Mike Sunderland, CEO of Apollo Retail Specialists, will be a speaker at EntreCon.

"There is no substitute for quality execution."

Quality is just one of the things that entrepreneur and CEO Mike Sunderland believes is a key to success.

Sunderland, CEO of Apollo Retail Specialists, will be one of the speakers at EntreCon, Nov. 5-6, 2015 at the historic REX Theatre in downtown Pensacola. Entrepreneurs like Sunderland are the driving force behind job creation, which improves the economy and raises the standard of living in their communities, and in his case, across the country.

Sunderland's bio from the company's website speaks to his business experience:

At EntreCon, he'll be bringing his years of experience to the entire entrepreneurial cycle.

Sunderland took the time to answer some questions about being a successful entrepreneur, what factors you should consider during the that life cycle and finally, about coming to EntreCon.

How did you get started with your first company?

My first company was the Budd Mayer Company (BMC) a Florida market food broker. (food brokers are sales and marketing agents for products sold in grocery stores.) I was approached by the founder and asked if I would consider taking over the company and helping him with his exit and transition. I was working for a competitor and BMC was a real market leader.

Can you explain what Apollo Retail Specialists does?
Apollo Retail Specialists provides crews of merchandisers and fixture installers to execute projects for leading retailers and brands. Our key client list includes: Lowe’s, Walmart, Walgreens, Dollar General, Sears, K-mart, Office Depot, Family Dollar, Ace Hardware, and many more. Our teams set up interiors of new stores and execute a wide range of remodel and re-merchandising activities. Apollo also operates a product assembly team that assembles merchandise in the retail stores and assembles furniture on site after purchase.

We execute these projects across the United States, using a team of several thousand employees.

What should someone looking to fund a startup idea do first?
Have a solid detailed plan that works when executed properly. And show how and why you can execute it well.

The plan should cover all of the basics that you and your investors need to see:

• What is the Need for the product or service you are going to offer? • Why does the market need you to offer that product or service compared to those offering them today? • If you offer it and execute well, can it make money doing it?
• How you will fit into the marketplace with the competition?
• Do a SWOT analysis to show your areas of Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats. Make sure you are honest in your assessment.
• Make sure to outline the areas where the plan may be difficult to execute and what you can and will do to overcome those difficulties. Fairly evaluating risk is important.
• If do that plan in detail and with honest and fair assessments, it will let you know if the start-up is a needed and marketable idea. If the plan doesn’t work on paper, then it has no hope of success even with great execution.

What’s the right time for people to expand – how do you know?
Listen to the market in which you compete. Are you customers truly asking for additional products or services? Make sure your expansion and growth meets a well demonstrated need, and not just and ego to be bigger.

Evaluate the risks and opportunities. What is the risk if you do not grow? What is the risk and opportunity if you do grow? You need to know these answers very well.

For my first company, the market changed as soon as I got it. For 40 years our clients and those of our competitors had only sought a Florida market solution. But most of the clients (major CPG companies like Colgate, Unilever and Heinz) began looking for a single source provider by region not by market. We had to expand beyond Florida and into the SE region or risk losing the clients we had spent years developing. Our plan took 8 years to fully execute and involved numerous acquisitions and organic office start-ups to reach. Over that time we grew our business from a Florida operation at $14M of revenue into a SE regional operation of nearly $60M. After that long project, the market changed again and our clients were looking for a national solution. We aligned with 20 other companies and created a network for a national solution and eventually consolidated those companies into a single national entity with a great private equity partner. BMC had grown to $108M at the time and it was a difficult decision to let go. I was pleased to have led the consolidation effort and to have created some great value for all in doing so.

When is it time to sell a company and start over? To re-invest? To retire?
That is such a deep and personal question and varies so much for every entrepreneur. And it involves a series of questions with inward personal evaluation. Ask why you would want to sell the company and what do you see yourself doing if you did? Are you ready mentally and emotionally to do something else and let go?

Are you looking for liquidity and security for you and your family outside of your closely held company?

Are you looking to stay on or will you leave after a sale? Which is better for the business? it may be hard to conclude that the business may be better if you leave.

What kind of buyer do you see acquiring your company and how do you see that playing out for your associates if you leave?

Will a buyer be an owner operator who doesn’t need you and maybe not need some of your team?

Is your business large enough for an institutional buyer like a private equity firm that may provide you with liquidity but still have you operate the business?

For me this was the case with my company. I loved the position of my business, my management team and my customer base. And was not “looking to sell the business”, but we listened to the marketplace and decided to enter into the transaction and reach the goals of both personal liquidity and doing what was right for the business.

Finally, ask if your business is at the point to monetize the value? Have you created enough earnings and sustainability that will generate attractive offers that can meet your financial needs? This does not mean that you have reached every possible step for you company, but enough that it is attractive to buyers.

What is the risk that you don’t sell? Don’t be the one who hangs on until market conditions devalue the business and years later you realize you should have monetized it when you had the chance? So much of this comes down to: have an “Exit Plan” for the company and review with your shareholders in business and at home to make sure everyone understands and to make sure you have considered all of the options available.

How do you measure success in business and also in life?
Everyone has their own scorecards, but they should all revolve around questions like: Are you progressing in your efforts and making things better for those in your circle of importance? This includes you, your family, your management team, your customers and your investors if you have them. Those scorecards include all of the obvious items like personal financial and mental health as well as the growth and earnings of the company and the response from the market on your company

How important are the people you hire to the success of your business?
The obvious answer is that they are critical to your success. But for start-ups of a company that you will someday sell and monetize it goes deeper. If you have a company that is “all about you”, then you do not have a company you can sell for high value and leave, you just have a good job that you created. Who wants to buy a company that cannot run well without you? You should be proud of your role in starting the company and creating its value, but the real market value comes from showing that you also created a team that can perpetuate the company even further after you have left it.

What do you think the future of entrepreneurship is in our changing business environment?
You have to hope that America will always be a positive environment for it. And that there will always be a place for business people to see an opportunity and develop a plan to realize it and then take the risk to make it happen. But there also seems to be a gap today. Very small start-ups for the family business keep coming as well as the larger and funded high tech/software type businesses, but the gap in more traditional products and services for mid-sized companies is seeing fewer and fewer start-ups. This may also lead to consolidation opportunities for some entrepreneurs to be the leaders that consolidate several smaller companies into fewer larger ones with more critical mass and greater value.

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing business now, as opposed to in previous years?
It surely varies by type of business. For our company it is trying to operate a labor based service business in an environment for constantly increasing governmental regulation and taxation. The ACA alone will create massive headaches and significant costs in a market where price increases will not allow a pass through.

For other businesses the main challenge may be developing adequate capital for the business. Banks and investors do not want to provide capital until the business has adequate cash flow and earnings to support their loan or equity. So that leaves it up to owners to find capital to get there. That puts stress on family assets and opens up a need to reach out to funders who may not be the right partners for you company.

Are you excited to be coming to EntreCon?

I am! I am not sure what to expect yet until I have experienced one. But I always welcome the opportunity to spend time with fellow business owners to share ideas, learn new approaches and learn more about what is happening the marketplace today.