More than 40 northern New Jersey small business owners and entrepreneurs recently gathered at Bergen Community College’s Ciarco Learning Center for an evening of networking and inspiration.
"Being a small business owner is more art than it is science." -- Randal Pinkett
Dr. Randal Pinkett, co-founder, chairman and CEO of BCT Partners -- a management, technology and policy consulting firm -- shared critical strategies to achieve business success and greatness, and discussed his own experiences and challenges as he worked to grow his business. The free networking event was sponsored by Verizon and the Hackensack Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Pinkett advised the attendees to chase their passion – not the money – to find success. He also told them they don’t have to do it alone, pointing out that every great business leader had partners or team members who contributed to the leader’s success: Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak, and Bill Gates had Paul Allen.
Pointing to examples of smart partnerships, Pinkett told the story of Jeff Jacobs, who partnered with Oprah Winfrey and helped propel her to worldwide fame by successfully syndicating her talk show nationwide, leading the formation of her production company, Harpo Productions; O The Oprah Magazine,; her TV channel, OWN; and the Oprah.com website.
