholic by nature, sometimes you have to sit and say, 'Hey, now I'm going to take some time to watch a movie and spend time with my family or whatever.' "I like looking for stuff to sell. It's fun - bargaining and wheeling and dealing." But while it may look like eBay does all the work for its sellers, there are tricks to succeeding on the site and pitfalls to avoid, Daigle said. "One of the biggest things to worry about now is there are some scammers out there producing fake e-mails," he said. "You think they're coming from eBay or (the site's billing service) PayPal, but they're not. ... They'll say your account has been compromised and ask why you didn't pay for this particular item and ask for your credit card information." EBay allows its buyers and sellers to rate one another as a way of recommending them to other potential users. Daigle said it is crucial for sellers to keep their rating high. "Of course (a seller's) past history makes a big difference in how successful they are," he said. "The feedback system is a transparent way to know if a seller or a bidder has a good past history. You can feel a sense of trust." Berkshire Enterprises program director Steve Fogel said the "EBAYsics" workshop was created to respond to demand among the nonprofit training program's clients. "We held a forum that Myk (Daigle) did that wasn't on eBay, but it had the word eBay in the title," Fogel said. "A lot of people who saw the notice thought it was an eBay workshop and called. There was a lot of interest in it. "The other people I heard from, interestingly, were retailers who might have stuff to get rid of at the end of the year. They might have slow seasons when there are no customers but you can still sell on eBay. The antique dealers don't get a lot of tourists in March." While both the Berkshire Enterprises and MSBDC programs can benefit people starting new businesses, each also will appeal to operators of existing businesses. MSBDC's Girouard said a business plan is an important first step for start-ups, but it should not be written in stone. And even if you have a plan, you can benefit from the workshop's tips on how to refine it. "Generally speaking, you want it to be an active, dynamic document that helps direct and inform your decisions and reminds you of the larger picture," he said. "It should be referred to often and probably looked at on a yearly basis to be revised." The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center will present "Your First Business Plan" on Thursday, April 17, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, 75 North St., Suite 360, Pittsfield. The cost is $35. To register, call 413-499-0933 or visit msbdc.org/wmass. Berkshire Enterprises will present "EBAYsics: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started Buying and Selling on eBay" on Tuesday, April 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Berkshire Community College, Room E-10. The cost is $100, and space is limited to 18 people. To register, call Steve Fogel at 413-236-2141.
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