Originally posted on USA Weekly.
Starting a business is a big achievement for many entrepreneurs, but maintaining one is the larger challenge. There are many standard challenges that face every business whether they are large or small. It is not easy running a company, especially in a fast-paced, ever-changing business world. Technology advances, new hiring strategies, and now, political changes coming with the new administration, all add to the existing business challenges that entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives have to deal with.
Maximizing profits, minimizing expenses and finding talented staff to keep things moving seem to be top challenges for both SMBs and large corporations. We have been interviewing companies from around the world to discover what challenges they are facing in their businesses. We also asked each company to share business advice they would give to a younger version of themselves.
Below is our interview with Ray Belanger, President and CEO at Bay Copy:
What does your company do?
Bay Copy is a provider of document generation equipment and solutions to Greater Boston businesses. It is a second generation family business which got its start in 1972, and in those days sold duplicating machines and earlier technology used to create printed documents. Today, the company represents a number of major equipment manufacturers including Lexmark and Konica Minolta, and offers clients full service programs for managing their document generation (print) costs. Bay Copy is headquartered in Rockland, MA.
What is your role? What do you enjoy most about your role?
I am the company President/CEO, and as such, the person who needs to keep the ship on course in both good and bad weather (I had just toured the USS Midway when I saw this question!). I oversee the company’s financial health, sales, customer service and emotional support leadership. What I enjoy is having a close and personal connection with my employees, some of whom have been with the company for 30 years. I also enjoy a strong connection with our customers and the community. Part of what I’m responsible for is results, both good and bad. I enjoy the endless opportunities for personal growth for myself and my employees, and the chance to be as flexible and creative as I dare to be.
What are the biggest challenges in your business right now?
We deal with decision-makers at companies, banks, organizations and health care facilities. Everyone’s really busy, so a constant challenge is “getting through the noise” to get our message out to the right people. Breaking through the clutter of all the other messages can pose problems when it comes to connecting and having meaningful discussions with potential customers. We use a variety of marketing strategies to do so; gaining that all important “at bat” with a prospect is a continuing challenge. We are always evaluating what works and looking for ways to improve our outreach.
If you could go back in time, what business advice would you give to a younger version of yourself?
I would tell the younger version of myself to keep being aggressive, and to be confident! I would also remind myself that it is okay to make mistakes; we learn from them and that is how we improve. Embrace your youth…even when you are not young anymore. And, in general, “go for it!” We are all here for just a short time. It is as much about the journey as it is about the results.