Audio Interviews Entrepreneur Audio Interviews Cohort Audio Interviews

Jose Figueroa Interview with Erica Shames, Susquehanna Life Magazine Owner

Published by:

After college, Erica Shames moved to New York City and worked several years as an editorial assistant and freelance writer for publications such as National Lampoon magazine and The Aquarian Weekly, where she interviewed many music celebrities, including John Cougar Mellencamp, Gloria Gaynor, Maureen McGovern, Thin Lizzy, the Little River Band and others. Her work also includes The St. Petersburg Times, The New York Times, Consumers Digest, Sport Magazine, American Cinematographer, and Southern Boating. In 1990, Erica moved to Lewisburg PA when her husband was offered a teaching position at Bucknell University.

Once in Lewisburg, Erica realized that there was not a professional publication in this area of Pennsylvania. A few months later she started a home business, without any previous experience running businesses and by investing her savings to launch it. She admitted, “In the beginning things were tough, people did not know me and trust me, and there was not valuable appreciation for this kind of publication.” Now Erica Shames and her company have achieved a well-respected, high quality reputation over a period of 19 years. Her lifestyle magazine offers residents and visitors a glimpse of the positive, little-known and under-appreciated aspects of life in central Pennsylvania, including more about the small but vibrant business community that exists here. But this is only part of what Erica shared during her interesting interview; I invite you to listen to her thoughts about her work and experiences running this professional publication…click below to continue with the audio interview:

Continue reading

Share
Uncategorized

A meeting with Dean Hieser

Published by:

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Dean for five years now.  I actually met Dean through one of my friends, Danielle, who happens to be Dean’s daughter.  As a venture capitalist, Dean has been through many successful investments through his life; he’s also been fortunate enough to learn from some unsuccessful ones.

So how does one even become a VC?  This is something I asked Dean when we sat down together and he was kind enough to enlighten me with the knowledge he has attained through the years.  “My initiation into the VC world stemmed from my belief that I could do it better.”  Dean was originally asked to invest with a family friend, who he wishes to leave unnamed, that offered Dean a chance to get involved with the development of a golf course.  As you can imagine, Dean is not the silent investor type.  He fought for as much control as he could, but found out later it would not be enough.  Dean originally took the opportunity because he believed the idea had potential and it would be successful with his help.  Unfortunately, he had barely any say in the more important matters and had little impact on the development of the project.  Fortunately, Dean lost next to nothing in the investment, but, until this day, all he can think about is the opportunity cost.

Continue reading

Share
Written Interviews ENT 640

Interview With Patrick Jones by Hillary Watkins

Published by:

I have had the privilege of working with Patrick Jones in my previous job, and when the opportunity arose to interview someone in the financial field my thoughts immediately turned to him. Pat, as I like to call him, is the branch manager of North State Acceptance, a finance company that focuses on consumer loans in the Eastern part of North Carolina.  His friendly demeanor and ever smiling face are attributes that I’m sure have benefitedNorth State Acceptance him greatly in his career, however he is an individual who genuinely cares about people and businesses and has always strived to do the right thing in an industry whose reputation has been marred by those who have not had the same strong character.

When I asked about his past experience with the finance industry he told me that he had previously worked for Wachovia Bank for 23 years managing both consumer and commercial lending.  He worked with automobile, RV, and yacht loans with the largest credit underwritten at $3.5M.  He later managed a portfolio of automobile dealers by lending them credit and managing wholesale lines of credit.  In his career with North State Acceptance, Pat states that currently the biggest challenge is irrational competition.  “Many new lenders are entering the market and have forgotten the sins of the past.  There is very little discipline that I compete with daily.”

Continue reading

Share
Video Interviews ENT 640

sage advice for seeking funding

Published by:

In March of 2012, I had the privilege of attending a free community panel on “Funding Your Small Business,” jointly hosted by the Asheville Minority Business Program and Mountain Bizworks. It was at this informative gathering that I met Jane Hatley, WNC Regional Director for Self-Help Credit Union. She brought a wealth of valuable information, perfectly balanced between enthusiastic support for and the stark reality of starting a small business.

Though some of us may be aspiring to build global empires, many of us have set our sights on small businesses couched cosily within the context of our local communities. With this local focus in mind, I took the opportunity to explore small business funding in a bit more depth with Jane. Below is a short video of Jane in her own words followed by a summary of our entire interview.

Continue reading

Share