Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in animation but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Terrence Green, CEO of TJ's Animation Workshop, located in Memphis, TN, USA.

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

In my business, we make animated videos that are used to educate, explain, and entertain an audience. Our customers are organizations that want to educate, like onboarding training, internal communication, and external organizations. We also work with organizations that teach about history or want to tell a story. We also work with businesses and organizations to effectively market their services. We have serviced different departments in the city of Memphis, nonprofit organizations, small businesses, and fortune 500 businesses.

Tell us about yourself

I created my first animated video in high school for my last senior year project. I found this software on google too, where I can make an animated video like a PowerPoint; I was able to figure out the software in an hour. I created the video for the project and got a 98 out of 100. The only reason I didn't get the 100 is that the project barely had anything to do with the rubric the teacher gave. But she loved animation so much that she gave me an A and showed it to her other four classes. I would later go on to start my business during my sophomore year of college. I like to think that working my business as a side gig while in school is where I learned a lot and wanted to get some mistakes out early. When I graduated college (in the Spring of 2020 - the time COVID hit), I worked for a logistics company as a broker for 8 months before going full-time into owning my animation company.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Awards we received recently. 2021 Humanitarian of the Year by Blacks in Nonprofit Organization and 2022 Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the City of Memphis Office of Business Diversity and Compliance.

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

Discipline and Focus on the right things. As a business owner, there are 1,000 things you could do, but that doesn't mean you should do all of them. Whether it's busy work or extra tasks from other places. You need to stay focused on the things that matter. And even being disciplined to work when you don't feel like it or want to be doing something else.

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

  1. Always start with your goals and then a plan on how to achieve them. Then expect things to not go as planned.
  2. Never Stop: Like Eric Thomas says, on the other side of pain is your success.
  3. Focus on your mindset: I truly believe everything starts with your mindset. Even when it comes to rest, you want to make sure you are mentally healthy. Everything, good or bad, starts with you mentally.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://tjsanimationworkshop.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terrence.green.731
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrencejr/

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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