By:Cheery Fe Yeban
Network Program Associate
PISBDCN
Jayna Park, General Manager of E-Communications LLC.,
started her own business because of her desire to take charge and constantly
challenge herself. By owning and managing her own business, she is able to achieve
do all of these things that get her working every day. She recalls that she
enjoyed taking business classes at the University of Guam and excelled in those
business classes. It is the challenge that she faces in her business that
motivate her . She says that “business presents
challenges that keeps me motivated”.
Her extensive experience in the communication industry
started since 1998; the knowledge she gained over the year has helped her to
manage her business. Other job experience that she found useful was her experience
as a door-to-door sales for a Guam Cable TV in 1997. Jayna also believes that as a business owner, it is important to
learn and have social skills as well as the motivation to keep learning.
Don’t be afraid to try everything. She firmly believes that one can’t build
your experience from reading the books or hearing stories; you must experience firsthand.
Jayna signed up as a client at the Guam Small Business
Development Center to see how the center can help her in making her dreams of
owning a business into a reality. She stated that the Guam SBDC provided her
guidelines and a complete toolset for business owners to use. She said that the
center provided her beneficial information through well-organized network; and
it is up to the individual on how they will use that information provided to start
your business.
The startup process for Jayna was what she calls a
“blur stage”. For her, it was chaotic that she forgot how it felt or if she
even had one. She recalled things did not go as planned, unexpected problems arose,
and uncertainty kept her awake. Her company’s grand opening was nothing like
red carpet event. Instead, it was extremely stressful.
When it came to funding her business, Jayna had to tap
into everything and anything possible which was recommended for any future
entrepreneurs. She did not think through about the consequences of the interest
rates and how it affected the overall finance of the business. She
would have done it differently if she can redo the whole startup process
again.
Some of the biggest challenges she had to overcome
during the start-up process was the funding. Money for the business is like the
oxygen and the business owner can’t do much or grow without it. Find the appropriate and adequate funding is
key to success. Forming a team to grow
the business together was also the other challenges she had to overcome. Having a vision for the business is important;
however leading a team who might not have the same vision is difficult at
time. Showing her team the vision that
she has for her business is another key component of paving the way to
success.
When it comes to owning a business, challenges and
triumphs go hand in hand. Her most memorable triumph is when she started the
business; and she saw how thankful and grateful her customers were because of
the service her and her team have provided. She mentioned that the customers were actually
worried at one point that the business can’t stay open due to struggles in small
business. But, she reassured them that “she is here to stay. She felt a sense
of accomplishment and a purpose as a result of her customers.
Jayna’s short term goal is to pace efficiently with
the ever changing tourism communication needs. As for her long term goal, it’s
to aim towards growing the local Asian customer base in terms of wireless
subscribers.
Her advice to anyone who dreams of starting their own
business is to be prepared to fail over and over and to persevere through it.
She believes that every person has a chance to be successful. It is just a
matter of hanging in there until success comes your way. And by going through
all the challenges and triumphs, you will eventually develop the skills and resilience
to better manage your business.