http://www.newsweek.com/2009/03/18/striking-out-on-your-own.html
Is now a good time to start a company? Absolutely, says Lynda Resnick, the founder of Fiji Water and POM Wonderful.
When Lynda Resnick brings her own water to an interview, she really brings her own. That is, when she produces a bottle of Fiji, she owns the entire company—as well as POM Wonderful, maker of pomegranate juice and antioxidant supplements. She’s a serial entrepreneur who also owns the Teleflora floral service and a number of other ventures. Resnick’s new book, Rubies in the Orchard, details a lifetime acquiring businesses and transforming them with a keen eye for value, marketing and community. The writing can be flat—especially compared with how charismatic Resnick is in person—but the ideas are so sound, and the track record so full of success, that the book is still a fun read, and highly instructive to anyone wishing to start a business in these bleak times. Resnick spoke to NEWSWEEK’s Nick Summers about the Bush administration’s economic legacy, balancing risk with reward and why now is a great time to be running your own business. Excerpts:
How long were you working on the book?
Of course it took me my whole life, but six months. I turned in the manuscript, and my editor said it was the cleanest he’d ever seen. I thought, “Is that a compliment?” The corrections took about half an hour; that was it. There was a page and a half that he took out that was a little too strident.
What was it strident about?
I get carried away. The Bush administration—I was hysterical during the entire eight years. Beating my chest, crying, screaming at the television. I saw the end. I did. I have a Cassandra complex. Do you know who Cassandra was?
I do!
And do you know what happened when she broke up with Apollo, what he did to her?
I don’t.
He gave her the gift of prophesy, but made it so that no one would believe her.
So you saw the end—of what?
I didn’t see the debacle the way it is today, but I did—every time the stock market went up another 300 points, I would get sick. I was very upset, because I’ve lived through so many bubbles. I knew that there was no way that this was going to last. You can’t expect to make 20 percent a year, year in and year out.