Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Christopher Blotiau, Founder and Surf Coach of The Surf Continuum, located in Montauk, NY, USA.

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

I started a business called, The Surf Continuum. It is, most of all, an educational resource for people who want to learn to surf and improve themselves as surfers in and out of the water, but it all started from my one-on-one services as a private coach of beginner and intermediate surfers.

Tell us about yourself

My mother is a natural and talented educator, and she made teaching an art that was always so beautiful and admirable to me. Surfing was something I had wanted to do for years before I finally got the chance at age 11, and once I finally got to try it, I fell in love and have been ever since. The ocean and waves were and still are one of the most captivating sights to me, and because it takes a special recipe of natural events to create the best and most beautiful waves, a surfer must always have their finger on the pulse of the ocean if they want to be there for her most magnificent events. I decided I needed a job that allowed me to maintain my relationship with the ocean.

Additionally, even if I didn't have this connection to the ocean, I don't fit in the 9-5 box very well, and the freedom and control of being an entrepreneur very much suited my personality. So along with my good friend, I started teaching surfing so I could live a productive and passionate life marrying my appreciation for education, my love for surfing, and the need of a human being to be productive in their life.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is simply finding a way to make a living with surfing. It is infamously hard to make a living as a surfer, whether as a competing pro, a surfboard shaper, a photographer, etc., and I am among the fortunate few who have discovered a way to live from my passion for surfing.

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

Surfing is a very sacred thing. It's not just athleticism; it's a devoted lifestyle, in my opinion, on par with religion. There are a lot of risks in tainting the sanctity of surfing and my personal convictions when operating a business based on surf education. Constantly checking myself and my business to make sure it agrees with my principles isn't actually the hard part, though. Continuing to grow and scale the business with respect to those principles is.

This is why I began my podcast, KookCast, and my membership site online to share my surf education. It would not agree with my principles to hire more instructors and crowd surf spots with beginners learning from instructors that work for my business. It often ruins the experience for all the other surfers out there when a surf school overruns a surf spot. Instead, since surfing is such a personal journey, I want to encourage, with good education, any passionate individual to go out and learn the same way we all did... Through commitment, perseverance, and mentorship we earn from the community of surfers that frequent their local spots when we consistently show up to the beach.

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

Expect to be wrong about a lot of things that seemed like a good idea at first. Be willing to change and not be stubborn, and listen to what other people have to say. You don't have to do what they say, but you should hear them; your audience, your peers, and the people who surround your business so you can evolve to remain in harmony with yourself, others, and the natural world.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://thesurfcontinuum.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesurfcontinuum/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesurfcontinuum/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/surfcontinuum
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-blotiau-3b1b29174/

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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