Frederick W. Smith FedEx Corporation, Chairman/President/CEO

1. What advice would you give someone starting a business?

"My advice for anyone starting a business would be to concentrate on four main points:
  (1) Make sure you have a competitively superior and sustainable business service or product.

  (2) Make sure you have a detailed business plan and get it reviewed by someone who has an objective prospective.

  (3) Work on your leadership skills because you are probably going to have to do whatever it is you are trying to do with a team of people and you have got to get them involved with the objectives of the business and get them on board.

  (4) Be prepared to work hard. Being an entrepreneur is something that is almost a twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week job and if you aspire to entrepreneurship you have got to be prepared to put the time in."

2. Why is Memphis good for entrepreneurs?

"Memphis, of course, has a long tradition of entrepreneurship and obviously that begs the question of why is Memphis good for entrepreneurs. I think there are several reasons:
  1. Memphis is a very open and casual society. It's not judgmental. It's a place where new ideas and new people seem to be welcomed.

  2. I think Memphis has an excellent quality of life. It's a pleasant place to live. It's a great place to have a family. It's a great place for kids to grow up and as a consequence the entrepreneur seems to be able to focus better on the business issues and not so much on traffic congestion or the issues that beset a lot of entrepreneurs in other parts of the country where there's not the quality of life that Memphis has.

  3. Memphis also has a number of attractions which provide the much needed diversion. You can't work all the time although most entrepreneurs often try to. The greatest attractions around Memphis make for, I think, a balanced life and for all these reasons Memphis seems to have been a good breeding ground for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ventures."