An Inside Look at Entrepreneurship

Some of the interviews I have done in my podcast “The Career Guy” were with entrepreneurs.  In this blog, I would like to share some of the insights that have surfaced from the episodes relating to the topic of entrepreneurship.  The subject areas that will be covered will pertain to time, money, and experience. Learning, starting slow doing free work, doing it part-time, and above all how passion attributes to confidence will also be explored.

Time, Money, and Experience 

It does take time for a business to develop traction or if you an established business and are offering a new product it does take time for either the public to accept it or take the bugs out. My book review of “Build” by Tony Fedall https://www.thecareerguy.ca/blog/a-book-review-build-by-tony-fadell discusses this. In the book, Tony relates his experience working at Apple when the iPhone was just being released. He makes it very clear that it took three generations of this phone to work out the bugs. This absorbed time, and human resources all leading to the consumption of money before the phone started to become profitable.

Understanding this is important because no matter how well thought out something is, how well something is tested there will be issues. And dealing with these problems does take money which are the factors that can and will determine if a product or business will be successful. As Tony points out in the book, Apple had the backing to support such a revolutionary endeavor which is why they were so prosperous. He emphasizes when looking at startups that this is a key consideration. Does the business have support both financially and intellectually?  In essence, having someone on board who has experience is vital, not just money as that can be burned through if a person does not know what they are doing.  

Learning

This leads to the next point as Lou Rosenfeld pointed out in his interview https://www.thecareerguy.ca/episodes/engineering-for-ski-performance if you want to do something talk to people who already have done something very similar to what you want to do. Learn as much as you can from somebody else. In starting his ski shop he did have the guidance of some others that had business experience. He also sacrificed a lot. He slept and lived in his ski shop for the first year or so. He also did some work as Pro-Bono (free) to get his name out there. This was a combination of producing articles in journals and magazines, presenting at conferences, and supporting ski teams. 

Pro-Bono Start Slow

It took Leo King a few years of just helping bodybuilders and physique competitors before he established himself as a creditable coach. In doing so he created a spotlight for himself in the fitness industry and expanded his expertise and opened a small gym which he has grown. He now owns and operates two gyms in the Calgary area and is president of the Natural Bodybuilding Association. In addition, he still coaches athletes and judges bodybuilding competitions. This all started by just helping athletes as he puts in his interview with me https://www.thecareerguy.ca/episodes/a-leader-in-the-fitness-industry. It is his passion and love for fitness that transcends into his business which is why it has grown and he has prospered.  

Passion and Confidence

Paul Rogalski talked extensively about re-branding the Rouge Restaurant when he and his partner took over this establishment. In his interview https://www.thecareerguy.ca/episodes/a-chef-that-is-continually-re-inventing-himself he talks about being true to himself and his vision. He wanted to give his clientele a unique and high-quality dining experience. As the re-branding of his business started getting noticed and attracting not just more people but people that appreciated this certain level of service, his confidence grew which in turn had a direct influence on the business.  Being sincere to ourselves and what we may want to accomplish is a lesson from him.

Part-Time

Understanding the field that a person is in will help navigate a desired route. For Dexter Martin, a photographer will be able to maintain his integrity as an artist as he chooses to run his business part-time. He explains this in his interview https://www.thecareerguy.ca/episodes/techy-artistic-and-personable. He feels that by doing it part-time he can pick more interesting and fulfilling work that will enable him to unleash his creativity. This strategy enables him to reduce the pressure of finding work. However, in doing so he has created more of a loyal following. He has developed his little niche and this makes him very happy.

One of the main reasons we should want to start up a business is to fulfill a desire of ours. In other words, we should be doing something to meet our internal needs as opposed to external ones such as making money.  And yes, people will see this, and as in Dexter’s case, as he has quite a bit of work coming to him as he has developed traction over the years.

Conclusion

In conclusion, starting a business is risky, rewarding, and humbling. Above all, it is giving back because it is creating opportunities as Gino Arcaro puts it in his interview https://www.thecareerguy.ca/episodes/a-career-in-law-enforcement-and-much-more-part-1.  Where would our world be if all the past entrepreneurs did not follow their passion and took that risk? I would like to say thanks for reading this blog and to the reader that is thinking about starting a business.  I hope this helps by giving you a different perspective that will motivate you. Go make a Ruckus.