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Beating the Odds at Starting a Business

Hillary Johnson
Mike Switzer/SC Public Radio

By now, most people are probably aware that the odds are against entrepreneurs.  Statistics show that more than half of new businesses fail in the first five years.  Which is why our next guest says that if you want to succeed, you need to be prepared to make some critical investments into your enterprise.  And she’s not talking about land, buildings, or equipment.

Mike Switzer interviews Hilary Johnson, founder and business coach with Hatch Tribe in Charleston, SC.

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After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.