Ranked #1 in the World
Many people label entrepreneurs as risk takers, but 2004 Thunderbird graduate Jim Small takes the opposite view. The president and founder of Parker Finch Management in Arizona tells his friends in the corporate world that they take a bigger risk by working for someone else who controls their destiny.
“Don’t think of entrepreneurship as risky,” Small says. “Think of the corporate job as risky, especially if your passion isn’t there.”
He says entrepreneurs have more job security than anyone else at a company because the president and founder is the last person to get laid off when the economy slumps. “More importantly,” he says, “you control the fact that you can go out and market and advertise and grow the business yourself. You’re not reliant on another division or another person’s efforts like you are in the corporate world.”
Small also challenges the notion that working harder is the key to success in any career. This realization came after years of working furiously for an elusive payoff.
“I always worked harder,” he says. “I was brought up to believe the harder you worked, the more successful you’ll be.”
Small worked 80 to 90 hours per week, seven days a week, as a banker and corporate consultant in Nice, France, London and Chicago. He came to Thunderbird in 2003 and applied the same work ethic toward his MBA.
Then he launched Parker Finch, a homeowners association and condominium management firm. When the promised fruits of his labor didn’t materialize, he looked for guidance from mentors, coaches and books. Gradually, he found ways to work smarter instead of harder.
“Working smarter let’s you be more creative,” he says.
Now he spends only one day a week at Parker Finch and uses the rest of his time to develop other ventures. These include a business consulting firm called the Dyme Group and two Internet-based companies.
“If I can have Web-based income, I can spend part of the year in Europe and part of the year back here in Arizona,” he says. “And I have more time to spend with my family.”
Instead of rolling out of bed each morning and checking e-mail or making telephone calls, Small now cooks breakfast for his two daughters and helps them get ready for school. He and his wife also take trips together in a travel club.
“I couldn’t have done that before,” he says. “Working smarter frees you up to do a lot more things you love in life.”
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