Creating a Culture of Success in Entrepreneurial Businesses

To be published November 1, 2023, in the Kankakee Daily Journal

Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Two weeks ago, Karen Moore and I shared some general principles for becoming a successful entrepreneur. Let me review these five critical points from Part 1.

1) In your early years and jobs, develop yourself, skills, and contacts. 2) Know your values and stay focused. 3) When hiring, hire the best and brightest and be an inspiring leader. 4) Do more than simple networking, rather connect with your entire community. 5) Give back to your community in multiple ways and travel to broaden your background.

Karen Moore and her attorney husband, Richard, have built a spectacularly successful business. Recently, the Moore Agency received an award in New York and recognition as one of the top Five Mid-sized Agencies in the United States. Karen and her associates have received dozens of awards for their work with clients around the United States. Because of her perpetual energy, drive, and interest in others, she is well known around Tallahassee, the State of Florida, and the Southeast.

So, what has led to this outstanding success that we can learn from? (Much of this column will draw on the articles she writes for the Forbes Agency Council.) Ms. Moore describes her dilemma in starting her company: “When I founded my company 30 years ago, I couldn’t find that perfect-fit mentor. I didn’t know another female CEO in my community, and I wasn’t aware of any in my industry across Florida. I had plenty of role models, but there was no one I could ask to teach me the ropes of owning a communications agency.” But with courage she moved forward, starting small at first.

Karen shares a situation about building a culture that can sustain a business through good and bad times. In her Forbes column, she reveals, “Twenty years ago, we had to break the news to our team that we had lost a large client due to their acquisition. To keep the company afloat and avoid layoffs, my husband and I had to get a personal bank loan that we paid forward to the company. We informed company staff about the problem, told them we were working to resolve it, and most importantly, told them how they could help.”

Karen shares five critical rules for building a thriving culture and business through the good times and the challenging ones. I will describe these and illustrate how they are relevant not only in Florida, but right here in Kankakee County.

Be honest. There is much talk these days about transparency in government, but it rarely happens. But in business, Karen says you must share not only the good news but also the problematic news; for most people, their job is a large part of their lives, and they should not be blindsided.

A few years ago here in Kankakee County, I was made aware of a situation where an organization’s employees were informed by e-mail of their termination. How uncouth! That not only hurts morale but may make it very difficult to hire good people in the future. In Karen’s organization, her people are engaged to help work their way through difficult times. She says, “Become a culture where employees trust you to both deliver difficult news and, in turn, receive it from them. As a CEO, I would prefer to receive worrisome news early than let it fester and surprise me later.”

Share success. These rewards often come in financial rewards, but in reality, it is more about sharing the team’s success. Egotistical people make poor leaders. Even though the leader may deserve much credit, a wise leader will recognize their people’s achievements internally and externally. Karen, continuously on her Facebook page, shares the accomplishments of her team members. She does offer a caution “If you pour everything into one person, when that person leaves, what’s next?” So, spread the rewards around.

Give back. Get involved in your community, and volunteer your time and resources in addition to providing excellent service in your product. In her Forbes article, she states, “In the early days, I couldn’t afford to buy ads for our company, but I did donate my time, and it laid the groundwork for a corporate culture of community-building and philanthropy. I’ve spent significant time mentoring more than 100 women and have been a featured speaker at the White House Summit for Women Entrepreneurs. Now, giving back is part of our team’s culture. As a whole, our company supports youth and education causes, but we encourage our team members to give back to personal causes as well, and we pay them four hours a month to do it—allowing our company to touch a significant and diverse part of our population.”  Many of our local businesses in Kankakee County do the same. Still, it may be even more essential for women-owned businesses.

Fail Forward. Part of preventing catastrophic failure is always to have a plan B and make sure you learn from the failure. Kenny Rogers’s song about “knowing when to hold and knowing when to fold” is both tricky and insightful. You don’t want to give up prematurely just because the going gets rough, but wisdom is also knowing when it is time to execute Plan B. And in some cases, as legendary Professor Dr. Henry Mintzberg proposes, an even better plan may emerge out of the failure of A and B.

Swim Upstream.   This is the part of Rogers’s “holding” admonition. CEO Moore says, “When you own or lead a company, perseverance is essential. Remind your team that some of the best things in life don’t come easily, and lean on them to keep moving. When you demonstrate your grit, you inspire your team with courage and spirit. Rich with skills, experience, and relationships, your team is your greatest asset and resource—and therefore should be where you put your greatest energy.”

Make time for celebration. Here, Karen talks about internal communications that recognize outstanding performance.   Part of the culture is based on colleagues praising each other. Unfortunately, in too many organizations today, employees, managers, and even bosses encourage or at least tolerate jealousy. Even in a competitive environment, winners and those who ideas are not accepted must act in good faith.

Starting, growing, and sustaining a great business takes grit and determination but also caring, connection, and teamwork. The Moore agency has been able to build a prize-winning organization thanks to the leadership of Karen and Richard.

Karen B. Moore, APR, CPRC CEO and Founder of Moore, Advocacy, Public Relations, Crisis Communications, is based in Tallahassee. She has won numerous national and Florida awards in the marketing and PR Business. She is the author of the popular book “Behind the Red Door: Unlock Your Advocacy Influence and Success.” She is a widely sought-after speaker and has spoken to over 250 groups around the country and the world.

Don Daake, MBA, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus at Olivet. He and Karen worked together at Florida State University in the late 1980s. While at Olivet, Don taught courses in marketing, advertising, entrepreneurship, statistics, and business strategy.

Starting Your Own Business: Doing it the Right Way to Increase the Chances of Success & Advice from Public Relations CEO Karen Moore

Editor’s Note: Dr. Daake is sharing thoughts about entrepreneurship and also ideas from one of his former Florida State University colleagues, Karen B. Moore. She has created one of the largest and most successful PR and marketing companies in Florida and the Southeast.

In part I, I will share some of my thoughts on entrepreneurship and then describe how Karen built a successful award-winning business and provide five key lessons that we can learn from her experience. In Part II, Karen and I will share some cutting-edge advice she has written about in two articles in Forbes.

We live in an era of entrepreneurship. Shows such as CNBC’s Shark Tank have only heightened that interest. More than ever, the desire to start your own business and run your own gig is growing among Millennials, and now, Generation Z.  Academic programs are growing around the country, including right here in Kankakee County. This year, the McGraw School of Business at Olivet created an Entrepreneurship business major. However, most students are unlikely to go out and immediately start a full-time business unless someone provides a significant capital infusion. But it does plant the seeds and allows them to create a plan for the future.

For 15 years, while a professor at ONU, I taught a course on entrepreneurship. We brought in several successful local entrepreneurs, such as Larry Linaman of McDonald’s, Matt Nafzger of State Farm, realtor Jeff Bennett, and Michael Mills from Aurelio’s who provided invaluable advice. We also worked closely with KCC’s SBA Small Business Development Center, run by Ken Crite and Mary Posing.

Research into successful entrepreneurs shows that the prime time to form a business is age 30-35. Of course, there have always been exceptions like Steve Jobs, who, at age 21, formed Apple. Conversely, “Colonel” Sanders started KFC at 62 and was a multi-billionaire at 88.

Businesses are formed in four ways: 1) by buying an existing business, 2) by joining and growing a family business, 3) by buying into a franchise, and 4) the most challenging way, with the highest failure rate, is starting it from scratch.

I worked with Karen Moore when I joined the Center for Professional Development and Public Service in 1986. CPD was the outreach arm of the Florida State University in Tallahassee. At the time, CPD was recognized as one of the top five conference centers in the United States, so it was an honor to be selected.

What I so enjoyed about my six years at Eastern Iowa Community College (1979-1985) and then my years at Florida State, was that I had one foot in the business world and the other in academia. My job was very entrepreneurial in its own right. I was responsible for working with various professors from business, communications, and others to design, and develop courses. I was expected to pay my own way and generate considerable net income for the University. It was indeed a case of “intrapreneurship.”

Now, let me introduce Karen to you in a more specific way. Before joining Florida State, she and her husband had spent time in Germany when he was in the Air Force. When Richard decided to pursue a law degree, he chose Florida State, and Karen came to work with us in the Marketing Department of CPD.

During her time at CPD, it became apparent she was a master of networking, had a professional presence, and yet a very warm and engaging personality. Since she eventually planned on starting her own business, her skills, networking, and reputation while at CPD grew in Tallahassee and within the State of Florida.

Key Lesson One: In your early years and jobs, develop yourself, skills, and contacts. This is an essential lesson for any young person considering starting a business. Use any job you take out of college to build for the future. Working for someone else for several years is a great idea to gain financial stability, skills, and especially contacts

Key Lesson Two: Know your values and stay focused. Karen says, “When I started Moore in 1992, I was a one-woman show with a laser-focused vision to create a powerhouse agency led by strong ethics, integrity and unparalleled customer service. Today, Moore employs more than 40 communication pros with five core practice areas—advocacy, social, digital, Latino, and financial—and a client list that represents some of the most trusted companies in the country. But our values remain unchanged.”  Her clear articulation of core values and having a laser focus is another critical lesson we can learn from her experience.

Key Lesson Three: When you start hiring, hire the best and brightest and be an inspiring leader. Karen says: “As CEO, I have guided Moore’s steady growth by cultivating a culture that attracts and retains the best and the brightest talent and clients. We are a group that is connected in our commitment to excellence and drive for quality.”

Key lesson Four: Don’t try to go it alone. Form partnerships and coalitions. For over 30 years, her passion has been has been advocacy. Karen continues, “Moore has built more than 50 coalitions and networks representing hundreds of organizations to successfully advocate for state and federal priorities to impact public policy. It involves identifying potential stakeholders, identifying a need or challenge, creating opportunities for collaboration, building alliances and networks, establishing a brand, and then engaging and activating those champions.”

Key Lesson Five: Do more than networking. Also, give back to your community and travel to broaden your background. She serves on several nonprofit boards when she is not at the Agency. And broaden your horizons. She and her husband, Richard, have visited a total of 100 countries, from Peru to Mozambique.

Next time, we will continue with some precise advice from Karen on how to grow your business.

Don Daake, MBA, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus at Olivet. He and Karen worked together at Florida State University in the late 1980s. While at Olivet, Don taught courses in marketing, advertising, entrepreneurship, statistics, and business strategy.

Karen B. Moore, APR, CPRC CEO is the founder of Moore, Advocacy, Public Relations, Crisis Communications based in Tallahassee. She has won numerous national and Florida marketing and PR Business awards. She is the author of the popular book “Behind the Red Door: Unlock Your Advocacy Influence and Success.” She is a widely sought-after speaker and has spoken to over 250 groups around the country and the world.