Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Doug Noll, founder of Noll Associates, located in Clovis, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am a lawyer-turned-peacemaker. I help people resolve deep conflicts. I facilitate difficult conversations. I train executives and senior professionals in leadership empathy. I am the author of four books and dozens of articles.
Tell us about yourself
I was a civil trial lawyer for 22 years before returning to school to earn my Master's degree in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies. I left the practice of law in 2000 to become a mediator and peacemaker. I developed a powerful new way of de-escalating angry people and devoted much of my career to teaching others how to do what I do. Every day is a day of service to others, which fills me with gratitude and happiness.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My legacy project is co-founder of Prison of Peace. Laurel Kaufer and I started training life and long-term inmates in the largest, most violent women's prison in the world in 2010. Today, Prison of Peace has trained thousands of incarcerated people how to be powerful mediators and peacemakers to stop prison violence.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Learning to take time off. What I do is so rewarding I forget that I need time to recharge.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Read Running Lean and follow the instructions carefully.
- Manage your cash flow carefully and be fiscally prudent.
- Have fun.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://dougnoll.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DouglasNoll
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/douglasenoll/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dougnoll
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougnoll/
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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