Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Nikki Eisinger, Founder of Glad.is & Tobacco River Ranch Glamping, located in Eureka, MT, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I have two businesses ~ one is a website about intentional living, www.glad.is, where I make and sell Intention Candles and other plant-based natural candles and goods, and the other is Glamping on our Ranch~www.tobaccoriverranch.com. The candle customer is mostly a yoga or spiritual group of folks, and while there is some overlap with Ranch guests, we also get folks who just come to fish or bike, etc.
Tell us about yourself
I worked in fortune 500 Advertising for many years, living in New York, San Francisco, Frankfurt and London, and Los Angeles, and I know it's a cliche now, but I got really burned out and started questioning what the heck humans are doing. Especially in advertising, a lot of times you're "selling" things you just don't believe in (i.e., I worked on McDonald's advertising for a short stint, although I most did high-tech ads, which is fun and fast-paced.) I switched to working in Conservation/Climate Change, which I'm passionate about, but it's fucking depressing work with awful pay. (Hug your TreeHugger and Conservation friends - they need it!) I moved back to Montana to be near my family and raise my kids in nature - and mostly to live more simply and more affordably, which enables me to run my own businesses too!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I'd say getting over the three-year hump in both businesses. The first year you're just not ready and trying to figure it out. In the second year, you think, "I'm figuring it out, but crap, my bank account is in the negative," and I think that by the third year, you finally have income and are streamlining all your processes.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Probably that as a recovering workaholic from my Madison Avenue days, I can just never shut off work!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
I'd say try to do it part-time WHILE you have a regular paid job until you get some basics figured out. (I know that's not the advice folks want to hear.) But pretty much every entrepreneur I know needs at least 1-2 years longer than they thought to make an income. And ~ follow your bliss!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website:
https://glad.is/
https://tobaccoriverranch.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TobaccoRiverRanch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.sacred.wild.inside/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neisinger/
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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