BUSINESS PULSE : SMALL BUSINESS IN ORANGE COUNTY : Small-Business Snapshot

ACTICOM COMMUNICATIONS

Owner: John J. Fallou, chairman

Address: 23574 Moulton Parkway, No. 201, Laguna Hills

Business: Computer service company

Employees: 10

Sales: $250,000 (projected)

Start-up costs: $75,000

When profitable? Not yet.

History: I was director of international sales for Sidereal Corp., which is part of Transtechnology out of Sherman Oaks. After 9 years with the company, I got burned out. And I finally got enough experience to say, ‘Hey, I can do it better.’ So I moved from Portland (Ore.) to here, and I started it up. That was in September.

Motivation: A lot of it was just being able to start a business, free enterprise, self-satisfaction. What we decided to do is create a company where we could serve the customers better.

Smartest move: Hiring good people, because people make things happen. We have highly motivated people. They go out and look for business, look for opportunities. If you want good-quality people, you have to offer health insurance. We have a profit-sharing program. You want to be able to support the people you have and make them feel secure.

Biggest mistake: Not enough financing, being turned down by bankers. It was a temporary drawback and caused a lot of turning back business. A lot of your suppliers want you to pay cash on delivery. The name of the game is cash flow.