After 14 years working for corporate cosmetics giant Revlon, Joan Horton needed a change. As the company’s vice president of corporate events—a position she moved into after years with the PR department—Horton oversaw everything from product events for beauty editors to such marquee events as the Revlon Run/Walk for Women. Despite the high-profile assignments, she was feeling restless. “There weren’t any new projects coming around,” she says. “I needed more of a challenge.”
So Horton decided with the top execs at Revlon to leave her full-time job there in November 2004—while continuing to consult on their events—and in January, she formed her own firm, the Horton Group. “I didn’t start out in a corporation, and I never thought I’d stay in a corporate environment as long as I did,” she says. “[Starting the new firm] just felt like a fresh new opportunity to go out into the world.” Horton isn’t alone in her entrepreneurial undertaking. More than a handful of New York–based planners have quit their jobs with companies or existing firms recently to form their own businesses. A quick sampling: Mark Testa left Condé Nast Traveler to start Mark Stephen Enterprises in February. Tony Berger, a former partner at Strategic Group, started his own firm, Relevent, this past spring. And after two years at event and PR agency Lisa Lori Communications, David Bowen left this past May to start his own firm, Bowen & Company. “I realized that I was practically running my own business within the framework of someone else’s business,” Bowen says.
They’re part of a growing trend of entrepreneurs throughout the state and nation, says Jim Brown, a labor market analyst covering New York City for the New York State Department of Labor. In New York City, businesses with zero to nine employees increased from 166,838 in 2000 to 173,554 in 2004. (Brown cautions, however, that the increase may be due in part to larger companies losing employees, and not just new firm growth. The number of companies with 10 to 49 employees declined by about 2,000 during that time period.)
Regardless, “More and more people are beginning to start their own businesses,” says Thomas W. Shinick, an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship and small business at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. For many entrepreneurs, the timing couldn’t be better. “You have an economy right now where interest rates are low,” Shinick says. “Money is more plentiful than it has been in a long time. It’s easier for entrepreneurs to get money to fund their businesses.”
The reasons for forming their own businesses vary, but “many do it as a result of a triggering event,” Shinick says. “It could be that they got fired, or saw friends getting laid off, or reevaluated their career, or saw an opportunity to do for themselves what they had been doing for a corporation.”
Caryl Chinn left her position as senior director of special events at Bon Appétit magazine in May, and although she joined an existing firm, Karlitz & Company, she says the environment is much more entrepreneurial than that of a large corporation. Her reasons echo Horton’s desire for new challenges. “My 10th anniversary [at the magazine] was on the horizon, and I was starting to feel a little stagnant,” she says. “When you do any job for that long, even if you love it, you start to repeat yourself.”
For others, the promise of freedom—to be their own boss, choose their own projects, and set their own schedule—was a defining factor. “I’ve always dreamed of working on my own,” says Kevin Calica, former vice president and creative director of special events and global communications for Calvin Klein. Calica started his event planning company, Presentation, in 2003. “I’m enormously happy doing what I’m doing,” he says. “I get to pick and choose projects that are extremely satisfying to me.”
With so many planners taking the entrepreneurial plunge, it’s fair to ask, can the industry support these free agents and fresh companies? The new business owners we spoke to were all positive about their economic prospects—as you might expect them to be if they’d just started a firm. “There’s plenty of opportunity for work, and the demand for all facets of events—design, production, and promotion—seems to be quite strong,” Calica says.
In fact, some say independent planners with corporate experience have a competitive edge, because they’ve been on the inside and know how companies think about their events. Such corporate ties benefited Horton, who continues to work on projects for Revlon, and Chinn, who worked on a freelance basis on two large events for Bon Appétit for several weeks after leaving her position.
But some defectors have been loath to hit up their former employers for work. Calica says he didn’t try to get work from Calvin Klein after leaving because he wanted “something new and fresh.” Instead, he relies on other contacts he’s made throughout his career. “I hold on to every business card I’ve ever gotten,” he says. Cathy Riva, who started Riva Events in August 2004 after stints at W magazine, Miami Marketing Group, and MTV, says her business has come exclusively through referrals.
Getting clients, however, is only one part of small business ownership. New company owners—especially those who hire a staff—find themselves taking on unfamiliar roles. “You’re not just responsible for yourself anymore; people rely on you. That can be intimidating,” says Michelle Huff, who incorporated her company, Huff Entertainment, in 2003 and subsequently took on a partner and two employees in 2004.
And leaving a cushy corporate environment can mean suddenly finding yourself buying staples at, well, Staples. “Everywhere I’d ever worked, they had office supplies,” says Riva. “[When I started my firm] I got my own office, and I had to buy pens, buy a copier, buy a fax. I had to build from the ground up.”
Taking care of essentials like writing a business plan, registering the business, hiring accountants and lawyers, and drawing up contracts can be daunting, as well. Riva admits such tasks came with a big learning curve. Calica hired a business coach to help him. “It’s surprising to me how much stamina it takes to run a business,” he says. “I just didn’t expect how much work it is.”
Likewise, Huff says, “When people know you have your own company, they feel comfortable calling you after 6 PM or on weekends. I definitely feel like I work seven days a week.” Those extra hours can include plenty of business meetings over drinks or lunch. “As a business owner, you say ‘yes’ to meeting people,” Bowen says. “You need to have [events] on the calendar. You have to go out more; you have to be seen.”
With increased work, however, comes increased reward. While none of these new business owners copped to starting their companies to make more money, most admitted to either expecting financial rewards or experiencing them already. Huff says she’s already doing better financially than she did while working for corporations like Donna Karan and Virgin. She’s even had to turn away business. Bowen adds, “If you run your own company, there’s always the potential [to earn more money] if you can bring in business.”
That’s part of what makes business ownership so enticing. “The benefits are the challenges,” Calica says. “I’m 100 percent responsible for my mistakes and successes.” Horton, too, is enjoying her new challenges. “I wake up every day happy again,” she says. “I feel like the world is open and my creativity is back. I’m just loving life.”
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
Posted 10.03.05
Photos: Anna Persson for BiZBash (Horton, Calica)
Related Story
Should You Go Out on Your Own?
So Horton decided with the top execs at Revlon to leave her full-time job there in November 2004—while continuing to consult on their events—and in January, she formed her own firm, the Horton Group. “I didn’t start out in a corporation, and I never thought I’d stay in a corporate environment as long as I did,” she says. “[Starting the new firm] just felt like a fresh new opportunity to go out into the world.” Horton isn’t alone in her entrepreneurial undertaking. More than a handful of New York–based planners have quit their jobs with companies or existing firms recently to form their own businesses. A quick sampling: Mark Testa left Condé Nast Traveler to start Mark Stephen Enterprises in February. Tony Berger, a former partner at Strategic Group, started his own firm, Relevent, this past spring. And after two years at event and PR agency Lisa Lori Communications, David Bowen left this past May to start his own firm, Bowen & Company. “I realized that I was practically running my own business within the framework of someone else’s business,” Bowen says.
They’re part of a growing trend of entrepreneurs throughout the state and nation, says Jim Brown, a labor market analyst covering New York City for the New York State Department of Labor. In New York City, businesses with zero to nine employees increased from 166,838 in 2000 to 173,554 in 2004. (Brown cautions, however, that the increase may be due in part to larger companies losing employees, and not just new firm growth. The number of companies with 10 to 49 employees declined by about 2,000 during that time period.)
Regardless, “More and more people are beginning to start their own businesses,” says Thomas W. Shinick, an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship and small business at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. For many entrepreneurs, the timing couldn’t be better. “You have an economy right now where interest rates are low,” Shinick says. “Money is more plentiful than it has been in a long time. It’s easier for entrepreneurs to get money to fund their businesses.”
The reasons for forming their own businesses vary, but “many do it as a result of a triggering event,” Shinick says. “It could be that they got fired, or saw friends getting laid off, or reevaluated their career, or saw an opportunity to do for themselves what they had been doing for a corporation.”
Caryl Chinn left her position as senior director of special events at Bon Appétit magazine in May, and although she joined an existing firm, Karlitz & Company, she says the environment is much more entrepreneurial than that of a large corporation. Her reasons echo Horton’s desire for new challenges. “My 10th anniversary [at the magazine] was on the horizon, and I was starting to feel a little stagnant,” she says. “When you do any job for that long, even if you love it, you start to repeat yourself.”
For others, the promise of freedom—to be their own boss, choose their own projects, and set their own schedule—was a defining factor. “I’ve always dreamed of working on my own,” says Kevin Calica, former vice president and creative director of special events and global communications for Calvin Klein. Calica started his event planning company, Presentation, in 2003. “I’m enormously happy doing what I’m doing,” he says. “I get to pick and choose projects that are extremely satisfying to me.”
With so many planners taking the entrepreneurial plunge, it’s fair to ask, can the industry support these free agents and fresh companies? The new business owners we spoke to were all positive about their economic prospects—as you might expect them to be if they’d just started a firm. “There’s plenty of opportunity for work, and the demand for all facets of events—design, production, and promotion—seems to be quite strong,” Calica says.
In fact, some say independent planners with corporate experience have a competitive edge, because they’ve been on the inside and know how companies think about their events. Such corporate ties benefited Horton, who continues to work on projects for Revlon, and Chinn, who worked on a freelance basis on two large events for Bon Appétit for several weeks after leaving her position.
But some defectors have been loath to hit up their former employers for work. Calica says he didn’t try to get work from Calvin Klein after leaving because he wanted “something new and fresh.” Instead, he relies on other contacts he’s made throughout his career. “I hold on to every business card I’ve ever gotten,” he says. Cathy Riva, who started Riva Events in August 2004 after stints at W magazine, Miami Marketing Group, and MTV, says her business has come exclusively through referrals.
Getting clients, however, is only one part of small business ownership. New company owners—especially those who hire a staff—find themselves taking on unfamiliar roles. “You’re not just responsible for yourself anymore; people rely on you. That can be intimidating,” says Michelle Huff, who incorporated her company, Huff Entertainment, in 2003 and subsequently took on a partner and two employees in 2004.
And leaving a cushy corporate environment can mean suddenly finding yourself buying staples at, well, Staples. “Everywhere I’d ever worked, they had office supplies,” says Riva. “[When I started my firm] I got my own office, and I had to buy pens, buy a copier, buy a fax. I had to build from the ground up.”
Taking care of essentials like writing a business plan, registering the business, hiring accountants and lawyers, and drawing up contracts can be daunting, as well. Riva admits such tasks came with a big learning curve. Calica hired a business coach to help him. “It’s surprising to me how much stamina it takes to run a business,” he says. “I just didn’t expect how much work it is.”
Likewise, Huff says, “When people know you have your own company, they feel comfortable calling you after 6 PM or on weekends. I definitely feel like I work seven days a week.” Those extra hours can include plenty of business meetings over drinks or lunch. “As a business owner, you say ‘yes’ to meeting people,” Bowen says. “You need to have [events] on the calendar. You have to go out more; you have to be seen.”
With increased work, however, comes increased reward. While none of these new business owners copped to starting their companies to make more money, most admitted to either expecting financial rewards or experiencing them already. Huff says she’s already doing better financially than she did while working for corporations like Donna Karan and Virgin. She’s even had to turn away business. Bowen adds, “If you run your own company, there’s always the potential [to earn more money] if you can bring in business.”
That’s part of what makes business ownership so enticing. “The benefits are the challenges,” Calica says. “I’m 100 percent responsible for my mistakes and successes.” Horton, too, is enjoying her new challenges. “I wake up every day happy again,” she says. “I feel like the world is open and my creativity is back. I’m just loving life.”
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
Posted 10.03.05
Photos: Anna Persson for BiZBash (Horton, Calica)
Related Story
Should You Go Out on Your Own?