I found this list of questions on one of my favorite sites for entrepreneurs, YoungEntrepreneur.com, and I thought it would be a fun exercise to answer them. Maybe this will provide some motivation for others!
Company Name: Upward Lifestyle
- What ignited the spark in you to start a new business venture or to make significant changes in an existing business? *The pain of waking up every morning and dragging myself back into the cubicle is the best motivation!
- What is your definition of success and has your company achieved it? *In my business, 2 things will define success, when I have found my path to prosperity and helped at least 1 other person find theirs.
- To what do you attribute your company’s recent achievements? *Innovation is key in career counseling, yet it is too often overlooked. Hopefully my combination of career ideas, coupled with the motivation is allowing me to draw some readers away from my competitors.
- How important have good employees and team members been to your success? *Thankfully, I am still a one man band.
- What three pieces of advice would you give to high school or college students who want to become entrepreneurs? *Dream big, always understand the goals you are working towards, If at first you don't succeed, try try again.
- What have been some of your failures, and what have you learned from them? *My main failure related to a financial product that I was trying to sell. The market was crowded and I did not have a great way to differentiate myself. From that I learned 2 things, first, find a niche. Competing with the big boys is difficult. Second, innovation is key. Following the leader will get you nowhere.
- Describe/outline your typical day? *Because I have not yet abandoned the cube, my life starts with the typical shower/breakfast from which I move into the first web portion of my day. Checking emails, google analytics, answering comments, etc. After this, I head to my desk job to design the cars of the future (not bad as far as desk jobs go!). When I head home at night, I split my time between recreation (exercise, video games, sporting events) and adding content/driving traffic to my site. At some point, the desk job will be eliminated, and I will look forward to answering this question with more exotic tales of travel and adventure.
- Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? *Currently my 9 to 5 and frugal lifestyle allowed me to provide the necessary capital.
- What stops you from throwing in the towel and giving up when you are frustrated? *The thought of cruising down the coast of Monaco in a Ferrari F430 Scuderia!
- Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur? *Persistence, thirst for knowledge, and passion to help others are key.
- Who has influenced you most and been your greatest inspiration? *Timothy Ferris, author of The Four Hour Work Week helped me realize that I don't need to wait until I am 60 to start something on my own.
- What book has inspired you the most? *The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris
- How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing? *In the world of blogging, the best marketing tool is being an active guest commenter on other sites. As long as you actively contribute to the discussions, with good insights, you will be shocked at how much traffic you can drive to your own site.
- In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur. *Free!
- Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most? *Amazon, for their innovation and continuous push to improve. They could have become complacent, but they have continued to innovate and improve their business.
- How do you achieve balance in your life? Or do you? *Realize what you are working for, and then realize that you don't need to wait until you are 60 to have it! By then you will be too old to truly enjoy it.
- Where you see yourself and your business in 5 years? 10 years? *The goal is simply for the business to provide enough income for me to travel the world, living in low cost housing, seeing the sights, enjoying the cultures, and meeting the people.
- What’s your exit strategy? *No need, I love my business!
- If we could introduce you to anyone, who would it be and why? (you never know who we know!) *Steve Jobs. The marketing and innovation master.
- If you were conducting this interview, what question would you ask? *What inspired you to head down the career path you have chosen?
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