Local business owner David Perdue III has some advice for other entrepreneurs: “Be grateful for the problems you do have.”

 “I believe that all of our problems are specifically and uniquely designed for us in creating and shaping us into becoming the individuals that we need to become,” the owner of Greenview Landscape Services said. 

Two Bartlett barbers strike out on their own with new shop

Perdue shared that advice at The Daily Memphian’s Small Business Seminar on Thursday, Sept. 18. One of four panelists, he was joined by Andre Ford, co-owner of Campbell & Ford Construction; and Lloyd and Shannon Finks, owners of concierge medical practice ZüpMed. 

Perdue began doing yard work in high school as a side hustle, continuing after graduation with a local landscaping company. After a few years, he decided to start his own business. 

Perdue said one of the biggest lessons he learned was that having a purpose and passion for the work — “to beautify the city and help others grow” — keeps him going and growing his business, especially during challenging times.

“Maintaining a good perspective through all those (adversities) ends up being incredibly beneficial,” he said. “The ability to learn, even when pain is your teacher, is a gift.” 

Ford, co-owner of Campbell & Ford Construction, also talked about having a passion, a “zeal” that fuels one to learn and grow. 

Networking event adding pitch competition, creatives night

“If you’re going to be in business, you have to be doing something that you love doing,” Ford said. “If you’re in business just to make money, you’re not going to last long.” 

Ford said it’s easy for him to wake up every day and go to work because he loves what he’s doing and prioritizes a work/life balance. 

To grow his business, Ford said he took risks, which can generate rewards. But, he said, having a cash safety net is necessary if the risks don’t pay off or unexpected circumstances arise. 

“When it’s good, you stack hay in the barn; you invest; you make sure that you set yourself up for bad things to happen in the future because they will happen,” he said. 

Ford also said small business owners need a “BAIL” team — banker, accountant, insurance agent and lawyer — of people they know on a personal level because those people can make or break a business if not tended to correctly. 

With an incoming Target and Academy Sports, Millington has hit the retail ‘bullseye’

Lloyd and Shannon Finks, owners of ZüpMed, said that starting and keeping a business going sometimes requires pivoting to new ideas. 

“Everything doesn’t always turn out the way that you hope and that you plan, so you pivot and work hard,” Shannon Finks said. 

The Finks’ concierge medical practice opened its doors in 2020, just before the city was shut down due to the pandemic. So, the couple transformed the facility into a hub for COVID-19 vaccinations and urgent care visits. 

Now a direct primary care and urgent care facility focused on hospitality once more, Züpmed operates on a cash-only basis and doesn’t accept insurance.

“We believe that the traditional health care system is flawed and has room to grow,” Shannon Finks said. “We feel that it’s very transactional, impersonal and rushed. We wanted to improve upon this model.”

Is third time the charm for the 33 acres of ‘opportunity’ in Germantown?

The Finks said that both the service, or the “delivery of your product,” and the hospitality, or “how you deliver” that product, are needed to cultivate a good work and health care environment.

But all three companies had something in common. 

“I think something that really struck a chord, listening to our first two speakers, was the commitment to the city of Memphis,” Lloyd Finks said. “From the beginning, we don’t want to be closed. What we want to be is open. We take great pride in taking care of a broad range of people.”