Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lynn Luong, Founder of The 2.0 Collective, located in NY, USA.

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

The 2.0 Collective is a future of work company building tools to help ambitious everyday professionals manage and diversify their careers. In its simplest form, 2.0 is a professional development community founded at the height of the pandemic in 2020, working to democratize career advancement by connecting ambitious professionals with weekly career support to take on the daily work challenges that are typically navigated solo (think parents, friends, unqualified and unsolicited advice!). We match each professional with a 2.0 Career Strategist– or what we like to call "a work wing person –" who becomes their soundboard to talk through all career moves. We believe everyone is working towards their 2.0, the next version of themselves, and we're going to support them towards it. Our self-iterative, machine-learning framework helps us offer personalized career resources through our Opportunity Pipeline. Workshops, connections, job opportunities – all the things needed to thrive and achieve a well-rounded career that ambitious professionals crave direction towards.

Tell us about yourself

I'm the founder of The 2.0 Collective, as well as a startup consultant and ecosystem builder for hyperlocal innovation and culture. After working to build several startups and ecosystem projects, I became incredibly frustrated with the lack of career support for those trying to figure out their next moves – I believe there's always a right person; they just may be in the wrong seat. With The 2.0 Collective, I believe that everyone is working towards the "next version" of themselves, or their 2.0, that can help further their own careers as well as the collective state of innovation. As a company, The 2.0 Collective also focuses strongly on increasing accessibility for underrepresented professionals within their career paths. You can find my portfolio here, on LinkedIn, on Instagram and Twitter, and The 2.0 Collective on Instagram or online at the20.co.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

In a world where fear of failure is too often disguised as real life, I'm on a mission to remind people that they have what it takes to get what they deserve and that they can do it all without having to be an exception. If I can get one person to realize their potential – that is my biggest accomplishment.

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

I think the hardest thing about being a founder is feeling alone at the top. When you're in an industry like ours, you wish you could hire everyone and make their entire work experience better. Knowing they are in a bad situation but not being able to tell them to leave a job that's no longer serving them if they aren't ready… it's the toughest part of what we do. The challenges you go through, the patience you have to have in building your product, and the fact that you can't help everyone right away. You carry that responsibility yourself. But, if you're lucky like me, your team will share that responsibility with humility and pride so that it's a little less alone at the top.

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

A few tips that I'd give a person aspiring to be a founder: Go Back to the basics. Really know your customer, understand their problem and make sure the problem you're solving is well-defined. Find a team of diverse people (and I don't just mean diverse backgrounds. Diverse from you.) who have different skills than you and are good at things you're definitely not good at. And my mantra - lean into discomfort.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.the20.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the2.0co
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the2.0co/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the20co/

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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