Tom Gimbel to Speak to Young Entrepreneurs at 2013 CEO National Conference

 
CHICAGO - Sept. 5, 2013 - PRLog -- LaSalle Network (http://thelasallenetwork.com/) founder and president Tom Gimbel started the company at the age of 26, and in 15 years has grown the company to nearly $40 million in revenue and 100 employees.  Tom used his early corporate experience and success to realize that he had what it took to become a successful entrepreneur.

In late October, Tom will be speaking to students and young entrepreneurs at the 2013 CEO National Conference in Chicago.  I interview Tom about his start and growth as an entrepreneur, and why he feels it is important to support young entrepreneurs.

Michael Luchies: Tell us a little bit about LaSalle Network:

Tom Gimbel:
LaSalle Network is Chicago’s premier provider of professional staffing and recruiting services. Founded in 1998, LaSalle serves thousands of companies of all sizes and across all industries, and has placed 25,000-plus candidates in temporary, temporary-to-permanent and permanent positions. LaSalle's innovative and unique approach to staffing is designed to provide companies with quality talent who not only match the job requirements, but the company culture as well.

LaSalle Network has also won many prominent awards along the way, including: Inc. Magazine’s “500/5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America” from 2007 to 2013; Staffing Industry Analysts’ top five “Best Staffing Firms to Work For” from 2011 to  2013, and  “Fastest Growing Staffing Firms” list in 2012 and 2013; “Best Places to Work in Illinois” by the Daily Herald Business Ledger and HRMAC in 2012 and 2013; “101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work for” by NABR in 2012 and 2013; and “Inner City 100” by The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and Fortune magazine in 2011 and 2013.

ML: Have you always been entrepreneurial?

TG:
My first “business venture” was a landscaping business my brother and I started when we were teenagers. Honestly, growing up I never had aspirations to be an entrepreneur. I caught the entrepreneurial spirit in in my mid-twenties.

After college, I explored different industries and landed in the staffing industry working in sales for a firm in Chicago. I was eager to learn the ins and outs of the industry, and loved working with people. Over my tenure, I grew the company’s sales by $15 million; however, the company was sold after a few years and my position was eliminated. At the age of 26, I had the realization that I had what it took to create a successful operation.

There are many entrepreneur self-help books out there that talk about how to become a successful entrepreneur in four hours, but I’m old school and believe if you want to achieve something successfully, you have to dedicate the time and work really hard.  I realized early on that I wanted to be successful, which for me meant earning a good living and being viewed as an expert in my field...whichever field I chose. In order to accomplish this, I knew I had to work harder and longer than my peers and learn as much as I could, as quickly as I could. I wanted to fall in love with my job, and fortunately for me, I did.

ML: You started LaSalle Network at the age of 26. How did you identify the need for an employment solutions company in Chicago?

TG:
Being in the staffing space already, I saw the opportunity to start a company that was dedicated to an untapped market within this space, placing professionals in accounting and finance.

After identifying a niche for an exclusively accounting and finance staffing firm, I set out to create the first firm of its kind in Chicago. The most difficult aspect of launching LaSalle was the level of competition already present in the Chicago staffing market. Saturated with over 400 firms, the local market was a $1 billion dollar industry. Since many of the firms had name recognition, I knew I had to differentiate LaSalle from the rest.

By treating people differently, I really wanted to focus on not only helping companies find people, but helping people find jobs.

ML: What is one barrier as an entrepreneur that you have had to overcome to become successful?

TG:
Walking away from a client that isn’t the right fit for our company. It's hard to walk away from a client who is paying their bills. It's easier to turn down a prospect who you know is bad, than a client whose check clears every week. At some point, if you are in the business long enough, you will probably have to walk away from a client, and it will be better for the company.

ML: Why do you believe in supporting young entrepreneurs?

TG:
Every entrepreneur remembers the mentors that helped them along the way. I owe a lot of my success to those who have molded me into the businessperson I am today. Mentors are there to not only encourage you, but to be brutally honest and guide you in the right path. It’s important to me that I am there to guide aspiring entrepreneurs as those have done for me.

Those aspiring entrepreneurs are the millennial generation, and they are beaming with potential! They just need the right management style to help steer them in the right direction.  The future of America’s employment situation depends on these young professionals to grow into successful entrepreneurs, providing employment for others, which requires ample mentoring.

ML: What is your advice for young entrepreneurs?

TG:
Many entrepreneurs today are naïve to the struggles and triumphs that accompany owning their own business. They underestimate the amount of time, energy, devotion and care it takes to develop a meaningful, successful organization.

My advice to young entrepreneurs is to plan to work your tail off if you want to be successful. I think that too often aspiring entrepreneurs want to start their own company and they want to have a work/life balance and that’s not what being an entrepreneur is about. It's about putting your blood, and sweat and tears into your company, and whatever you're trying to accomplish. It’s about going all in. Entrepreneurs need to be able to commit to working 60, 70, 80 hours a week, to being on call all the time and to taking a substantial pay cut (hopefully only initially). They need to be able to put their business first and themselves second.

The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO) is a nonprofit organization that supports young entrepreneurs to create their own ventures.  The 2013 CEO National Conference will be held in Chicago, October 31 – November 2.  The event is open to all college students and the general public.  For more information and to register, please visit the Cvent registration site here (http://www.cvent.com/events/2013-national-ceo-conference/...).
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