Month 2: CEO Interview & Portfolio Challenges
The first of Month 2’s challenges was the CEO interview. For this project, I interviewed four CEOs from a range of businesses and compiled their answers to six thoughtful prompts. This project improved my communication skills, taught me lessons about networking and contacts, and revealed to me the basic tenets of success used and followed by every skilled entrepreneur.
Jacob, owner of HandyCraftsman. (Audio call)
Skills that have helped him become who he is today
Valuing the importance of good relationships, whether it be family, friends, or associates. Work comes from everywhere, so good relationships lead to more job opportunities. You can’t survive as a person or a business without a good family relationship.
The best advice he’s ever received
His dad told him to be serious about your life and everything that you do. Be wise about your actions and avoid foolish, impulsive decisions. Hold onto your family and your community.
Hardest challenge he’s overcome
Finding dependable people to hire and creating good business relationships.
Something he’s working on improving right now
Being frugal due to lulls in job opportunities. Hard times will come, they’re just an opportunity to work harder. Be hyper-vigilant at all times, especially during the hard times.
What sets business leaders apart
Integrity and honesty. Don’t take advantage of anyone, no matter how much it could benefit you.
The most important qualities of a potential apprentice
They need the hyper-vigilance he spoke about earlier. They need to ask questions about everything they don’t fully understand. They should come at least five minutes early to the job whenever possible.
Key takeaways:
Be hyper-vigilant, and focus on good relationships.
Chris, owner of Rittman Orchards. (In-person interview)
Skills that have helped him become who he is today
Experience in the business, having worked on family farms his whole life. Being able to learn from everyone he meets or comes in contact with. His background in biochemistry has helped him a lot when running his farm. Overall, he constantly searches for more knowledge and improvement in his life.
Hardest challenges he’s overcome
Rebuilding the farm from the decrepit state it was in when he bought it. Buildings were falling, poison ivy the size of tree limbs covered everything, and scores of oak trees were invading all the rows of fruit trees. He had to recover the customer base that had been lost by the careless former owners. He has overcome extreme introversion and nervousness when dealing with people.
Something he’s working on improving right now
Introversion is still a battle for him. He can do manual labor all day, but conferences and large work gatherings take all his energy away. Hiring, firing, scolding, and conflict are his least favorite parts of the job. He’s listening and reading sources now to work on it.
The best advice he’s ever received
Try your hardest at everything you do; that’s the reason he’s where he is now. Push yourself further than you think you can go. Don’t slack off on what you have to do. If it’s worth doing, do it right.
What sets business leaders apart
You need people skills or someone good with people in case you struggle heavily with it. You can’t run a business without being able to deal with people. If you’re starting your own business, learn accounting, taxes, and bookkeeping until you can afford to hire out for those things. That information will still be useful so that you can treat that person right and keep them employed. Learn website design to some extent. He got into websites in the early 2000s and built his website completely on his own before it was easy. Also, know something about running social meetings.
The most important qualities of a potential apprentice
Honesty in everything is paramount. If you see anything shady, leave that person or business behind. Watch payments especially, because that’s where you’ll see dishonesty the most. The goals of each part must fit. Chris wants to see a hard-working individual who cares about their local community. You can’t sell out for a buck. Chris’ mission is to sell the highest quality farm produce; it’s not the cheapest but he can guarantee that’s the best.
Key takeaways:
Work hard at everything, especially at fixing the problems that afflict you the most. Always be learning and getting new skills. Focus on quality and being the best instead of making a quick buck.
Austin, owner of Zero-to-Hero Dog Training. (In-person interview)
Skills that have helped him become who he is today
Have passion for what you’re doing, that will drive you to success. Stand up for yourself and what you believe in when you’re starting, or you’ll get shot down before you start. Know when to ask for help. Stay humble at all times, and kill your ego before it grows.
Hardest challenges he’s overcome
Finding his area of skill took him many years. Mainly after that, he was overcoming the fear of failing and putting himself in the correct situation. He had to remember that you’re your own worst critic, and making mistakes in the eyes of others will make you grow a lot anyway.
Something he’s working on improving right now
Putting God first in his life, only making decisions based on what God wants, not his ideas and dreams. Also, overcome the pressures of a new business, taxes, regulations, etc. Scaling the business so that it can grow is also challenging. It takes a toll on the mind and body to do it all yourself.
The best advice he’s ever received
If you love what you have, then you have what you need. The price of failure is much cheaper than the price of regret. It’s better to have a dream and fail than to get old and wonder what would have happened if you had tried. Finally, you can’t live on hoping to do it someday, you have to start now.
What sets business leaders apart
You need to have passion for what you’re doing. Don’t be comfortable where you are right now. Many people say they want something really bad, but their life right now proves that they don’t want it, otherwise, they’d change their habits. You have to surround yourself with smarter people, as you never want to be the smartest person in a room. Be in this group so that you can constantly learn from them. Be humble. If you’re working to be like these people, it will keep your ego in check.
The most important qualities of a potential apprentice
Integrity, humility, and drive for the short answer. You need to be willing to get up after failing a million times. When times get hard, and they will, what will you do? Almost no one has the drive to keep going after failing again and again.
Key takeaways:
Have a passion for what you do, put God first, surround yourself with smarter people, and don’t be afraid to take a risk and get back up from falls.
Adam, owner of HTZ Construction. (In-person interview)
Skills that have helped him become who he is today
Grit. Everyone fails and feels pressure, but quitting can’t be an option. There will be hard days, so you need grit or, in a way, stubbornness. You can learn anything else you need if you have grit. Knowledge isn’t the issue in today’s world anymore. Apply yourself every day.
Hardest challenges he’s overcome
Starting was the hardest. He didn’t make a lot of money alone and needed to hire someone, but didn’t have much money for it. It was a challenge of growth, but it paid off in the end. COVID also killed his cash flow because there weren’t homes to work on anymore. He switched to flipping campers and did that for 7-8 months, which brought him through the hard time. That shows his skill in being flexible.
Best piece of advice he’s ever received
Books are one of the best sources of advice. Business is hard, especially in the first five years, after which you will see better success. Hire those who make you money, not those who cost you money. Be slow to hire and always quick to fire if they’re causing issues. Hiring is what makes or breaks a lot of companies; they hire the wrong people and go too far into trouble to get out. Work on your business, not in your business. You can’t strategize if you’re working inside the machine.
Something he’s working on improving right now
Overcoming a lull in ready jobs has been a struggle. His company has the designs and plans all laid out, but can’t start working for a while longer. To fill the time, he’s taking small, quick jobs while also working on making the designing process faster. Election cycles will slow down the construction field because people are scared of a collapse. Hiring always needs improvement. He also has to adjust to not being needed in the company as much, as he has now hired a general manager to take some of his workload away.
What sets business leaders apart
Drive for growth is the number one trait that sets successful business people apart from others. You also need to have love for the organization and the people within it. You can have all the knowledge possible, but you can’t fake that love. You will never become great through selfishness. You need to be able to take risks, too. If you’re not the kind of person to take risks, that’s fine too. You’ll be much better suited somewhere else and will find success there. Some need freedom and risk to be satisfied in their work, and others don’t. You just need to go where you fit best.
The most important qualities of a potential apprentice
Experience doesn’t matter; less experience can be better because that means they can be trained however he wants. He has five core values: serve with excellence, family comes first, be positive, have continuous growth (in knowledge, personal life, and work), and do the right thing with urgency. Any questions in a person about any of these mean an automatic no. After that comes talent and experience. The ones that last have all those things. It’s very important to be a blessing to others and give big.
Key takeaways:
Have grit and flexibility so that you can survive the hard times. Hiring is essential to having a successful business. Keep to your core values and continue to learn.
Portfolio Challenge
The second challenge for Month 2 was to begin creating a digital portfolio. The work I did then laid the groundwork for this website. My original idea was to make a simple document, instead of a website, that would be similar to a standard résumé. However, I soon realized that a website would show more dedication and effort than a simple PDF file, so I reorganized my work in a way that would allow for an easier website setup.
The portfolio challenge taught me a lot about branding and representing oneself. If I’m on a journey toward exceptionality, I should not settle for anything less than my full effort. Standing out from the crowd is one of the best ways to be successful in life, and something as simple as a digital portfolio in the form of a website can give you that competitive edge you need.