Business Goal Setting Tips Fairbanks AK

When Andrew Baca was named 2006 Minority Male Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Department of Commerce, he accepted it by saying, “I know the motivating power of ownership.”

As president and CEO of IT company Abba Technologies, Inc., based in Albuquerque, N.M., Baca counted some $50 million in 2006 revenues – a lofty achievement that had its beginnings in a very traditional start. Baca may have benefitted from being a third-generation entrepreneur, but setting simple, traditional goals laid the foundation for success.

Goal 1: Learn Your Business from the Inside

Baca began, as do so many young professionals, at a large company – IBM, in his case, where he worked first as a programmer and then in business development. When he joined Abba Technologies in 1997, it was his third job ever.

At the time, the company had seven employees, and all its business came from supplying tech hardware to the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories. Today, under Baca’s leadership, Abba Technologies has nearly 50 employees serving clients throughout the Southwest.

His advice to others who want to start a business is to do what he did. “Work for a larger company in your field and gain as much experience as possible," he says, "so you have a head start and some ideas of what type of culture you need to be successful on your own."

Goal 2: Recognize an Opportunity – and Pounce

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