Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Chad Foster, Author of Blind Ambition, located in Atlanta, GA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Professional Speaking: Corporations, conferences, and sports teams. Coaching: Business leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals seeking transformational growth. Book: Readers interested in learning how to shift their mindset from victim to visionary, take advantage of their perceived disadvantages, and unleash their full potential.
Tell us about yourself
Imagine going blind at 21 years old. Imagine never seeing another sunset. Never seeing your future wife. Never seeing your future children. Imagine emerging from that experience seeing everything more clearly and living a life without eyesight that's happier and more successful than before. I don't have to imagine that. That's the story of my life. Victims stay trapped. Visionaries bounce back.
I turned my obstacles into opportunities, becoming the first blind executive to graduate from the Harvard Business School leadership program, building software Silicon Valley said was impossible and helping millions of people around the world become successful while generating billions of dollars in the business world. Now I teach that same overcomer mindset to international audiences, delivering practical strategies to improve resilience in challenging circumstances. Helping others transform their adversity into an advantage makes going blind worth it. I lost my vision to help others find theirs.
I had my inflection point when attending Harvard and being inspired by the teachings of Bill George, Executive Fellow at HBS and former Chair/CEO of Medtronic. It was there that Bill taught Authentic Leadership, supported by his True North leadership model. While many of my HBS classmates grappled with their possible true north, mine smacked me in the face.
From time to time, people would tell me that I'd inspired them. And this usually happened when I was just trying to get to my next goal in life. I never really took that seriously until my experience at HBS. You see, I was elected to speak at our class graduation, and for the first time, I tried to use my story to reach others.
The short little 12-minute talk I gave affected people in a way I could've never anticipated. It affected me in a way I could've never anticipated. Everyone was blown away by my talk -- from a recent divorcee to an opera director who was so inspired that he decided, on the spot, to commission an opera based on my talk. But one classmate, in particular, ignited something deep inside me.
This particular gentleman came up to me afterward and was so overcome with emotion. He told me that something I'd said had helped him. Come to find out, he'd lost a daughter the year before to cancer. Now, I've never been a soft and fuzzy guy, but when you've got a parent in your arms - so affected by your words - it changes you. It changed me. It inspired me to move beyond myself.
Since that evening, I've been inspired to write Blind Ambition, the book, build the speaking business, and now, my coaching practice. I'm motivated by helping others -- purpose over profits.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Finding the courage to step outside my comfort zone and really put myself out there for all to Creating a connection with people through storytelling that's raw and vulnerable, exposing myself with the aim to help others navigate their own adversity.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Not having a blueprint for success and having to figure it out on the fly.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Find a business grounded in a mission. If you don't believe in the mission, it's likely you won't be able to persevere.
- Prepare for scale through automation. When you're starting off, you don't have a huge overhead budget, and you don't want to maintain unnecessary overhead -- even if you had the funds. So, use a startup cost structure to your advantage, and build in the automation from the very beginning.
- Understand your customers inside and out. Where do they visit? What problems are they solving? How do they engage? How are they affected by recent trends?
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://chadefoster.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FindChadEFoster
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/FindChadEFoster/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChadEFoster
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadfoster/
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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