Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ryan Englin, Founder of Core Matters, located in Phoenix, AZ, USA.

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

We work with small and medium business owners to assist them in implementing our process, the Core Fit Hiring System, so they can hire better people faster.

Tell us about yourself

After a few years of owning my digital marketing agency, many of our home service contractor clients were struggling to serve the leads we were generating for them because they didn't have enough technicians. They were struggling to hire.

So we worked with them to develop a process to hire frontline employees. This eventually became the Core Fit Hiring System which is our process today, and it's now all we do.

I grew up in a blue-collar family. My dad would work 12-hour days, six days per week. He wanted to provide for his family and do more for them, but because he always struggled with hiring good people, his business consumed him.

So many business owners are dealing with the same thing because they can't find people. I'm motivated by knowing that our work is helping these owners and their leadership teams get home at a decent time so they can focus on the things that matter most to them.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Eleven years in business, and I've never looked back. My wife has been able to stay home and raise our two kids without worrying about how we'll make ends meet.

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

Understand that it's better to be excellent at one or two things than to be a generalist and serve a large group of people. I used to spend a lot of time building new things for clients because they asked us for it, even if it was something we weren't experts at.

I've seen so many business owners struggle because they are afraid to go deep with a small group of people. They're afraid if the niche is too early or too narrow that, they won't have a business, and that's simply not true. It's the one thing I wish I had done sooner.

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

  1. Niche early and niche narrow. Find a small group of people that need what you do and become the authority in the space.
  2. Understand that you're not good at everything and that you're not the right person to do everything. The sooner you can focus on the things that you're brilliant at, and only you can do, and only do them, the faster the business will grow.
  3. Don't be afraid to charge more. Customers that want the lowest price or are always beating you up over price will destroy your profits, and without profits, you can't grow a business.

Find the people that value what you do and charge them enough to run a healthy business. The worst thing you can do is create a job for yourself because that keeps you from being able to hire and grow your business.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Figure out why you do what you do and share it with everyone. It's amazing how many people will want to support you in your cause.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://thecorematters.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecorematters
Twitter: https://twitter.com/corematters
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/corematters/

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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