OMC Financial Services’ Cynthia Scott Talks Entrepreneurship

Cynthia Scott, pictured here on a 2014 cover of Syracuse Woman Magazine, delivered a speech on entrepreneurial success.

At the intersection of entrepreneurship and investment is risk. Starting a business comes with the risk of failure; with investment, the risk of financial loss.

Throughout her 30 year career, Cynthia Scott, owner of OMC Financial Services, has professionally thrived at this intersection, succeeding as an entrepreneur in investment management. On May 6, Cynthia shared some secrets to her entrepreneurial success at Syracuse’s Tech Garden in a speech hosted by the Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (WISE) Center. WISE Center is a Syracuse University Whitman School of Management program.

In her speech, Cynthia spoke on four characteristics needed for entrepreneurial success. Cynthia gave examples of how each characteristic has been crucial to her success. Cynthia expressed these characteristics with an acronym—C.A.R.E.

Confidence

In 1988, Cynthia lost 50% of her client base. They left as an act of disapproval toward Cynthia’s decision to change OMC Financial Services from a commission-based firm to a fee-only advisor firm. Commission-based advisors receive a commission relative to investment transactions, whereas fee-only advisors charge a flat hourly rate.

Fast-forward 27 years to today and OMC Financial Services manages several million dollars. Cynthia credits her confidence as one of the reasons for OMC’s current success. “All of my peers discouraged me and let it be known that they thought it was a recipe for disaster,” Cynthia’s bio reads regarding her decision to switch to a fee-based payment model.

In addition to confidence in her decisions being critical to Cynthia’s success, Cynthia’s speech discussed the importance for a business to convey confidence toward clients or customers. Customers or clients look to a business to solve their problems, Cynthia said in her speech. Because of this, a successful businessperson must convey confidence to their customers or clients. This confidence is key in customers or clients perceiving a businessperson and their organization as capable.

Adaptability

Cynthia also spoke on how her choice to make OMC Financial Services a fee-based investment management firm exemplified the need for entrepreneurs to embrace adaptability. The market was changing, and she adapted her business model to align with the market, Cynthia said. Successful entrepreneurs must express adaptability in the way they run their business in order to maintain long-term success.

Resilience

“As a woman, entering the investment business in the 80s wasn’t easy,” Cynthia’s bio reads. “I wish I could tell you that I came with a great deal of confidence that I could conquer the investment world, but I didn’t. What I did have was a great background in history that I could apply to investing; and it separated me from other investment managers since I looked at investing through the eyes of where we had been and where I thought we were going.”

In addition to Cynthia’s resilience to naysayers in the founding stages of her business, Cynthia’s speech focused on an entrepreneur’s ability to embody resilience during recessions and other cyclical market corrections. Market corrections have and will continue to happen, according to Cynthia. Businesses must be resilient and capable of weathering the economic storm, she continued. She gave the example of the 2008 economic crisis as evidence of her own professional resilience.

Ethics

Ethics are essential to being a successful entrepreneur. At times, entrepreneurs have to go against what could best benefit their bottom line “to keep your [moral] compass in tact,” said Cynthia.

Success

Cynthia’s speech was well received by attendees. Two attendees that were associated with the WISE Center told Cynthia that, of WISE Center-hosted events, Cynthia delivered “the best presentation” that they had seen. Another attendee later reached out to Cynthia, commenting on the important lessons learned from Cynthia’s presentation.

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