Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sam Jennings II, Founder of 360 Clarity, located in Post Falls, ID, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

360 Clarity is a leadership development company using coaching, workshops, and public speaking to help leaders lead leaders.

Tell us about yourself

My background is in student affairs in higher education. When I left that field to relocate to be close to family, it gave me an opportunity to really examine what I did well. It turns out that for more than two decades, I have been a leadership coach. Once I realized that I had set up my business to help others.

My daily motivation is job satisfaction. There is no reason to expect people to hate their jobs. One of the main contributors to job satisfaction is the employee's relationship with their supervisor. When I help leaders continuously improve their culture, the entire work environment improves, job satisfaction goes up, engagement increases, and employees can be productive and feel pretty good about their contributions.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is owning my own place. Specifically, most of us spend our professional lives as a title or role. Once I realized as a business owner, I get to define how I show up in a space; it gave me comfort and freedom to engage people much more authentically.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things is growing the business. Typically, when men think about having kids, they imagine playing catch with a 5-year-old. They don't think about earning that opportunity. When we think about starting a business, we think about the service, not earning the opportunity to provide that service. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes work that is necessary and legally required that can't be ignored.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Start by leaning on people who have done it. Ensure you're securing licenses, copyrights, business structures, and similar operational elements. Some things might feel like they can wait, but occasionally a need will pop up that requires that thing you skipped to have been completed.
  2. Run your business by doing the maintenance to ensure your business remains a business versus a hobby or side hustle. Things like social media, advertising, networking, sales, and supplies are not necessarily the super fun parts and may require some discipline to learn what you need and then execute what you need.
  3. Grow as you see fit. It may be possible to grow by doing social media spam. If that makes you feel yucky, do it differently. As you grow, it's important to accept the repercussions of the choices you make. For example, if you go spammy, you may grow faster, and you may rub some people the wrong way. If you're more organic, your growth may be slower, and you may feel really good about the connections you make. There is no one right way. Keep rules and regulations in order, then do what you think will help that still allows you to sleep at night. If that doesn't work, jostle, you're the boss now!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.360-clarity.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsamjennings/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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