Robert W. Scharar does not envy young entrepreneurs looking to start a business in today’s world.
“It’s hard,” says Scharar, founder, president and CEO at FCA Corp. “When I started my own company in 1975, essentially the company that is here today, there wasn’t the same administrative burden. We were fairly flexible and able to respond to things fairly quickly. For someone to duplicate what I did today, you’d have to automatically have a much bigger infrastructure to comply with the requirements to be in business today.”
After spending his childhood years traveling to New Zealand to visit relatives, Scharar saw that the people and culture were not only beautiful, but economically viable. He decided at a young age to begin investing in New Zealand businesses.
He later became the first to create and manage the only New Zealand fund available in the U.S. Today, his Australia/New Zealand Fund (CNZLX) is the only U.S. fund to invest exclusively in the Pacific Rim. His financial planning firm has built a 40-year track record of success.
“It’s been a really interesting experience for all of us to see how businesses function and how accounting rules differ in different parts of the world,” Scharar says. “The exposure has helped us in business we do with clients in Asia, Europe and the U.S.”
Scharar also has built a presence in Africa with the creation of the Africa Fund.
“In the past, Africa has been a difficult place to invest, but that is becoming less so with each passing year, and we see Africa today as an opportunity,” Scharar says.
Never stop learning
Scharar is a huge proponent of continuing education, especially when it comes to courses that are a little different from your primary area of expertise.
“I go to programs that have little or nothing to do with my business,” Scharar says. “When you go to something that is totally different, you get some good ideas of things you had never thought about.”
The opportunity to learn and grow and interact with people who can bring you different perspectives is essential to being successful not only in business, but in life.
“I have boards of directors,” Scharar says. “They don’t always have to be in a formal sense. But you need to sit down with other people who have life experiences who are willing to be honest with you about where you’re at and what you’re doing. They can look at your world without all the emotions you have as the manager or operator of a company and give you some good ideas.”
Another great place to learn, is from the people your business relies on to function. IT professionals, suppliers, insurance and accounting partners are all examples of people who might be able to teach you something you didn’t already know.
“Sometimes they can be extremely helpful and they are very appreciative that you asked them for their opinions,” Scharar says. “Oftentimes your suppliers know your markets better than you do. They might see things happening in the business that you never even thought about — trends, directions or problems.
“I’m a bright guy, but I don’t know as much as five guys. So why not reach out to some other resources.”
Get your priorities in order
One of the challenges many of today’s leaders face is the need to not only manage, but be involved in the day-to-day operational work that comes with any functioning business.
“In a lot of companies that have 50 to 100 people, you’re the head of the company, but you may still find yourself very much involved in marketing, or helping to deliver the product or dealing with the bank,” Scharar says. “You have all these other things you have to do that are important, and often your role as a manager gets put in a secondary position because you have day-to-day activities.”
You’ve got to find skilled, talented people who can handle these duties and find a way to structure your organization so you can focus on the bigger picture matters that drive your company’s future.
Scharar has found success by bringing people in on an internship basis to test the waters and see if they are a fit before making a long-term commitment.
“They come in and intern and it lets you allow them to experiment and learn,” Scharar says. “As an intern, they have some flexibility and so do you as far as what your expectations are. They don’t have to carry themselves from the first day because your relationship is a little different.
“If you do that and it doesn’t work, the person doesn’t have to put on their resume that they were fired. But if it works, I’ve got a number of people who have been around a decade or more who started out in the internship program.” ●
How to reach: FCA Corp., (713) 781-2856 or www.fcacorp.com
