Case 1 Maria Hernandez & Associates In June 2001， Maria Hernandez found herself out of a job for the second time in six months. As she left the building that had housed her failed dot-com employer, carrying a small box of personal belongings, her mind was already embracing a plan that would have her start her own business. At least, in her own business she would control part of her own destiny instead of being subject to the decisions of others. Hernandez was a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art. After working three years for an advertising agency where she specialized in advertising layout. she used part of her savings to take a technical course in webpage design. Her first job after completing her training was with a startup retail dot-com that ran through its initial cash and loans in less that one year. It took her only one week to find her latest employer, but in less than six months it had folded, too. She loved her work as a webpage designer, and she had confidence in her own abilities and skill. Her art training allowed her to blend design. color, and web-page layout in attractive and effective ways. But having been burned twice by startup dot-com employers, she was also reluctant to go to work for a third. Within days she had put together a simple business plan to create a webpage design consultancy to offer webpage designs to anyone. She would head the company and employ other designers as well to meet demand. There were plenty of potential customers in Boston. And she knew that several of her former co11eagues from art school could be interested in the better pay that webpage design could support. On June 20, 200 1, she transferred all of her savin...
