Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Wes Dove, Founder of Dove Development & Consulting, located in Harrisonburg, VA, USA.

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

In every field, the best individual contributors earn promotions into roles with leadership responsibility but are rarely provided with the necessary support to develop the new skills they'll need to be equally successful with their new teams. With more than 50 years of combined experience, we provide leaders with practical tools for being as effective with their teams as they were in getting results previously on their own.

Whether it's a large group or a small executive team, our objective is to always provide practical tools that can be applied quickly and simply so the entire organization achieves a tangible return on investment! In any economy, developing a reputation for being best-in-class matters! When the right tools are in place, an organization is easily recognized as such by everyone they potentially impact. Not only do we build each lesson to offer applicable action steps to every participant, but we're also very intentional about working with our clients to shine a spotlight on the investment they've made in their team members, so they're providing a level of service that's unmatched in their respective industries!

Tell us about yourself

I started working in the construction field in my early teens, moving to manufacture just before my twentieth birthday. A strong work ethic helped me earn promotions quickly, only to face a whole new set of challenges that I wasn't able to handle through sheer grit and the force of the people I was responsible for leading. That forced me to search for every resource I could get my hands on to become more effective at communicating with and leading those team members. While that was an intense process, it created opportunities I would have never had otherwise - through my corporate career and now as we provide practical resources to leaders in various industries across the United States.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We've been blessed with some amazing opportunities, but I believe our most significant accomplishment can be seen each time we're able to help an individual supervisor, manager, or business owner implement leadership behaviors that have a lasting positive impact on the members of their respective teams. While we often get to see the immediate results, we also know that this will have a ripple effect on folks we'll likely never meet.

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

I've heard it said that when you own a business, you get to work half days any 12 hours you want... While I can't remember a time since my early twenties when I worked less than 60 hours per week, doing this as a business owner is significantly different since so much of the work you do is geared toward producing results that aren't seen on the next paycheck. Developing the discipline to remain consistent even when there were no visible successes is tough, but it's also a requirement to create the compounding results that can only be attained through that consistency.

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

  1. Focus more on who you can serve than what success can provide for you.
  2. Don't get caught up in daily results with consistency; results will come.
  3. Take time to reflect on your progress and achievements rather than just working all the time... This has been the most difficult for me! My wife blocks time on our calendar (we work together) every 3 to 6 months so we can see where we are and how we've grown. This allows us to make decisions based on data rather than emotions.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Develop a crystal-clear understanding of exactly why you're interested in business ownership. Without this, it can be nearly impossible to sustain the effort necessary to navigate the lean times - and there will be lean times!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.dove-development.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wes.dove
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dovedevelopmentandconsulting/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wes_dove
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesdove/

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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