MyStartupStory: Gene Marks, Owner of the Marks Group PC

Think launching a business is easy? Small business owner, Gene Marks, shared what he learned when he made the leap into entrepreneurship.

Hiscox’s My Startup Story, featuring top entrepreneurs offering small business advice and discussing their own start-up experiences, kicks off the first instalment of 2013 with Gene Marks as he shares how and why he made the leap into entrepreneurship.

Gene is a columnist, author and owner of the Marks Group PC, a ten-person firm that provides sales and marketing technology and consulting services to businesses. His foray into business ownership was spurred by a desire to earn a good living and have a good balance.

After years of working for major corporations, Gene accepted his father’s offer to help run his software business and eventually took over the company. But even after he made the decision to become a business owner, Gene worked for a year at his full-time job, while working at his father’s company at night.

According to Gene, people should go into business with their eyes wide open. Business ownership is not as romantic as some people think it is. As Gene mentions in the video, it can be a cold world and business owners may not receive as much support as they expect.

For more insight from entrepreneurs, including Pete Cashmore of Mashable, Joe Fernandez of Klout and many more, view past episodes of My Startup Story.