Follow your own path. Blaze a trail. Set your own course. Do things your way. That is one allure of owning a business. While your journey will be unique, there’s much you can learn from entrepreneurs who have been down similar roads.

Each month Thinking Bigger Business  magazine profiles a growing company, and the experiences, challenges, successes and key insights of those entrepreneurs provide lessons that can help you set your bearings and navigate to success.

Prepare for Plan B

Ron Seibold and Steve Malone know that breaking into the market—whether a startup or a growing company looking to open new markets—is difficult. Entrepreneurs have to be ready with a “Plan B” and be prepared to do whatever it takes to reach customers.

Their original idea for Pines International (April 2011), which makes health supplements from wheat grass, was to model the company’s distribution on Amway and have a network of individual distributors of products.

Quickly, however, Seibold and Malone figured out that wasn’t going to work.

“We went to Colorado to find distributors and couldn’t,” Seibold said. “We sold six bottles in two weeks, if that.”

Seibold and Malone faced one of those gut-check moments many entrepreneurs experience when “plan A” doesn’t work. Traveling through Colorado in a van with-out air-conditioning, low on money and enthusiasm, they walked into a Denver health food store in a last-ditch effort to sell the product.

“They knew about wheat grass,” Seibold said. “They’d never seen it in tablet form before and bought six bottles.”

Fueled with a new idea, the duo began visiting and selling products to health food stores throughout Denver. When that proved successful, the two started road-tripping through Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, visiting health food stores.

After a year, they were successful enough to move into an office in downtown Hays and hire an office manager. That was the moment the two felt as though they really had a company and were on their way.

Building an Innovation Culture

Rhythm Engineering (Feb. 2011) automatically adjusts traffic lights to keep traffic moving. But to continue improving his products and the flow of traffic for his municipal customers, CEO Reggie Chandra knows he has to keep the ideas flowing within his company.

So besides creating a good product, Chandra has worked hard on building a strong team. He’s divided the team into four areas: technology, marketing, sales and operations. It’s a way of streamlining efforts and keeping everyone on track with the business growing so quickly.

Innovation is highly admired. There is a monthly $500 award given for the most innovative idea, whether the idea is about the product line or a better way to run the office.

“To take the company forward, we have to recognize both the left and the right brain,” Chandra said.

And, it’s paying off. A new product debuting this year was initially born as one of those monthly innovative award winners.

Value of Advisors

Jay Kim knows that having a network of formal and informal advisors has helped accelerate the success of his small company, Data Locker (May 2011). As a member of PIPELINE’s Class of 2010, he was mentored by Gary Fish, founder and CEO of FishNet Security. Kim also has tapped into the knowledge and experience of Jon Darbyshire and Lance Melber, the brains behind Archer Technologies.

The relationship with these three hugely successful, serial entrepreneurs has made all the difference for Data Locker, Kim said. From their international networks, to guidance on day-to-day issues, to financial backing, Kim counts the three as his most ardent supporters and mentors.

“Growing up in Kansas City, I don’t have the contacts Lance does,” Kim said. “The international players in technology? He can pick up the phone and call them, and get them on the phone.”

The three offer the young company the credibility it needs to sell to the government, large corporations and military operations around the world.

Strength through Partnerships

Corey McDonald isn’t a civil engineer. He is, however, a salesman, problem-solver and serial entrepreneur. So, when during a snowstorm in 1996 he wondered how to heat the pavement to prevent freezing, McDonald did what any successful entrepreneur would do: he researched the problem and possible solutions. He eventually developed a hydronics system powered by energy from the sun, and Pave Guard (October 2010) was born.

Today, Pave Guard is expanding the number and scope of projects and educating the the world at large about what its technology can mean to a variety of industries. To help with Pave Guard’s expansion, McDonald has partnered with construction firm Meyer Companies Inc. He calls it one of the best moves he’s made for Pave Guard. The two companies are sharing office space in Lee’s Summit and are actively looking for ways to partner.

“One of the challenges we didn’t realize when we started was the construction component,” McDonald said. “The strategic partnership with Meyer involves a lot of integrating and working together, so there’s no need for us to go and get the expertise ourselves.”

For Meyer, the benefit is being able to offer customers another service without adding to its staff. McDonald also is using the Meyer partnership as mentoring for his young company, and incorporating some of Meyer’s best-practices into Pave Guard.

The Growth Process

When a company is small, an entrepreneur can keep an eye on all aspects of operations. But as the company grows—and, particularly, expands geographically—it becomes increasingly difficult to stay “hands on.”

Several years ago, Stephanie Isaacson met a potential customer from Nebraska. After some investigation, it became apparent that Nebraska was a good market for New Horizons Enterprises (June 2011) and she opened an office there—a move that came with a valuable lesson for Isaacson.

“When we opened the office in 2009, we had about 10 employees total (in Kansas City),” she said. “We didn’t need the procedures—everyone did things the New Horizons way.”

But, during a trip to the Nebraska office, Isaacson found that wasn’t how things were being done there. So, the company has developed a standard operating procedure manual to solidify how things are to be done: everything from who can write a check, to how to answer the phones.

Having to set down procedures and processes also led Isaacson to realize she also has to change as an entrepreneur in order for the business to keep up its growth. Isaacson knows she has to take a step back from day-to-day operations and focus more on a broader outlook. It’s the classic step of the business owner working less in the business and more on it.

Adapt and Survive

What lessons can entrepreneurs today learn from a 90-year-old company? How about adapting to meet a changing market?

Take Bear Creek Bronze (August 2010), for example. The company started in 1921 and still officially operates today as American Aluminum Brass Foundry. Battery terminals were the company’s staple for many years, but by the 1970s, the Independence-based company was in trouble, partially because of foreign carmakers entering the market.

When Kevin Kagay joined the company in 2001, he knew that it needed to retool and transform if it was going to survive. So, Kagay built Bear Creek Bronze from the ground up. Bear Creek isn’t a standalone company (yet), but rather a product line of decorative building accessories, such as cabinet hardware, switch and outlet covers, tiles, house numbers, address plaques and custom items in bronze, copper, white bronze, yellow brass and aluminum.

Bear Creek is gaining traction and Kagay is focused on growing his business by expanding its customer base. He is focusing on new products, such as new applications for copper, particularly in the medical field, because of its natural, anti-microbial properties. With an entrepreneurial mindset, Kagay is leading the successful transition of a 90-year-old company.

Follow in the Footsteps of Others

Whether your company is 90 years or 90 days old, learning from the experiences and insights of other entrepreneurs can help you find the right path to success.

After all, even Lewis and Clark relied on Sacagawea