Despite the failure of many entrepreneurs to become successful, the future growth of the US economy depends on new capital formation that leads to jobs and growth. It is important, therefore, that governmental policies not impede this process. Explore how sixteen entrepreneurs from Virginia and Maryland took risks to become successful. They focused on customer service, good employee relations, and other innovations to overcome the recent recession and other obstacles. These entrepreneurs and others like them prove that Adam Smith's eighteenth-century "invisible hand" theory continues to be true. Entrepreneurs embrace change that is disruptive in order to deliver better products to customers. Ultimately, they enrich not only their own lives, but also the lives of their employees, their customers, and their communities. Good entrepreneurs can succeed in all areas. Whether it's food service, health care, engineering or another field, they always find a way to get the job done. Discover how they do it, gain an appreciation for their accomplishments, and learn how you can experience similar success in Journeys of Entrepreneurs.

Journeys of Entrepreneurs

Stories of Risk Takers Who Improved Themselves, Their Employees, Their Customers, and Their CommunitiesBy Lee Rice

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Lee Rice
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-2874-0

Contents

Introduction...............................................................................ixDario Marquez, Security Expert.............................................................1David Ward, Contractor and Voting Machine Entrepreneur.....................................12Sharon Dabney-Wooldridge, Janitorial Company Owner.........................................20Patrick Duffeler Sr., Winery Owner.........................................................27Mark Motley, Auctioneer....................................................................36Bobby Ukrop, Food Company President........................................................45Teresa Mason, Health Care Teacher..........................................................56Stewart Hargrove, Business Insurance Advocate..............................................63Michael Kelleher, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Plumbing Entrepreneur.....................70Wayne Hazzard, Electrical and General Contractor...........................................78Michael Kasmir and Dan Wolford, Staffing Company Founders..................................87Suzanne Wolstenholme, Catering Company Owner...............................................94Michael O'Neil, Health Care Entrepreneur...................................................100David Watson, Machinist and Engineer.......................................................109Al Katz, Retirement Community and Nursing Home President...................................119Epilogue...................................................................................127Bibliography...............................................................................131Notes......................................................................................133

Chapter One

Dario Marquez, Security Expert

I'm comfortable with risk.

Anyone knowing Dario Marquez during his youth could be forgiven if they did not think he would become successful in life. Abandoned by his father early in life and living in Dover, New Jersey, where there were only a few Puerto Ricans, Marquez's mother raised him during the final years of WWII. He said his mother worked in a factory to support her family. Indeed, he said that the values he carried and the spirit came from his mom.

Despite the less than satisfactory economic circumstances in his early years, Marquez believed his mother carried the entrepreneurial spirit and the gene because her father was a business owner. Moreover, Marquez had a dream at a young age to become an entrepreneur. He said:

I would sit in my mother's car and daydream of what I thought I would become ... I had an image of a man with his back to me, carrying a clipboard and wearing a perfectly laundered shirt with French cuffs as he walked down the middle of what was a manufacturing plant.

The attire and demeanor of the man in Marquez's daydream indicated he was in charge. Marquez believed his dreams would help liberate him from his social and economic environment.

As the years advanced, Marquez read much about American industrialists who became his heroes and role models: Henry Ford, J.C. Penney, Andrew Carnegie, and, very importantly, Napoleon Hill. Hill worked his way through Georgetown Law School and wrote Think and Grow Rich. He was an early pioneer in the studies of personal success literature.

One particular story Marquez had not forgotten was Hill's interview with Andrew Carnegie, which lasted for three days as opposed to an anticipated time of one hour. Moreover, what impressed Marquez was Hill's belief that everything starts with an idea. Marquez said these images or ideas provided hope for his own future. Furthermore, he said he developed the "Lee Iacocca fire in the belly" idea to become an entrepreneur and be successful.

Becoming a Secret Service Agent

Following college and graduate school, Marquez searched for an idea that would provide the impetus to become a successful leader, comparable to the man in his dreams. First, however, he had to find a job. A friend suggested he apply for a position at the US Secret Service, which was in the process of seeking new recruits. Thus, from 1972 to 1979, Marquez began his professional career as a special agent where he served under the administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter. He was also assigned to provide protection for not only heads of state, but Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former New York Governor and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller as well.

But to prepare for a career in security and fulfill his boyhood dream of becoming an entrepreneur, Marquez received a bachelor of science degree in business administration at Southeastern University, finished graduate studies in criminal justice at Long Island University in New York, and completed the US Secret Service Law Enforcement Training Institute in 1972.

During his nearly eight years at the Secret Service, Marquez mastered and implemented the fundamental principles of personal and physical security and logistics management. As an agent, he attended presidential conventions, one of which in Miami was marked by riots. Marquez also worked with many other agents, a few of whom were later assigned to protect former President Ronald Reagan on the fateful day of March 30, 1981, when John Hinckley Jr. shot the president following his departure from the Washington Hilton where he delivered a speech to AFL-CIO representatives.

While Marquez did not protect President Reagan, nevertheless, the story about the agents who did save his life may be of interest since he attended the same classes and knew them very well. Agent Tim McCarthy, who trained with Marquez and attended classes that led to his job as a Secret Service agent, received a bullet in his abdomen as he fell across Reagan's body to absorb any further shots that might be intended for the president from Hinckley's revolver. Following the attempted assassination, another Secret Service agent or detail leader, Jerry Parr, who had been assigned to protect the president, discovered a bullet had punctured Reagan's lung, prompting Parr to divert the presidential motorcade to nearby George Washington Hospital rather than return to the White House. Marquez said Parr's quick decision saved Reagan's life. Furthermore, Marquez said Parr had the power to lead the president of the United States. Importantly, he concluded the agent took control of events and made decisions that saved the life of the most important leader in the world. "It is amazing the amount of power an agent can really have and how really boring the job can be (on some occasions)."

During his career as a Secret Service agent, Marquez said most agents spend their days performing investigative work, which the public might not know. However, he added the most exciting, fun, and challenging times in his career were the early days when he worked in New York City as an undercover agent in the counterfeit squad. His ability to speak Spanish was an enormous benefit in this aspect of his career. "When you work with a counterfeit squad, there are also drugs that are linked to terrorist activities," Marquez added.

In his eight years as a Secret Service agent, Marquez, according to his company's website, had:...