Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Michael Moledzki, Owner of First Move Training Services, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.

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

We provide a premium training service for the security industry currently. Our services include physical training such as Use of Force, First Aid/CPR, and Managing of Resistive Behaviour. We are in the process of expanding our business to other industries so that we can provide a wider range of training services. We also contract experts in their industries that will be helping us expand our training offerings to many other people and vertical markets. First Move Training currently provides training services to several different security companies and new security guards to the industry.

Tell us about yourself

I have worked in the security industry for more than 20 years and have become an expert. I have worked at all levels of the industry, from being a guard up to a senior manager. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to become an instructor with a reputable organization and provide training to all the new staff. I found this role to be extremely rewarding and enjoyable, and I quickly realized that training was my calling as I enjoyed molding and guiding people to the beginning of their future careers. I have thought about starting my own training organization for many years and had the opportunity recently to expand on my own. I built First Move Training on the belief that training needs to be a priority and must be delivered at the highest level so that it equips people with the tools to succeed in their futures.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

When I had this big idea to start a premium training company, I had a lot of plans. My biggest accomplishment is that I have been able to stay true to my dream. I have built a training organization on only the highest level of training and not compromising quality for quantity. I wanted us to be one of the best, and we have been able to stay true to that dream. Our clients have recognized the quality of training we provide and have bought into the premium level of service we provide.

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

One of the hardest things I have found with being a business owner is always making sure we are providing an A. There is a saying that has stuck with me for many years from a movie named "Dangerous Minds." Michelle Pfeiffer played a teacher in a school within a poor community. One of the lines that she had said to the students was quoted, "Keeping an "A" is harder than getting an "A." Almost anyone can get an "A" once. But keeping it, that's an accomplishment.

I have built this organization built on that thought process, we want to keep an "A" at all times but to do I need to always be at my best, and I always need to hold our organization to a higher standard.

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

There is a whole list of things I would tell someone that was considering to start a business as this is quite eye-opening. Owning a business is not like a "job".

  1. Owning a business absolutely requires passion. Without passion, you won't be able to invest yourself at times that you aren't able to. As a business owner, you need to push yourself well beyond your comfort zone, and being passionate about the business will always help provide you with that little bit extra. You always have to remember that the difference between extraordinary and ordinary is that "extra" is at the beginning.
  2. Resilience is an integral part of starting a business. If you are not resilient, you will not be able to adapt and change with what the market needs and wants from you. I personally built this company with the initial revenue stream to come from the security guard online training course, but once the company started, I quickly learned that the demand for this specific niche wasn't as demanding as I initially thought, but the business took a turn to provide the in specialized class training, and I was quickly able to adapt. Now the business has grown quite quickly. This was because of the resiliency and ability to adapt quickly.
  3. Learn that you don't know everything. As I started this venture, I felt like I was prepared for being my own boss and starting this exciting next step. What I didn't realize was that there was a lot about being an owner that I had no clue about. I consider myself the be a very humble person, so I quickly leaned on close friends and business owners around me to seek knowledge about what I need to do from the business side of being an owner. This allowed me to quickly learn what I needed to do to start and run a successful business. It is so important to surround yourself with knowledge and support as you will no doubt hit roadblocks, and those people will be your lifelines to success.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

My closing thought is if you plan to start a business, love what you do. If you love what you do, the difficult days aren't very difficult. Never forget to celebrate the little successes.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://firstmovetraining.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-move-training-services/

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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