Ross Goralnick didn't have the luxury of deciding to make a big change; he was laid off. Goralnick ran U.S. operations for AMR International, a London-headquartered consulting firm that performs commercial due diligence.
In May 2009, when Goralnick lost his job, he had to think fast. "I had a bunch of loyal customers," he says, "and I went right into action. I thought, you know what, I can do this on my own."
He started his own business, Lumeric, in September 2009. The firm primarily reviews companies under consideration for acquisition, usually for private equity funds or corporations looking to buy. Along with his staff of three, Goralnick examines the market, health of the prospective company, strength of its relationships, and risks to the larger business, among other factors.
He says the nature of his business is the same as before, but his day-to-day tasks are entirely different: "Before, I had a decent size staff and was able to delegate a lot of work. I would just manage the process, but now I'm doing a lot of that work myself. I do the analytics, find sales leads, write reports. My workload has significantly increased."
Nonetheless, it may have worked out for the best. "I think I got out at the right time," he says. "Jumping into this was a good shove for me. I'm enjoying myself and I know I'm creating a better product."
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