Very Short Interview No. 1
David Haslam is an entrepreneur and the owner of Campus Scooters in Gainesville Fla. From where I stand now, the initial interview had some very broad questions; however, I was lucky that Haslam went into depth with his answers. It helped and still helps with getting into the mindset of an entrepreneur.
In addition to the first three questions I asked him in January, I had three more to ask him in the second interview.
Donnelly: How did you know it was the right time to start your business?
Haslam: With my skill set, the job that I was applying for were all good jobs but not what I was looking for in long term. Some would have paid better than when I first started the business. The problem was that the jobs did not have both the pay and the benefits I desired. The economy in Gainesville is very good and very strange too. Between that and other jobs not having what I wanted, I knew it was time to start my business.
Donnelly: How difficult, or if so, how easy was it to come into contact with your suppliers?
Haslam: I still keep in contact with suppliers. With the business I
have, there are many suppliers that reach out to me. The one downside is that
there will be some sketchy contacts among the ones who reach out – not all of
them, though. The internet helped find contacts as well. Overall, it was fairly easy
and it is important to be aware of the sketchy suppliers.
Donnelly: How do you find your potential employees?
Haslam: I find that word-of-mouth is the best way for my business to
find new employees. For non-skilled working jobs, I’ll ask around the business
complex. If I’m looking for skilled workers, I post a listing on our Facebook
or on our Website. The one thing I always try to do is cut out the middle-man.
Our open positions are heard by word-of-mouth or on one of our pages, not a
temp agency, or some other business like that.
Compared to three months ago, I felt a lot more comfortable talking with the entrepreneur. I was more aware of what type of work went into being an entrepreneur and even tied it into my interview. Based on the specific questions I asked him, Haslam had sensed my progress and asked me about what I have in store for the future for entrepreneurship (after the interview).
From what I'm reading it seems like you understand what it means and why the entrepreneur of Campus Scooters had to go through to be where he is today. I hope you can use what you learned through our comments, from the entrepreneurs, and the class to be a successful entrepreneur.
ReplyDeletehttp://notimportantrightnow.blogspot.com/2016/04/very-short-interview-part-2.html
Krisine,
ReplyDeleteVery good job interviewing your euntrepreneur again and asking good questions. I wish i couldve seen video of the interview hwoever. But i had a similar feeling about this interview as you. Compared to the first interview with my entrepreneur, I found myself much mroe confortable like you sad, and I even found my questions to be more specific about learning the "how" of entrepreneurship instead if the "what." I found this to be cool and like your interviewee, mine noticed the difference and was happy to see progress in me. if you want to check out my blog the link is below.
http://smileyent3003.blogspot.com/2016/04/google-gold.html
Kristine,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the post and great job on the selection of questions for the interview. They definitely gave a good idea on how to go about starting a business, finding suppliers, to employers. I will have to agree with you that this time around it was a lot easier to hold a conversation with the interviewee.
Go check out my post @ http://entwill3003.blogspot.com/2016/04/very-short-interview-part-2.html