Starting or Improving Your Business

Ronald J. Plachno

Jan 2020 · Ronald J. Plachno

About this ebook

"Starting or Improving Your Business" is written to help those people just starting a business or who already in one and wish to improve it. It is based on my almost 50 years in industry, in large companies that I have worked for, and in small companies that I have started. While no book can guarantee that you can get rich, this book tries to mostly contain warnings of what to look for, how to plan, or what to avoid. No book ever covers anything, but it is my belief that this book covers some very important items for business that include both the very large businesses and the very tiny startups.

There are just some of us that seem to have the word "entrepreneur" in our blood, regardless of how successful or not we become. There seems to be that challenge to business, to overcome the difficulties and then succeed, that seems not only good for us, but may also be fun at the same time. And even if we do just a bit, the satisfaction of trying something hard and accomplishing some of our goals makes some of us feel better about ourselves. And of course, our accomplishments may help others as well.

The book includes some generalities that I have found along the way. And the book also includes some specific examples from the three large firms that I worked at, and also the more than 5 business startups that I attempted. Even if your business is different, some days it seems to me that there is often more the same than there is that is different, from business to business. That might explain the popularity of Small Business Associations, which at times, I was a part of.

Whether or not you decide this book may have something important to you, if you are trying to start or improve a business, I do wish you the very best. I also wish that you also find some fun in doing that along the way.

About the author

The author of this book, Ronald J. Plachno, was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1945, the middle of three sons. He was born of parents who were never rich or even that well off, but who believed their children should receive a college education as well as other education in music and more. His father, Joseph Plachno, was a tool and die maker and his mother Mary (sometimes called Marie) often worked long hours to help their family, while encouraging ethics and also continuous learning. It was a great family for a child to grow up within. Later, Ron was also quite fortunate to have a wonderful family with lovely wife Valerie and two great sons Kenneth and Gregory, who now each have wonderful families of their own.

Ron graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT in Chicago, and took 6 graduate courses at the University of Illinois. Beginning as a low level engineer, Ron over time had success in engineering and then leadership and became a VP at the Fortune 500 Motorola Corporation and later a Sr. VP at Novatel Wireless, a technology startup company in California. Ron was also listed at one time in the "Who's Who of America". At times he was considered a problem solver and at one point was asked to move himself and his family to England for three years to help a Division, $1 billion dollar a year in sales, that was in trouble. He has since founded a few small companies, and has 25 Copyrights with the US Library of Congress.

Ron was fortunate enough to be in the right Motorola group of Car Telephone that exploded in a huge Market to become a giant cellular business. He also worked at two other large corporations, and then started up 5 small businesses. This book is really a summary of that learning, and what worked for him, and what he believes would be very helpful information to pass onto others who will come after him.