Looking back at my first short Interview with entrepreneur Frank Howell, I think it went real well and I can say that his answers to may questions made me think more about what being an entrepreneur means. The first question I asked Frank was what advice he would give to a young entrepreneur. He told me to take risks. After everything this course has taught me, I still think that nothing will ever come from anything unless you take risks. I knew this already, but I'm glad I could here it from another entrepreneur during that interview.
For this second short interview, I talked with Frank on the phone and asked him a few more questions. This time my questions were based around being an entrepreneur and not about becoming one:
Me: How do you keep yourself motivated and wanting to grow your business?
Frank (paraphrased): Its not hard when this company is what I like to do and is what pays my bills. I am not just working for myself, but since I am the owner, I am working for my employees, my family and my employees families. Knowing that they enjoy the company they work for and that my customers enjoy the services we provide makes me happy and motivated to keep doing what I'm doing.
Me: Do you ever have other business ideas or concepts that you know could work but are too busy with your current company that you can't pursue them?
Frank (paraphrased): Yes, I have had several concepts that I would have loved to pursue during my career. When I took the risk and started my fencing business I was committed 100%. I am still committed fully to my company now and we are doing well enough to where I don't have to start another business. I think it would have been fun to run with some of my other ideas, but I am happy where my company is now and am glad I didn't give up on it.
Me: What is the biggest perk of owning and running your own company?
Frank (paraphrased): I never liked listening to other people and being commanded to do things. The best part about being the boss is having no one tell you what to do. I end up working harder because I don't have a boss. Because the company is mine, the success of it is directly correlated to how hard I work. So I work real hard, but i work for myself and my family.
Over the course of this class, I have definitely gained some good communication skills. I have realized that entrepreneurs must be good listeners but not let any opinion get in the way of them reaching their goals. Communicating with people and gaining knowledge from others takes some guts and I think I am more willing to reach out to people now than three months ago. Frank did not mention anything about me progressing from the last time I spoke with him, but he told me stay motivated. I personally think I am progressing and am glad where I am at.
Hey Thomas,
ReplyDeleteGreat job with the interviews and the questions you asked, you received some really good responses. I personally love the second question you asked, I asked the same question to the entrepreneur I interviewed and received a similar response. I think the hardest part of choosing the entrepreneurship path, or at least wanting to is first choosing what you want to commit to. And at the same time it's one of the reasons I want to pursue the entrepreneurship life. It seems like you did make some progress, I was on the same boat as you, hesitating to go out and have conversations with strangers about there own business. Great written post! Check out my post if you want: https://vincityblog.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/very-short-interview-part-2/