“I wanted to be a broadcast journalist and ultimately really when I started the company it wasn’t a dream it was more out of trying to be a survivor.”
Show Segments:
The Reluctant Successful Entrepreneur
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Summary
Not all of us start a business due to a dream of independence. Some get pushed out of the nest. Toni Erikson Knight is a successful entrepreneur who knew what she did not know and shares how she got through the rough patches. Her interview provides insightful advice and hope for other reluctant entrepreneurs.
Transcript
Renee: Toni Erickson Knight is Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Worldlink, one of the fastest growing full service media sales firms in the world. Worldlink is the fifth largest woman owned business in Los Angeles. Congratulations.
Toni: Thank you.
Betsy: How long have you been in business Toni?
Toni: It’ll be ten years this year in March.
Renee: Was starting your own business a dream of yours?
Toni: Actually it was not. I never really grew up thinking, “Oh, I’m going be the big business person.” I wanted to be a broadcast journalist and ultimately really when I started the company it wasn’t a dream it was more out of trying to be a survivor.
Betsy: What were some of the road blocks you have faced over the years and how did you overcome them?
Toni: I think really it was just because I didn’t have a business background. I didn’t get a business degree and so a lot of it was just stumbling my way through and trying to rely on common sense. I think at the end of the day what I found was the most important thing was surrounding myself with good people.
Renee: How have you been able to finance the success and the growth of your business?
Toni: We’ve self funded ourselves for the past ten years. We’re debt free and the new business that would come in would warrant new people and that’s when we would hire the people and so we were really careful about not hiring people before the time was right.