An entrepreneur is a person who is willing to take big financial risks in hopes they will receive big financial gain. By this definition Peter Schurkman of Norco, California definitely fits the mold with the growth and success of his 33 year old business he recently sold in 2021. Peter has always been described as a hard worker. He’s known by his family as the guy who always has a better way of doing things. Mr.Schurkman is a multifaceted entrepreneur; owning commercial real estate, growing and selling a commercial flooring business and he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty.
Before Peter decided to start his own business in 1989 he was furniture mover for a large company in the office division. He did that for 5 years and then went to work for his father in law who owned a small part of a flooring company. After working there for a while Peter thought “why not do this for myself?”. He realized he could make more money for the work he was already doing if he worked for himself and that is when JKP, Inc. came to fruition.
With hopes for a better financial future for his family and a loan from his father in law Peter started on his entrepreneurial journey. At first, JKP, Inc. was only supposed to be a floor demo and furniture moving company but as the business grew some of the customers he worked with started asking him about installation prices. So he took a risk and expanded the services of the company. During that time although some customers were happy with the change he also lost a lot of customers because he became their competition.
According to Peter the beginning was rough, he did the clerical work during business hours and the physical labor at night. This began to take a toll on him and he figured if his services were expanding his labor force needed to as well. Peter hired a labor superintendent and invested in another sales person who had years of experience. Peter reflected on this time stating “the sales person I hired wanted to be paid more than I was making, but I took the risk because I saw the potential.” Business started booming from there.
In response to the question about what kept him motivated during the hard times Peter replied “dollar signs. It was all about the dollar”. Peter knew he had what it takes to make a successful business and he was right. During the 33 year run of JKP, Inc. He managed to buy the building he was renting. Peter rented out some of the offices to other business owners and found a way to make some passive income. Eventually he was able to sell the business and retire at age 59. When asked what advice he’d give to someone just starting out, didn’t hesitate:”Have a plan. Be ready to change it. Secure your financing. And if you can, do it without a partner.”