Favorite aspects - Entrepreneur Video Transcripts
Video 1 Transcript
Nat Howard here on favorite aspects of being an entrepreneur. I think there are two that stand out. One is the flexibility of my schedule. I really like being able to determine when I come, when I go, what I'm working on, and so on. And without a boss, even though sometimes clients end up being like bosses, I really get to go call the shots about what I do each day and where I work from. And part of that is the nature of the work that I'm in. A lot of it is services that can be done on a computer. And so I really can work from most places and just setting expectations and letting clients know where I'm traveling, if I am traveling, and whether or not I'm going to be available. The second thing is being very connected to my work. I found when I worked at an agency right out of school that I felt like I was one very small piece of a very big operation. It was hard for me to know where my contributions actually counted and if I was moving the needle in the world or not. Working with small businesses now, everything I do, I know it has a direct impact on those people and on the customers. And I like that sense of closeness and impact.
Video 2 Transcript
There are a lot of things I love about being an entrepreneur. And one of them I didn't expect is that I love having employees. I love mentoring my team. I love celebrating life's milestones with them. Several of my employees over the past 21 years that I've been running my magazine publishing company have started their families and then had that transition of, do I want to work full-time or do I not? And I've loved being part of their lives as they've made those decisions and transitions. Some have left to go to graduate school or to start their own businesses. And it's been just a really fun time to mentor and bond with them. I also just really love strategizing and thinking about what is possible this next month, this next year. I like setting goals, financial goals, and then I like being transparent with my team so they can see if we've met those goals. I find it really exciting to be part of a team where I can really not just make a difference, but decide what make a difference means. And it's really fun to be the captain of your ship.
Video 3 Transcript
You know, favorite aspect of being an optioner and like, you know, being a founder of a business, when you think about what do kids love to do, they love to play with Legos. And as they get older, they move from Legos and play Minecraft now, which is like digital Legos, in my opinion. And then I've heard someone say, Jolt is like big kid Legos. And I don't think it's just Jolt. But I think really having a business is like big kid Legos where, you know, it's so enjoyable and rewarding to be able to like build your own business. It's like you get to build your own little world. But instead of it just being fake Legos, it's like you're actually creating something of value. Not that Legos can't be valuable, but you're creating jobs for people. You're building a product that solves a real need in a certain industry. And it's like, that's really rewarding to be a builder of people, a builder of solutions, a builder of industries. And so that's my favorite aspect.
Video 4 Transcript
Favorite aspects about being an entrepreneur. I work with people I love. You get to build a team and you get to find people that really gel with you and gel with the vision of what you're trying to create. Love that aspect. Probably the most important thing is helping your clients, customers, patients, whoever you're serving get the result that they're looking for. When you make a promise that your product or service will do something and then it does that or beyond, incredibly satisfying to get that result and to hear that from people. It goes full circle because you can say, Hey, that's the reason why I went out to do this and I'm actually doing this. That's, it's pretty cool to kind of fulfill that self-prophecy. And the last part is to be able to have some of the freedom and flexibility. Yeah. Sometimes that freedom means, Oh, I have to stay up until the wee hours in the middle of the night getting things done. But the best part is you made that choice and you can do that when you need to. But if you also need a break in the middle of the day and you need to get out and do something, you can absolutely do it or anything in between that.
Video 5 Transcript
Some of the favorite aspects of being an entrepreneur is that you can be your own boss. Now, when you raise venture capital or you raise money, you're no longer your own boss. So you have to make sure you understand when you raise venture capital, you now have bosses who are your investors because you just have their own money. So when you bootstrap and you own your business 100%, then you're your own boss. And you can choose the things that you wanna do, making sure that you hire out the things you necessarily might not wanna do. And some of the best things are when you earn the right to take those vacations and take the days off and be able to have a team who can continue to run the business or after you sell, to be able to go in and start investing in other businesses. I love being an angel investor and being able to invest in other people's businesses is one of my true passions. And that could have never happened unless I would have had my own success and my own ability to now angel invest.
Video 6 Transcript
After working in a nine-to-five job for 20 years, I have found that the best parts of being an entrepreneur are the freedom that I have to make decisions on my own. I will never go back to having a boss telling me what to do, and also the freedom to create my own schedule, the freedom to make decisions, the freedom that I have that when something comes up during the day that I can just go and do it. If my kids need me, if my spouse needs me to go do something, I can just go and do it. There is a lifestyle choice there about being an entrepreneur that you can't get with any other kind of job.
Video 7 Transcript
I get to work from home and I get to choose what I do each day. I don't like doing the same thing. I don't like being micromanaged, so it gives me a lot of freedom. If I need to help my kids or take time for something, I can schedule that into my day and it's just fine. I can even choose to work part-time hours if I want to, so that's great. My other favorite aspects are I receive residual income from my particular job and so that's kind of fun. And so I don't always have to work hours for dollars. I get to use my talents and strengths. I kind of hire myself, which I like not having to interview and feel like I have to impress someone or please someone else. I can just choose how my business goes.
