Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in online business brokerage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mark Daoust, Founder & CEO of Quiet Light Brokerage, located in Mooresville, NC, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We work with online entrepreneurs who are interested in exiting their businesses, either now or at some point in the future. We work primarily with founders and owners of e-commerce, Amazon FBA, SaaS, and content business owners.
Tell us about yourself
I started this business in 2007 after going through an exit of a business I owned. At that time, I saw a real need to have people in the space who understood the dynamics of online businesses and who also had first-hand experience of going through an exit themselves. We have the awesome opportunity to help business owners with that final chapter of their business ownership. Our business is all about creating financial freedom: freedom for our clients who are selling their businesses and freedom for the people buying the businesses. I absolutely love seeing great deals happen.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
We've had a lot of banner-worthy successes at Quiet Light. However, I am most proud of the group we've assembled over the years. Every day I look around at the people I work with and wonder how we recruited such high-quality people. If you had told me in 2007 that the business would grow to the size it is today, and if you had told me about some of the people I'd have the privilege of working with, I simply wouldn't have believed it.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
There is certainly a strong sense of responsibility for the well-being of the people who I work with. I know that my decisions can and will impact their lives. It would be dishonest to suggest that I don't feel that pressure to perform well for them. Coming in at a close second would be the pressure to continually have a growth mindset. We've managed to do quite well over the years. While it is tempting to settle and simply maintain, we know that we need to keep a growth mindset.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't be too attached to any single idea or any single way of accomplishing your goal. Building a business is largely about finding what works: the best and most efficient processes, the right product/market fit, and the right setup and structure. Before we built the company we have today, I had a group of employees who all flamed out. It turns out I had the wrong idea about who to hire.
- Record keeping matters. While this isn't the most exciting piece of advice, it will save you countless headaches. Start with good financials early on. Record your processes early on. Document your business. If (when) you have success, you'll need that information.
- Have a clear purpose. Speaking about mission, vision, and values can sound like contrived corporate speak, but a well-built mission, vision, and values act like an accelerant to a business that is ready to grow. These things keep your organization focused and allow you to scale much more efficiently.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://quietlight.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/markdaoust
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdaoust/
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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