Celebrating Entrepreneurs

Fast Food Fueled Bigger Dreams

Kim Houlne, president and chief executive of Working Solutions, says her appearance at the Chase for Business Conference this week reaffirms her belief in the American entrepreneurial spirit.

“On stage and in the audience, there was plenty of bootstrap determination from women and men who did what they set out to do,” she said.

During a panel discussion, Houlne shared her thoughts on succeeding in business with Ester Mayorga, president of Lantek Audio, Video & Communications, and Rick Scheer, co-founder and chief executive officer of Red River Tea Company/Teazzers.

Houlne, who founded her woman-owned business in 1996, says success fuels success and failure lets you find another way. “Any sound business strategy needs a good GPS for recalculating.”

Interesting enough, all three panelists—and panel moderator, Nick Cannon, entrepreneur and entertainer—began their working careers at fast-food chains. That fact wasn’t lost on Houlne.

Building a business is a lot like getting ketchup out of a bottle, she observed. To succeed, you got to coax it, shake it, and even, “windmill” it. But once flowing, there’s no stopping it.

###

Kim During an Interview at the Event