Make The Best Of It Optimizer (noun): an entrepreneur who knows how to take care of No. 1
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Some people are in it for the money; some for the power; othersfor the prestige. Cheryl Leonhardt is in it for the golf.
"I'm the best boss I ever had because on the days I geta chance to play golf, I always say to myself, 'Yes, you shouldgo out and play golf,' " says Leonhardt, 45, whoseone-person Sudbury, Massachusetts, consulting firm, C.A. Leonhardt& Associates, dispenses golfing advice for businesspeople.
Leonhardt is, in fact, a special type of entrepreneur, dubbedthe Optimizer in a study performed for Pitney Bowes Inc. byYankelovich Partners identifying five distinct types of businessowner. (For the first part of this series, see March's"Pulse." You can find it online at Entrepreneur.com.) TheOptimizer is a confident and savvy businessperson motivated more bypersonal rewards than by building an empire.
That's not to say Leonhardt, or any of the 21 percent ofsmall-business owners identified as Optimizers, fritter the dayaway on the links. According to the researchers, who interviewedmore than 2,000 U.S. small-business owners last year, Optimizersare more interested in take-home pay, as opposed to sales growth,than any other group. And for many Optimizers, ownership'sintangible rewards outweigh its financial benefits.
Leonhardt, for instance, is an energetic, focused and creativeentrepreneur on a mission. She has created a professional businesswomen's golf association, published a newsletter and written abook on golfing for businesspeople-and the ideas are still coming.Leon-hardt's brainstorms include a series of Business Golf 101seminars that would be open to the public and possibly hosted by alaw firm or bank.
In her current business, she's helping others combine workand pleasure, advising execu-tives on ways to use golf in business.Much serious business is done over golf, Leonhardt notes. Byteaching businesses and businesswomen how to employ clubs incommerce, Leonhardt makes executives better managers, marketersable to land new accounts and diversity-seeking corporations betterat integrating and retaining female professionals.
In fact, Leonhardt keeps herself busy enough that she stays lateone weekday for every afternoon on the links. "You can'town your own business without being a hard worker," she says."I joke about going to play golf, but some nights at 10 or 11,I'm still sitting here."
A confessed worrier, Leonhardt frets over what might happen ifgolf's popularity declines, though she doesn't see thathappening any time soon ("Not at the rate they're buildinggolf courses," she says). And she always sweats the detailsbefore seminars. "That's a pressure-cooker," shesays. "You know you're going to be on the stage and havesome impact on people's lives. You want to be sure you'reabsolutely prepared and you give them the best performance youcan."
Leonhardt agrees with the Optimizer description, but she'sconfident enough in her self-knowledge to discount any effect suchtypecasting has on how she runs her business. "On most days,I'm an Optimizer," she says. "On another day, I mightbe something else."
Work It Out
Neglecting their personal lives is a trap many entrepreneurshave fallen into. Of the five types of business owner, here'swho thinks they're guilty:
All Types Combined: 32%
Jugglers: 47%
Idealists: 47%
Sustainers: 16%
Hard Workers: 31%
Optimizers: 11%
Contact Sources
C.A. Leonhardt & Associates, (978) 443-2883,www.GolfOnTheGo.com
