March 2, 2014 — In the world of start-up businesses, the 20/20 perspective offered by hindsight often has entrepreneurs looking back and seeing all the different ways they could have launched their business — the other, better materials they might have used, prices they might have set, or marketing tactics they might have taken.
But though it may be hard-earned, hindsight can also provide valuable insight.
This month, in an attempt to learn from the wisdom of experienced local business owners, the SouthCoast Business Bulletin asked six entrepreneurs for their "hindsight" lessons — what is the one thing, we wondered, that you wished you'd known before you launched your venture?
They all had stories to tell and nuggets of wisdom to share. In fact, the only stumbling point was limiting them to just one insight, said writer Pamela Berard, who wrote the story.
But if we were forced to choose an over-arching theme, it was best summed up by Erin Kavanaugh, a former health insurance professional who left the industry to open Nothin' Crazy, a women's clothing and gift boutique in Dartmouth.
Planning is important, she said, but even with the best preparation, the unexpected steps in to throw your plans off.
"No matter how much you've prepared and researched, and even prepared financially, there's always going to be something else," said Kavanaugh. "You have to just be ready for constant change."
One New Bedford fishing gear business learned that lesson in an ocean-sized way.
Launched with passion in the mid-1980s, the growth of Reidar's Manufacturing is the story of a talented fishing family who built a thriving business from the ground up, outfitting commercial fishing boats with innovative equipment and gear.
Patriarch Reidar Bendiksen, 67, was a commercial fisherman for decades before starting the business. When not at sea, he would spend hours in the family's Dartmouth home developing better ways to operate his boat.
Read the full story from the New Bedford Standard-Times