Whether you just launched a new start-up or have a successful business, if you’re an entrepreneur, you’ve done it all. You’ve been a one-stop shop. You’ve worn all the hats 100 times over. You’ve answered the phones, handled the technical mishaps, shmoozed with the clients, made cold calls and knocked on doors. Ptex Group CEO Meny Hoffman has done it all. Building Ptex from the bottom up with his partner, Wolf Eisenbach, he knows what it means to get his hands dirty and put in the impossible hours that only an entrepreneur with a dream can put in and survive.
In the wake of this summer’s exciting LTB summit, with its adrenaline-rushing Launch Pad event that connected hopeful entrepreneurs with deep-pocketed investors, Meny was recently interviewed by TJ Hale for a Shark Tank podcast. Appropriately titled “Starting a Business and Demanding Success,” the podcast was a platform for Meny to share the story of how Ptex evolved from a modest printing service into the smooth-running creative marketing and business services agency that it is today. Passionate about helping growing businesses take off in a big way, the Shark Tank podcast was the perfect “launch pad” for some of Meny’s tried and test lessons for entrepreneurial success.
What golden lesson did Shark Tank listeners take away? Sometimes in order to grow, you need to “let go.”
Meny drives home the message that there comes a point at which, no matter how hard you try, you simply can’t scale your business if you try to do everything on your own.
To reinforce this lesson, Meny told listeners that outsourcing your calls can actually force you to systemize your company. Clients may worry that Ptex’s call center reps simply wouldn’t know how to respond to questions about shipments or return policies. But, Meny points out, outsourcing gives companies the push they need to put
How do you decide what tasks to do yourself and what to delegate to a stellar support team? Meny says focusing on the activities that you add the most value to is your best bet. If you’re a master salesman who dabbles in graphic designer, hire or outsource to an expert designer so that you can focus your time on what you do best: driving sales.
Tune into the Podcast to hear about how Ptex has transformed over the last decade, and how our “answering service” has evolved from concept to call center. Meny also dishes out useful advice about how entrepreneurs can get over “the hump” and how established companies can capitalize on untapped opportunities for growth.
“Don’t let perfection get in the way of progress,” Meny warns start-up sticklers. Sometimes you need to give up a little control to make strides forward in your business. We get it – it’s nerve-wracking at first. But the trick is to find a team you can trust to keep the wheels turning while you’re busy in the driver’s seat.
Happy listening!
