EDITOR’S NOTE: In a Citizen exclusive, columnist Joe Domaleski shares his thoughts on the occasion of his company’s twentieth anniversary. Congratulations to you Joe and the entire CFC team.
Pinch me, I think I’m dreaming – the one-man company I started with a small bank account, thoughts, and prayers has made it to the 20-year mark! According to data from the Small Business Administration, 20% of new businesses fail during the first years of being open, 50% during the first five years, and less than 30% remain after ten years. The failure rate of new businesses is 70% by year ten. Let that sink in – most new businesses fail. I’ve often said that starting and running a business has been one of my biggest sources of joy, but it’s also the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Join me as I look back at key moments in our 20-year history.
In the spring of 2003, I launched Southside Consulting, Inc. My first column in this newspaper talked about the reasons I started the business. The name of the company was designed to communicate two things. First, we were going to be local and focused on the south side of Atlanta. Secondly, the name of our company needed to be broad enough to cover whatever we ended up deciding to do. When in doubt, just tell people you’re a consultant – so that’s what I did, and Southside Consulting, Inc. was born in March 2003.
Our original plan was to focus on technology, websites, and general project management. Leveraging years of IBM technology consulting experience, I put together an expert contractor team to provide top notch services to other small businesses. As I began to tell friends about my plans, I got all kinds of advice – some good, some not so good. Two specific pieces of advice ended up being the cornerstones of our business,…
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