Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in leadership development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jesan Sorrells, CEO of HSCT Publishing, located in Fort Worth, TX, USA.

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

Leadership Toolbox is a video-first e-learning leadership development platform. We innovate on people! Leadership Toolbox develops and distributes remote, online, and video-first leadership training and development content to managers and supervisors in multiple SMB verticals.

Tell us about yourself

I am Jesan Sorrells, and I serve as the CEO of HSCT Publishing, the home of the leadership training and development platforms, Leadership ToolBox, LeaderBuzz, and LeadingKeys. I strongly believe that many of the problems in teams and organizations today can be solved through the intentional application of effective leadership practices. In my latest book, 12 Rules for Leaders: The Foundation of Intentional Leadership, I advance the idea that all problems in all organizations can be solved through the intentional application of effective leadership practices and principles. By changing our mindsets, our teams, and our organizations, leaders who have heard my message have been able to change cultures, change organizations, and ultimately change their work lives. I also host and produce the Leadership Lessons from the Great Books podcast. In addition, I have previously published two books, Marketing for Peace Builders: How to Market Your Value to a World in Conflict in 2016 and My Boss Doesn't Care: 100 Essays on Disrupting Your Workplace by Disrupting Your Boss in April 2019.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Remaining in business for the last ten years in spite of all of the challenges of entrepreneurship that people with regular 9 to 5 jobs can't comprehend.

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

The hardest thing is to let go of the fear that surrounds all the decision-making involved in entrepreneurship. It's not fear of failure or of success, but instead, it's fear of how your decision will impact the people you are leading. Letting go of that fear requires a relationship with your team, faith in Jesus, and a deep level of self-awareness.

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

If you're going to run a business today, here are three things you need to know:

  1. Be a generalist rather than a narrow specialist. At least, at first. Because you're going to be doing everything at first anyway.
  2. Write down your processes as soon as you complete a project (e.g., a sale, a marketing campaign, a hiring, a financial transaction) and store it somewhere. And then repeat that process over again.
  3. Scale as quickly as you can. Hire one other person, part-time or as a contractor, to do something you don't want to do. Hiring one person is scaling. Hiring no one else is a headache.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://leadershiptoolbox.us/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LdrshpTlbx
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershiptoolboxus/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ldrshptlbx
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ldrshptlbx/

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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