Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Michael Robinson, co-founder of Proof, located in Chattanooga, TN, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Proof is a food and beverage resource center providing education, acceleration, and innovation to help drive economic development in the food and beverage industry. We offer programs, workshops, a resource center, and a community to support entrepreneurs, independent restaurants, and emerging CPG brands in partnership with community stakeholders and ecosystem builders in rural and urban markets across the country.
Tell us about yourself
I grew up in restaurants and absolutely despised the lifestyle and industry, so I went into nursing only to realize everyone was just as overworked, underpaid, and as miserable as the restaurant industry. Falling back on what I knew, I opened several restaurants and bars only to burn out on the industry again at the ripe old age of 27. I sold my businesses and took an opportunity to join Chattanooga Whiskey and fell in love with the consumer products industry. In 2018 I decided to open a resource center focused on providing resources to the F&B industry, often overlooked by traditional ecosystem builders and entrepreneur centers.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
It would have to be investing in staff and talent and watching them grow or move on to do amazing things!
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Managing people! Lol, but that's one of the hardest things in life, I guess. I would say battling the false narrative of work-life balance. Really, people should strive for work-life integration.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Double what you think it will cost.
- Ask for help. Entrepreneurs are inherently stubborn and often charge ahead at all costs without being objective. This is a valuable attribute when used appropriately, but I see it puts more entrepreneurs out of business than it helps.
- Slow down and stop trying to do it all.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.proofincubator.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/proofincubator/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-robinson-191a0bb3/
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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