Of the millions of new businesses formed in the United States each year, just 30% make it through the first decade, according to research from the Small Business Administration.
Allied Universal Chief Executive Steve Jones boils the reason for the low success rate down to “fear of failure.”
“Failure is a part of life,” Jones told the audience of the 22nd annual Business Journal’s Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards on March 9. “The most important thing is to learn from your mistakes, let it galvanize you to get back to work, and never give up.”
Jones, who built Allied Universal from a $12 million security firm into the world’s seventh-largest employer with 800,000 people and a run rate of $20 billion, got his entrepreneurial start at the age of 7 with a shoe-shining business that failed to gain traction.
His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?
“Go build your own shoeshine stand and do the hard work.”
Jones was the keynote speaker at the Business Journal event at the Irvine Marriott, which drew a crowd topping 300 people.
5 Honorees
The event’s five honorees, selected from more than 100 nominees, were:
– William Shopoff, chief executive and president of Irvine’s Shopoff Realty Investments.
– Shannon Eusey, chief executive of Newport Beach-based Beacon Pointe Advisors.
– George Adams, president of Orange-based SA Recycling.
– Alex Bhathal, founder of Newport Beach’s Raj Capital and Revitate.
– Francisco Morales, chief executive and co-founder of Costa Mesa’s 5.11 Tactical.
The award winners will be profiled in the March 20 print edition of the Business Journal.
Upcoming Events
The Business Journal’s next two events are the CFO of the Year Awards on May 11 followed by the Family-Owned Business Awards on May 31. The deadline to nominate individuals for the latter event is March 15.
Dan Lubeck, managing director of Solis Capital Partners LLC, is the CFO awards event’s master of ceremonies.
Tait & Associates Inc.’s Tom Tait and Trevor Tait will deliver the keynote for the Family-Owned Business Awards.
