Frederick W. Smith
FedEx Corporation, Chairman/President/CEO
1. What advice would you give someone starting a business?
"My advice for anyone starting a business would be to concentrate on four main points:
- Make sure you have a competitively superior and sustainable business service or product.
- Make sure you have a detailed business plan and get it reviewed by someone who has an objective prospective.
- Work on your leadership skills because you are probably going to have to do whatever it is you are trying to do with a team of people and you have got to get them involved with the objectives of the business and get them on board.
- Be prepared to work hard. Being an entrepreneur is something that is almost a twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week job and if you aspire to entrepreneurship you have got to be prepared to put the time in."
2. Why is Memphis good for entrepreneurs?
"Memphis, of course, has a long tradition of entrepreneurship and obviously that begs the question of why is Memphis good for entrepreneurs. I think there are several reasons:
- Memphis is a very open and casual society. It's not judgmental. It's a place where new ideas and new people seem to be welcomed.
- I think Memphis has an excellent quality of life. It's a pleasant place to live. It's a great place to have a family. It's a great place for kids to grow up and as a consequence the entrepreneur seems to be able to focus better on the business issues and not so much on traffic congestion or the issues that beset a lot of entrepreneurs in other parts of the country where there's not the quality of life that Memphis has.
- Memphis also has a number of attractions which provide the much needed diversion. You can't work all the time although most entrepreneurs often try to. The greatest attractions around Memphis make for, I think, a balanced life and for all these reasons Memphis seems to have been a good breeding ground for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ventures."
For More Information: http://www.fedex.com
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