Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in training and education but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Alex McNeil, Founder of McNeil Admissions, located in Olga, WA, USA.

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

College consulting. Our customers are families with students currently going through the college application process.

Tell us about yourself

I got into college consulting because I worked with students on their writing while I was in college. The core of my business focuses on college essays, so it was an easy transition for my skillset.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Building enough of a client base to hire two amazing, skilled employees who have improved every aspect of the business. Also, we are launching a new website built around traffic generation (http://collegeessayland.com/) that will launch next month. Very excited about this.

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

Making decisions about where to allocate energy and time. We can only do a few things well at one time -- so picking and choosing those lanes and being strategic about how to differentiate our approach is crucial and difficult. Resources are finitely chasing a development path that isn't providing results is something I think about every day.

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

  1. Build your business around a core skill that you, as a founder, have.
  2. Don't be afraid to explore "unscalable" models (like providing a service) as a precursor to building a scaleable platform or product.
  3. Bootstrap at first, even if you have access to capital. Don't waste your resources before you build a passable foundation.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.mcneiladmissions.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-mcneil/

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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