Making the Very Complex...Awesomely Simple

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with John Spence, managing partner of John Spence, LLC, located in Gainesville, FL, USA.

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

I have dedicated my career to helping businesses and people be more successful. For more than 30 years, I have assisted companies worldwide, from startups to the Fortune 10, as an executive coach, training facilitator, and speaker. I focus on helping good companies and talented executives become better. My areas of expertise include leadership development, high-performance teams, organizational culture, and strategic thinking. My clients tell me that they work with me because I have an exceptional breadth of business knowledge. I make complex business ideas understandable and actionable, and I'm approachable and easygoing.

Tell us about yourself

After failing college on the first try (I did much better on the second attempt), at the age of 26, I was named CEO of the Rockefeller Foundation. That began my journey in business. After running a few other companies, in 1994, I decided to start my training/consulting firm. My driving motivation is to help companies be successful so that they can take care of their employees. It is physically painful for me to see small to medium-size businesses go out of business. I know that it has impacted the lives of the owners, the employees, and the community they live in. It's been my experience that they often did not understand just a few fundamental things about running a great company. I'm on a mission to get those people the information they need to build and sustain a highly successful company.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

When I was 29, Inc. Magazine named me one of America's Up and Coming Young Business Leaders. I have been recognized as one of the Top 100 Business Thought Leaders in America, one of the Top 100 Small Business Influencers in America, one of the Top 50 Small Business Experts in America, and one of the top 500 Leadership Development Experts in the World. I am on the global list of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior. Other recipients include Richard Branson and Howard Schultz. The American Management Association named me one of America's Top 50 Leaders to Watch, along with Sergey Brin, Larry Page, and Jeff Bezos. I am on the Power List of the Top 200 Biggest Voices in Leadership. Others on the list included Gary Vaynerchuk, Adam Grant, Marshall Goldsmith, and Simon Senik. The prestigious Thinkers50, the definitive global ranking of management thinkers, shortlisted me as one of the top eight in the world for their Distinguished Achievement Award.

All of these awards are nice, but it's not about ego. I see them as a reflection of doing good work for my clients, so every award is simply a reflection of my dedication to helping my clients be more successful. That is my biggest accomplishment.

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

The responsibility for taking care of the people that work for you and their families. Even solopreneurs have outsourcers, vendors, strategic partners, and others who depend on them for their income. Years ago, when I was running a large company, I lay awake at night worrying about how I would put 100 kids through college. I have no kids, but I knew that at some level, I was responsible for helping every one of my employees put their kids to college. Even as a solopreneur, that has not changed. In my role as a consultant and executive coach, I bear some responsibility for helping my clients put their kids to college. Yes, it does create some pressure, but it's also a joy to know that you are contributing to other people's success.

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

Test your product/concept to make sure that people will buy it.
Surround yourself with great people on your team who have the skills and experience to help make the business successful.
Commit yourself to do the work. Some people start their own business to escape the 9-to-5 world with someone always telling them what to do, only to find out that being an entrepreneur is way more hours. You still have someone telling you what you to do, your customers.

I'd like to share the two most important things I've ever learned.
The first one is to ask for help. Many people think they can handle everything themselves. Nothing could be further from the truth. Successful people constantly ask for help, input, feedback, suggestions, and ideas. They are insatiably curious and eager to learn from anyone they can.

Here is the most important thing that I have ever learned. You become what you focus on and like the people you surround yourself with. Whatever you are reading, studying, listening to – whatever you fill your brain with - and whoever you choose to spend your time with will directly determine your future. So guard these areas carefully. Focus on things that will help you improve your life, reduce stress, make you happy, and build expertise in an area that is valuable in the marketplace. Surround yourself with bright, sharp, talented people of high integrity who are also curious and focused on improving themselves. I cannot stress enough how impactful this idea can be.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://johnspence.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnspenceFTL
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnspencespeaker/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AwesomelySimple
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbspence/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.