The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
‘If I could do it over’ — businesses learn from experiences
NEW YORK » April Oury started her physical therapy practice 14 years ago wanting to give all aspects of her business the same focus and attention to detail she gave patients — even when it came to choosing paint colors or an internet provider.
She wouldn’t do it that way again. “There was not enough time in the day or the workweek to put that kind of effort into every single thing,” says Oury, owner of eight Body Gears physical therapy centers in the Chicago area, San Diego and Clayton, Missouri.
Probably every small business owner would handle some things differently the next time. Learning from experience is part of starting and running a business, and the list of things owners wish they could do over is likely endless.
Oury gave up her drive for ultra-perfection when she realized it prevented her from getting things done. While she fixated on the details of a marketing brochure, “I missed all those opportunities to pass out a brochure because I didn’t have it in my hands.”
What others would change if they had the chance:
Andy Curry came up with what he thought was a unique name, WallaZoom, for an app he created over a year ago to help shoppers find local retailers. When he went to trademark it four months ago, he learned it was in the process of being trademarked by someone else. He hadn’t checked beforehand.
“I didn’t think there would be a chance of anyone else using that name in the trademark category of advertising and marketing,” says Curry, who’s located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He still hopes to get the name, but also has backups in case he can’t.
Levi King’s problem was a name no one could spell or pronounce. Six years ago, he and partner Caton Hanson founded Creditera, which helps businesses get loans and other credit. Soon after, the Draper, Utah-based company was being called names like “Credit Tiara” and frequently misspelled.
“Something as important as a brand and we took so little time to check it out — we should have run it by other people,” King says. Eventually, he and Hanson found another name, Nav, referring to how the company assists businesses navigating credit applications.
Hope & Harmony Farms, a