Hussam
"Sam" Hamadeh
Leslie Esdaile Banks
Jeffrey Sterling
Douglas
Chu
TEACHING & LEARNING
Custom
Builder Has Designs on Future
Powers of Concentration: Wharton's Undergraduate Entrepreneurs
OUTREACH
Between
a Rocket and a Hard Place
Faces of Wharton Entrepreneurship
RESEARCH
The Vanishing $7 Billion:
An Options Approach to Corporate R&D
Personal
Information
Leslie Esdaile Banks,
Author. Self-employed, working as an author for St. Martin's Press,
BET, Genesis Press, and Simon and Schuster/Pocketbooks
Education:
Wharton class
'80, undergrad, Temple U master's degree in filmmaking
Primary place of residence: Philadelphia,
PA
It would surprise people that I….:
"Began my career as a sales executive for a high tech copier firm
[Xerox], moved to mainframe computers with a couple of Fortune 100 firms
[HP and DEC], and then became a fiction writer in the genres of romance,
women's fiction, and horror."
P.O.V. (Point of View)
I became an entrepreneur because…: "I had to!" My daughter was in a severe daycare center accident where she was burned down her left arm and hand. Seventeen surgeries later, I was subsequently laid-off from a six-figure job, was divorced, and needed a way to flexibly work at home. Initially, I became a micro-enterprise consultant, writing grants and business plans and teaching marketing classes for area non-profits and small businesses. Meanwhile, always a "serial entrepreneur" — I kept plugging away at my "hobby" of writing fiction... the hobby paid off better than any job or other venture. I now write at home, full-time, and LOVE it!
Best way to respond to criticism and doubters: Smile nicely, and keep doing what you gotta do.
Best definition of a successful entrepreneur: One who gets to make his/her dream a reality — namely, making money at doing what you would do for free.
Most challenging part of your job: It's all on you... there are no "departments" and coworkers to help steer the ship. All decisions, good and bad rest solely on your shoulders — there's no buffer.
Biggest impact of the Wharton School: Teaching me how to analyze a situation, think creatively outside the box, and know that everything, even a bad cycle, is just a trend (if you can hang long enough, you can ride it out.)
Best memory of your Wharton days. Laughing with my friends in DuBois lounge because finals were upon us, I'd just pledged a sorority, and hadn't been to sleep in two days — but made it through the rigorous exams anyway.
Close
calls
I need an appendix... there are so many. Become an entrepreneur and you'll
quickly understand what I mean.
How you started your business: My back was financially against the wall... I looked around at the changing landscape, there were few people (who were African Americans) doing what I was doing, and Forbes Magazine came out with a February issue (in 1992) stating that romance novels accounted for 50% of ALL paperback books sold in the US — with one third of the readers being African Americans and Latinas. Quick market analysis told me what I needed to know — create a book with a strong Latino/James Bond type hero and a Halle Berry type heroine, and this product (the novel) will be picked up by the publishers. I was right. It was classic niche marketing. The manuscript landed a two-book contract. The rest is history.
Pivotal moment in growing your business: Having children, getting married... life has a way of creating very pivotal moments.
Most interesting non-entrepreneurial job offer you've declined: N/A — every job offer I've ever received or been offered... from sales positions to VP at a film and video company, had an entrepreneurial component. Even teaching posts were to teach young adults entrepreneurship.
Biggest surprise you encountered growing your business: There were no paid holidays and vacations (big chuckle.) When you work for someone else, you have all sorts of "bennies" that you take for granted. That all evaporates and must be created from the ground up when you work for yourself.
Most difficult decision you're glad you made: I said "No" to some book projects that went against my personal philosophies — and was glad I did. the projects would have, in the long run, been a nightmare.
Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur
Favorite Web site: www.esdailebooks.com
Book that most influenced your thinking: The Bible... really... it's an epic saga!
Favorite activity outside of business: Spending time with my husband and children.
Goal still pursuing: Turning a few books into big screen epics.
Person most influential to your success: My mother and father
Person you most admire: My mother — they broke the mold!
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