Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Caleb Ward, Owner of Curious Refuge, located in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

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

We are Curious Refuge, an online home for course creators who want to become millionaires. We believe that everyone has the power to live their dream life by sharing what they know. Using the power of fun, we bring our years of experience to the table to show online educators how to use modern tools to build communities, sell courses, and enjoy every step of the way.

Our customers live all around the world, but they all share one thing, they want to make more money with their courses. As a result, we've designed training and tools to help them organize content creation, course production, manage a team, grow a community, and more.

We're also wicked good at video production and have millions of views on our online YouTube channel. I promise you've never seen business video content like ours before.

Tell us about yourself

I started my career as a freelance video creator. I was able to work on many incredible projects, shoot films, and generally make fun content. However, I found that while I loved making videos, I also loved teaching other people how to make videos as well. So I started a blog called Camera Refuge (no longer around). It was a super nerdy site about how the technical side of using cameras.

After blogging for a few months, a blog manager at a company called PremiumBeat reached out and asked if I'd like to write about video production, gear, and editing on their site full-time. I said yes, and spent the next few years creating as much awesome content as possible. From there, I learned online marketing strategies, what it takes to grow a community, and how to use leverage to stretch a message. It was an incredible experience, and eventually, our company was acquired by Shutterstock. Soon, this small-town Texas boy was going on work trips to the Empire State Building. It was surreal, and I learned a ton.

From there, I landed a job at the world's best Motion Design school (School of Motion). They create world-class training, and I was hired to lead their marketing efforts. The company grew, and I learned the ins and outs of what it takes to sell great courses.

From there, I started Curious Refuge. Since the beginning, I've been helping people grow their following, increase sales, and create an incredible online experience. I've been able to help my clients land contracts with companies like Disney, Netflix, and more. And I love every minute of it.

Now, my focus is on helping as many people as possible to learn the techniques and secrets I know for selling online courses. I also tell a TON of corny jokes, which, for better or worse, are reflected across the brand.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

While I love having financial gain, my biggest accomplishment happens every single time someone says that our content or courses have helped them in their career. I am deeply passionate about helping as many people as possible, so when a video that covers a topic that might be hard to understand, like 'SEO' gets a ton of traction, I feel a great sense of accomplishment.

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

Accounting and taxes. It absolutely sucks to do this on your own. Hire an accountant, get QuickBooks, and open a business bank account. Good gravy; you will save yourself a lot of stress.

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

  1. Organize Your Work - I use our Curious Notion Templates for Productivity to organize my business and life. You wouldn't believe how many people are just shooting from the hip. It's bonkers, honestly. So do yourself a favor and sit down and organize your work and life tasks.
  2. Have Rituals that Make Your Business Goals Inevitable - Instead of simply having a goal like 'Make $100K a Year,' take it one step further and break down the actions you need to take every single workday to get there. Maybe it's making ten sales calls, creating for two solid hours, or simply releasing a newsletter every Wednesday. Whatever it is, do it. I have key times in the day when I do rituals (Wake Up, Work Startup, Work Shutdown, Home Arrival). Without good rituals, life will just push you around, and your business growth will be stunted.
  3. Don't Be Yourself - "Did he just say that?!?!" Yes... Yes, I did. Here's what I mean... to grow a community, it takes great content. And great content is all about four core things (Consistency, Utility, Empathy, and Inspiration); if any of those things fall through the cracks, your community is going to have a hard time growing. So what does that mean for YOU, the business owner? Simply put, you are going to have to do things that feel unnatural with the hope of helping your audience. Being on camera for the first time SUCKS. It feels like pulling teeth, and you will basically decide after your first video that you don't want to do it anymore. Same with blog writing, book writing, or anything else that is actually noteworthy. If you were just yourself, you'd probably want to quit. So instead, I say, be TRUE to yourself and tell the little gremlins in your head that says you aren't good enough to take a hike. Be true to the vision you have for yourself and your community. Don't stop helping your audience, and don't stop giving value. You should be giving way more value than you are getting. If that is true for you, success is almost inevitable.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://curiousrefuge.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/curiousrefuge/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curiousrefuge/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/curiousrefuge
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/curiousrefuge/

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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