Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with John Kay, CEO of Realize Strategies, located in Vancouver, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Realize Strategies is an award-winning Certified B Corporation. We are leaders in unlocking human potential to drive organizational purpose and performance through tailored management consulting and professional development solutions. Our customers are impact organizations ranging from Certified B Corporations to co-operatives and non-profits.
Tell us about yourself
I have a very diverse background encompassing roles in the private sector, government, start-ups, and impact-focused ventures. I have served on many boards of directors - mainly non-profits and co-operatives - at the local, national, and international levels. I got started on Realize Strategies in 2012. It came out of a lot of work I did previously in what we now call the impact space - basically using business and the market as a force for good. I also saw that people are really the core of any organization. If you have the right people and they're highly engaged in what you do, they are an unstoppable force. All of this led me to build Realize Strategies. It's also what motivates me every day. I see the way in which consumers, businesses, and the media are realizing that there is a broader social, community, and environmental mission that needs to be baked into our business decisions and our consumer choices. Being part of this change is what motivates me each day.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
For me, it's building a great team that is as motivated as I am to use our business as a force for good.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
It's just that - being the leader of an organization. Even in today's environment, leadership can be a lonely endeavor. While there is growing acceptance - and even expectations - that leaders be vulnerable and do not always have all of the answers, there is also the reality that leaders need to inspire confidence and a sense of certainty - especially in the tough times we've been living through over the past few years. As a leader, you can't always share your sense of uncertainty or your biggest worries with your team. So you have to find others - usually peers - who are willing to serve as a sounding board for you. And it's often difficult to find peers who have the time to have those conversations.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Number one - be very certain that you know what you're getting into. It takes a huge amount of physical and emotional stamina to start a business. You need to know you're going to be able to persevere when you hit a rough patch (which you will at some point).
Number 2 - make sure you build an ecosystem of people who you can turn to for advice and support. It can be a tough and sometimes lonely road to launch a business - especially if you're a solo entrepreneur.
Number 3 - make sure you know that you can afford to launch a business before you get started. Raising capital is not as easy as many would-be entrepreneurs think it is. You may have a great idea, but it doesn't mean people are going to jump at the chance to fund it. You may find yourself working for a few years without a salary - and even having to finance your business and your personal expenses with credit cards and lines of credit.
One bit of advice I'd offer is to listen to the podcast "How I Built This" with Guy Raz. It has great stories and great insights on starting a business.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://realizestrategies.ca/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnrkay/
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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