Posted Under: Entrepreneurship, Interview

Today we are talking to Tamika Goins, the owner of BeCause, Inc., a premier marketing, publishing and web development firm. She is also the owner and creator of Doggie Aficionado and doggieaficionado.com–the luxury, lifestyle brand for dog lovers. Goins has worked with small start-ups, multi-billion dollar publicly held companies and every type of company in between. Tamika has more than 16 years of progressive team and project management experience. She has generated more than 300,000 new customers, managed more than $300 million in spend and garnered more than $735 million in revenue across financial, CPG, technology, B2B, insurance, ad agencies and B2C companies.  She has worked with GMAC Insurance, EarthLink, DS Waters, Capital Access Network, ePartners, ASI Software Developers, FashionENV and several government projects to name a few. In today’s interview we are going to get in the details of BeCause Inc. and the Executive Transition program…

DD: Tamika, Tell us a little about you, what you do and about your Executive Transition program and how it all started?

TG: Outside of my family and friends, my passion is business. I truly love what I do. In my more than 13 years in corporate America, my career focused on marketing, advertising and communications. Having managed teams of all sizes and a cumulative marketing budget in access of $500 million, my career has afforded me a wealth of experience in creating, growing and sustaining a business and a brand. Because, Inc. is the vehicle in which I (along with a tremendously talented and experienced team) share that experience with other business owners and aspiring business owners.

Because offers new and existing businesses the full array of services that would fine at larger marketing firms, just from a more personable team and at a more affordable investment. We specialize in brand creation (i.e. coming up with the brand name, logo, tagline, positioning, corporate collateral, etc.), web development, custom application development (i.e. databases, custom software), social network marketing, virtual assistant services and direct marketing/lead generation.

Our Executive Transition program started with my executive transition. At the time I started Because, I was the Vice President of Marketing for one of the largest business-to-business funding companies in the country. I always knew I would own my own business, it was a matter of figuring out what type of business. With Executive Transition program, I work directly with the client to develop a step-by-step plan for their transition based on their unique situation—factoring skills set, business idea, budget, revenue needs, quality of life, etc. I hold them accountable to themselves and their dreams with a plan, milestones, deliverables, coaching and cheering.

DD: Have you ever had a corporate career, a fulltime job?

TG: Yes, as mentioned, I worked in corporate America for more than 13 years. Having the entrepreneurial bug from grade school and a general idea of the type of business I wanted to start pretty early in my career, I approached my corporate journey very strategically. I made every job an informational interview, becoming a sponge for information and knowledge from all functional areas within the company—or at least as many as I had access. As a marketer, it was already my responsibility to understand the industry of the company, distribution strategies, revenue models and consumer behavior. Gaining this knowledge across a wide range of company types, sizes and industries have given me breath and dept that now benefits Because clients.

DD: Tamika, Did at any point you feel like giving up and getting back to taking a regular job?

TG: Yes. I’ve been offered very attractive and lucrative opportunities. Trying to grow a small business in the face of a struggling economy presents challenges that most certainly force a pause to reflect on, “What am I doing? They just offered me…” It’s during those times that a business owner must also remember why they made the transition and if need be, read their business plan—making sure it’s sound and/or optimize/refine as needed. Starting a company correctly is imperative. That’s not to say spend a lot of money unnecessarily, but rather be sure to spend adequately on what is necessary.

DD: What would be the 5 action steps you would suggest to aspiring entrepreneurs?

TG: a. Know what type of business you want to start—understanding the industry, revenue models, and consumer behaviors.

b. Be honest with what you need—income, quality of life, insurance, etc.

c. Build a solid budget

d. Develop a well thought out business plan

e. Execute, execute, execute

DD: Is it smart to start a business right now? You know, the economy isn’t so hot, we are in recession, and investors are tight fisted, all that…

TG: Yes. One just has to be smart about it.

DD: Any Tips for budding entrepreneurs in 9to5 Jail

TG: To borrow a phrase, “Just Do It”. That’s not to say go in and quit your job tomorrow without a plan in place; but rather get the plan and execute. Don’t over think it. Analyses to paralyses gets you nothing but a really bad headache.

DD: Tamika Goins everyone… I like and second her suggestion “Just Do It”.

Success to all!!