Sunday, May 30, 1999
ENTREPRENEURS
Resume firm must add value
BY JOIHN ECKBERG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Long live the e-mail bag:
My question is do you know of a book on the ins and outs, in detail, about running a resume service? I have one established, and if I can read about this, I can possibly avoid business pitfalls.
Whether a new business focuses on resumes or professional wrestling, the best first step for any entrepreneur is to get the right information, said Gloria Park, small business counselor with the Small Business Development Center at the University of Cincinnati.
And this reader and e-mailer is right on target to start out by finding a book about his business, too.
“The one I use here in my class is Black Entrepreneur's Guide to Success by Melvin J. Gravely II (Duncan & Duncan, Inc.; $16.95),” Ms. Park said.
“It really is a universal book, even though it says black entrepreneur.
“It gives you information on how to start a business — any business — with the insights and the steps you need to take. For me, it's easy reading, and that's important because most entrepreneurs don't have the time to read as much as they should.”
Mr. Gravely, the author and a Sharonville resident, has another suggestion for the questioner:
“My second book first,” he said, referring to Making it Your Business: The Personal Transition from Employee to Entrepreneur (Impact Group Consultants; $16.95).
He said start-up business owners frequently jump into the world of commerce without adequate and basic preparation.
“They haven't figured out where they are. They don't get their minds ready — learn how to make decisions and which decision to make.
“Instead, we get them right into bookkeeping and marketing and those sorts of topics and I think we hurt them.”
Clearly, the workplace has undergone tremendous changes in recent years with loyalty on the wane and mobility on the rise. Experts predict that adults will change careers or jobs five to 15 times while in their prime work years. That trend creates a lot of resumes. But is the world ready for another resume service?
Mr. Gravely is not convinced, although he mixes his skepticism with advice. Many people choose to form a resume service business because there is a wealth of choices for software, he said. It's easy, and there seems to be a pat market.
“Although there are lots of resumes being created out there, the bulk are being created in-house on a word processor,” he said.
“There's steep competition to create resumes, and the competition is pretty cheap.”
He suggested that the e-mail writer instead focus his service on marketing to a mass buyer rather than individual buyers.
“This person is going to have to add value,” he said. “Resumes for corporations. Resumes for temporary agencies. Convince (companies) to outsource. They need to be a single-source provider, an ongoing source of revenues.
“They need to be really creative about who their market is.”
Mr. Gravely also had one last suggestion for the e-mailer.
“After my second book, I'd read my first book next,” he said.
John Eckberg covers small-business news for the Enquirer. Have a small-business question, concern or quandary? E-mail him at jeckberg@enquirer.com, and he will find the expert with the answers.
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