Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Scott Shute, Founder of Changing Work, located in San Jose, CA, USA.

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

Changing Work is a team-based learning experience that helps build close-knit, high-performing teams. Our customers are managers who lead teams that need to work well together.

Tell us about yourself

After a career in tech, leading and being on some incredible teams within amazing company cultures, I wanted to give back. My mission is to Change Work from the Inside Out. It starts with teams and their manager. The research shows that a person's relationship with their manager is the single biggest factor in their happiness at Work. And...the second biggest factor in their overall happiness. Wow! If we want to make the world a better place, we can start by helping managers.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I had a career as an executive - I was the VP of Global Customer Operations at LinkedIn. I was also able to be a bit of a pioneer and create my own role at LinkedIn - Head of Mindfulness and Compassion Programs. We made some real progress in advancing the discussion around compassion in leadership and in company culture. My COVID project was to write a book. The Full Body Yes won a Nautilus Book Award in 2022 and is the basis for a lot of the concepts in the Changing Work products.

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

One of the challenges is that it's all on you. Within a company, I had a big team to share the workload. With this project, it's me, my business partner Alec, and my wife, Aparna. The Work never stops. And... thankfully, I love it.

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

  1. Really know your customers and what they need.
  2. Then build a product or service that is hyper-focused on meeting that need.
  3. Remember to enjoy it. If we enjoy what we're doing, that will show through our products and services.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.changingwork.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFullBodyYes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottshutephotos/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/scottshute1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottshute/

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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