Austin, TX- Last week you read the first interview in a two-part series about James Punderson, CEO of Networks & More!, an education consulting company based in New Jersey. He took readers through the highs and lows of starting new businesses, with his expertise ranging from fruit baskets to educational technology.
In the second interview, Punderson advises other would-be entrepreneurs to have a goal and go for it.
“Some people think they need to have an office first, stationary first, business cards…its better just to begin,” he said. “If you want to sell hot dogs, the first thing to do is sell some hot dogs. If customers are buying, then get whatever equipment you need to accommodate the business. Do it on a part-time basis and test the market without spending a lot.”
While easier said then done, Punderson’s advice is a product of a particular characteristic he exudes- a resolute confidence. This trait is easy to miss, because it’s subtle-something that can often be missing in better-known entrepreneurs (think Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs). Brought up in a DIY (do-it-yourself) family as one in a gaggle of children and adults living under one roof, it’s no wonder Punderson has been instilled with a can-do attitude.
“I just figured how to do it and did it,” said Punderson of how he got started. “I came up with my own ways of doing things.”
As for his family, Punderson has always kept them involved in some way. Sarah English Punderson, Jamie’s wife and former gourmet caterer, often makes lunch for the Networks & More! staff. All three Punderson children have worked in the office at different times- answering phones, working on spreadsheets, stuffing envelopes- whatever needed to be done.
When asked about how integral his wife’s support has been while making it through the hard times before his businesses were profitable, Punderson said:
“I think Sarah’s support was in trusting and relying on my judgment rather than looking for the security of me having a job working for a large corporation or the government. That was extremely helpful.”
If you think Punderson is all computers, all the time, you’d be mostly right. However he did work on a side project with his pal and securities lawyer Charlie O’Rourke in the late 90s. With Punderson’s experience in the brokerage business and O’Rourke’s law background, the tandem teamed up to write ‘How to Sue your Stockbroker without a Lawyer’. The 274 page paperback was published in 1998.
“It was a great deal of fun writing that book,” Punderson chuckled. “We’d get together one weekend a month and had a lot of laughs, wrote a few chapters, went out to dinner. At the time, there were a lot of bad apples in the brokerage business and we wanted to show people how to get their money back. We never had the expectation it would be a best-seller, but it’s still selling on Amazon and it’s in the Library of Congress. We’re self-published authors,” said Punderson.
Learning about yet another industry seems to be what keeps Punderson lively. And as the interview came to a close, he had a one final tidbit to share about starting up a business.
“Most businesses don’t take very much money to start, they take sales,” said Punderson. “It’s a good discipline to start a business without money, you’re less likely to spend money on things you don’t need.”
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