Introduction
1. What is your full name and title in this business?
My full name is Tyrone Zhang. I am the owner of this business.
2. What is the full name and address/phone number of your business?
The name of the company is Cellular Accessories USA.
Located in 1181 Broadway #3rd Floor, New York, NY 10001.
The Phone number is: (212) 213-1102
3. What or who inspired you to start this business? Elaborate.
I started this business with my wife’s help. I asked her advice about the opportunity to
open accessories for the cellular phone business, and she just said: “Honey, if you think
this business can work, you go for it.” About who inspired me to start this business
there is no one. It just popped out of my head and I just went for it. Besides, I had my
wife’s support.
4. What kind of work/job did you have before you started this business?
Eleven years ago, the first time I came to the United States, I had no money. I worked
like a slave. My first employer paid me below the minimum wage. Because I needed the
money, and remember about my limitedness of language, I had to do it no matter what.
But eventually, it got better. In two years, I was employed as a limousine driver, and it
paid good money. I worked there for almost four years. I started to save money and
here I am today.
5. How did you decide to choose this type of business? Explain please.
Like I told you before, it just popped out of my head. When I tried to think about the
market, I said: “Hey, not a lot of people are doing this business – well of course this was
almost six years ago – why not try it first and see what happens.
History of the Business
6. How did you select the name of your business? Explain please.
I just wanted to name the business that represented what I am trying to sell. Since I
want to sell cellular phone accessories, I named it Cellular Accessories USA. USA is just
the location where the business located. I wanted to put New York at first, but my wife
disagreed.
7. When and where did this business start? Explain please.
The business started in the mid of 1999. It was first located not far from here, it was on
29th Street and Sixth Avenue. Because the lease was over, I had to move out.
8. Is this form of a business ownership a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation?
This business is a sole proprietorship. I am the only owner.
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Why did you select this form of business over the two forms of ownership?
I chose to be the only owner because it is less complicated to make decisions. But the
most important thing is just I don’t trust people.
9. What kind of special training, experience, skills, or education did you have that helped you to
start a business?
To be open with you, I have no educational background, or any special skills. I
graduated from high school in China and then worked. What I learned was; there is a
way when there is a will. I am willing to be successful and there is a way to be
successful.
10. How did you choose this particular location and how did this location either help or hurt your
success in this business?
I chose this location because it’s Broadway. This location is always busy all the time,
from early in the morning until the evening. This is the area of wholesalers. I am a
wholesaler. I know this location is going to help my business grow.
11. About how long did it take (months/years) for you to raise enough money/capital to start this
business?
To save enough money to start this business I had to save each paycheck for about four
to five years.
12. How did you raise enough money/capital for the business to get started? (list sources of fund)
As I mentioned earlier, I saved all the money that I got from driving a limousine.
13. About how much money would you think a business person would need to start this kind of
business today (in 2005)? Elaborate.
It took me $40,000 to start this business six years ago. To start this kind of business
nowadays, maybe it will take approximately $80,000 or more. $80,000 can cover most of
the expenses, such as: rent expense, products, office restructure, office equipments, etc.
14. What were the major problems/obstacles you had in starting and running this business and
how did you try to overcome those major problems? Explain please.
The major problems I had in starting this business were to find the suppliers and to
attract customers. It was so difficult to find suppliers at that time. I had to compare the
quality of products from different companies and compare the prices until I found the
highest quality products with a reasonable price. At first, it was hard to attract the
customer. The demand for the cellular phone accessories at that time was not as much
as nowadays. But as time goes by, customers know your products and your services and
it gets easier.
15. What are the three most important things to do in starting your own business?
The three most important things to do from my point of view are:
1. Find the right supplier – local and overseas
2. Find the best employees
3. Fulfill the customers demand
Consumer Relations
16. If a customer complains, how do you handle that complaint? Elaborate.
Well, I have not experienced a lot of complaints from customers. Usually, the complaint
is about the wrong merchandise that has been given. We just simply sent them the right
one when we received the wrong merchandise without shipping fees.
17. In your opinion. What reasons help explain the success of your business (or how do you keep
your customers coming back to your business)? Elaborate.
How I keep my customers coming back to my business is simple, customer satisfactions.
I will try to fulfill my customer’s demand. I will give the best services, the best products
and of course, a reasonable price.
18. List the best selling products/services.
The best selling products are the “Shuttle Case”. It is made from real leather, not PVC
– imitation leather. It is made in Korea, with a high design to fit the customer’s cellular.
It also comes in different colors, not only black. It can be worn by any generation. It
follows the fashion trend nowadays too. The other product is the car charger. We
experienced a lot of demand for the car charger.
19. Why do these products/services sell so well in your business? Explain.
The Shuttle Cases sells so well in my business because it is different from any other case
that I carry. Shuttle Cases are made from real leather, not imitation leather and it also
comes in different colors. Customers were bored with a regular leather case. The
regular leather cases are not made from the real leather and it comes only in a black
color, unlike the Shuttle Case. Customer wants something different, something new and
stylish. That is why Shuttle Case is in high demand in this business nowadays.
20. Which kind of paid advertising do you use to increase your sales? If you do not spend money
on advertising, explain why not?
I don’t advertise a lot. I once advertised in wholesaler magazines, but I didn’t boost the
sales, so I stopped. Now, I have sales persons who works for me. These sales persons will
do cold calling to find customers. And I also go to the International Consumer
Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas every year. The reason I go to the International
Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas is because lots of wholesalers, retailers
and suppliers comes to the show. It is great opportunity for us to attract small
businesses to do business with us. On the other hand, I can also use the opportunity to
find suppliers.
21. Where is the closest competition located?
Hahaha… I have lots of competitors around. The closest competitors are on my right hand
side and on my left hand side (he was showing me the competitors located just one block
away to his right hand side and one block away to his left hand side).
22. How do you deal with your competition? Explain please.
What I do to win over customers is to keep the quality, keep the best services, and build
relationships with the customers. I don’t see customers like customers. I see them as
part of my family. They talk about their problems sometimes, and I listen to them.
23. How does your competition effect your business? Explain please.
I lost lots of customers at first because my competitors compete over prices not quality
and lots of customers were willing to get lower prices but poor quality. But eventually,
the customers came back to my business. They talked to me about how the prices
reflected the quality. From then on, my customers know I have the best quality products
with a reasonable price.
Profits, Prices and Insurance
24. Which of the products or services you sell makes the biggest profits for your business?
Elaborate.
If we’re talking which products I sell makes the biggest profits, it must be the belt
holsters. Belt holsters are the clips to hold your phone. You clip it on your belt and it
swivels 180 degrees. The reason is because I imported them by myself from China. I can
reduce the cost of merchandise. If I buy from a local supplier, it will be double the price
from what I imported directly from China.
25. How do you decide on your prices? Under what condition would you raise or lower your
prices?
Well, I will definitely include what ever the shipping costs are and give my self a little
profit. For the customer who buys in the thousands, I gave them lower prices. For the
customer who buys in hundreds, it will be regular prices. If I get higher prices from the
supplier, I will definitely raise the price. If I imported the merchandise, it will be lower
prices.
26. Which kinds of insurance do you carry to lower risks in your business?
I don’t insure my company. I know it is very risky not to insure my company, I can lose
everything that I have build, but I just don’t have the exact reasons why I decided not to
insure my company. I just feel it is not necessary for me at this time. Well… I don’t
know what to say but I guess that’s my reason.
27. How many employees do you have now and how many did you have when you first started
your business?
I have seventeen employees now. When I first started the business, it was only me and
my wife. Since the demand was high, we hired only five people.
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How many days and hours do you and your employees work a week?
They work six days a week. They work from Monday-Friday (9am-7pm), Saturday
9am-3pm. In winter they work from 9-4pm only, of course with the same salary. My
wife’s no longer working here anymore since we had our first daughter. Sometimes
I come at 11am, and if everything is okay in the company, I just leave, even though
it is not the time to leave yet. I just gave the duplicate key to the head manager and
she is the one who responsible to open and close the company.

How do you try to motivate your employees do their best work?
I will give them support. I know each person has talent. We just have to know what
they can do best. For example, one worker can do very well in sales, but another
worker just could not do it – even if you train them, he/she will not reach their
highest potential, because they are not meant to be a sales person – maybe they can
do well in book-keeping.
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What kinds of benefits do you give your employees? Elaborate. (If there aren’t any
benefits, why aren’t there any benefits)? Elaborate.
Benefits like 401K or Insurance, I don’t provide. But I give them a free luncheon
and a snack hour – because it’s long hours of work. Every six months, I give two
round trip tickets to Florida for the managers that had been selected by employees
and customers - it is like the employee of the month, if you recall. I also give out a
$25 gift card for an employee’s birthday. Well, I do little things that to me mean
much more than money. I believe my employees also appreciate what I have done
for them. They would have a party to celebrate my birthday and invite some of our
customers also.
28. What skills do you look for when hiring new employees? List them and elaborate.
You can say that I am a very picky person in case of hiring employees. Because the way
my employee act, it represent the place where they work.
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They must understand English.
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They must come to work on time.
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They must be willing to work long hours.

For managers, they have to have experience for managing a company. They need to
be a well-educated or well-experienced person. They need to be capable to make the
right decisions and be responsible for these decisions.
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For sales person, they have to be able to open one account everyday at least.
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For warehouse people, no experience is needed.

For book-keepers, I need a person who is familiar with the computer.
29. What special dreams do you have for this business in the next two years? Explain please.
I can open another branch. I am really looking forward to expand my business to
another area. This building will be way too small for my business in just two years.

If you were starting over again, what two things would you do differently? Elaborate.
I am happy with the way my business right now. Nothing has to be fixed.
30. Finally, if I was opening my own business, what specific advice would you give to me about
starting and running a successful business? Elaborate.
You have heard inside of my business, you have worked here before, you knew the
situation here. I believe you can open your own business with all the knowledge you
have. You are a good worker. I believe you’ll be able to manage a company. Remember,
if there is a will, there is a way.
Introduction Essay
To have the opportunity to interview an entrepreneur has added some additional
knowledge for me. With this entrepreneurial business interview project, I wanted to share
with the readers what I learned about the inside and outside of the business that I had
interviewed. From the inside of the business we will look closely at the details about how the
business is organized. For outside of the business we will look closely at the details about the
business neighborhood and its location.
Description
Inside of the company I interviewed, Cellular Accessories USA, that is solely owned
by one person, Tyrone Zhang, He is very well-organized. I will begin with the company
operation first. Seventeen people are working in this company, two persons for the
front desk, seven persons for the warehouse - including the warehouse manager, four
sales persons, three book-keepers and one head manager. Every activity must be overlooked
by the head of the manager and reported to the owner. The head manager is responsible to
look over day-to-day activities and report it directly to the owner. The book-keepers are
responsible for invoicing, shipping and overlooking the account activity of the customers
like their credit balances or debit balances. The sales persons are responsible for opening
new accounts everyday and to take customer's orders correctly. The warehouse manager
must be able to arrange the positions of products by their type of products and the
warehouse workers must take the correct items as requested by the sales persons and pack
them. The front desk has the easiest tasks. The front desk has to pick-up the phones, and
write message(s) if the person is not available.
Cellular Accessories is open six days a week, from Monday through Friday 9am7pm and on Saturday from 9am-3pm. The schedule for the winter session is MondayFriday 9am-4pm with the same salary. There are no heavy tools, machinery or equipment
needed in this business. But there are light tools for shipping; such as: tapes, hand-trucks,
boxes, rubber-bands, plastic bags, and scissors. There are also pieces of office equipment;
like computers, fax machines, copier, video-camera surveillance and little things needed for
the office. Outside of the company, there is a busy area. The company is located on 28 th
Street and Broadway, the palace for wholesalers. Lots of customers come from out of state
and the majority of the customers are non-American people. Lots of street vendors carry a
variety of companies. There are no signs that stood out to attract customers. Surprisingly,
the customers just know where to find Cellular Accessories USA, even it is located on third
floor.
Evaluation
I believe Cellular Accessories USA is a successful business. The products Cellular
Accessories USA offers are the highest and finest quality from any other company has
made. The store's location is perfectly located next to the subway station (N, R, and W), and
near three bus stops (5,6, and 7). Cellular Accessories USA offered products with a
reasonable price. The owner treated the employees and customers as if they're his family.
This resulted in customers who are loyal to its company, and employees who provide their
work efficiently. However, with the experience I have as the head manager in this company
for almost two years, I can say, the management systems are not well-structured. Having
only one head manager to run the company is not a good structure for a company. The head
manager can be loaded with lots of tasks and not being able to find ways to expand the
business. Temptations sometimes can lead the head manager to misuse his/her power in the
company. This business will definitely be here next year because it provides customers with
the highest quality products with a reasonable price, it is perfectly located and it also
provides its customers with their best services. This business will still be operating years
from now if the management systems are well-structured.
Conclusion
It takes capital to start a business and to operate a successful business. A perfect
location is also a thing that we should consider to makes the business successful. Positive
relationships between employers and employees, employees and customers, employees and
employees are also required to make the business become successful. Providing the highest
quality products, fulfilling customers' needs, resolving customers' complaints can be used to
satisfied customers. Highly skilled employees, well-structure management, knowledge and
hard work are the necessities to have a successful business. I would recommend this
business for LaGuardia students to be interns in. It is a great opportunity for those who
have not yet have a working experience. He/she will definitely learn some experiences from
here