It’s time to get serious about being an entrepreneur. I mean, what do YOU think an entrepreneur is? How does one become an entrepreneur? Is it in your blood – are you born with it? Or, is it thrust upon you at some point in your life? Maybe you heard people talking about it, “I’m an entrepreneur” or “I became an entrepreneur last year” and you wondered what it meant, so you went out, did some research, and decided to take the leap yourself.
In today’s conversation, with entrepreneur Josh Baker, we talk about that. About becoming an entrepreneur and what it means.
Josh has been an entrepreneur of one sort or another almost his entire life. He’s fairly young, so that hasn’t been as long as I’ve been an entrepreneur, but his time counts. His time as a young boy with a lemonade stand. Yep, he had the proverbial lemonade stand. How quaint.
More in tune with being a true entrepreneur, however, Josh and some friends of his decided to sell candy and drinks to their classmates. I’m not sure how old he was at this time, but old enough to know he could make a profit (and WANTED to make a profit) buying candy at the local Costco and reselling it to his classmates.
Time passed and Josh grew up. He decided not to explore higher learning after high school. I think that was a smart move. I don’t think all kids need to jump into the college scene directly from high school. Most are not prepared for it and many find themselves lost because the atmosphere at a college or university is so completely different than what they’ve known for most of their lives.
However, lest you think life was easy street for Josh, it wasn’t. This young man knew he had to carry his weight at home. Okay, his mother said, “Start earning some money if you’re going to live here.” Kudos to her. But, Josh knew it already.
Enter Baker Windows. Window cleaning. As a franchise business. Where Josh could be his own boss.
There is a good bit to explore between high school and Baker Windows but you have to watch the video to learn how Josh came to be an entrepreneur that used robots to clean windows.
He talks about wanting an internship. He talks about finding a mentor. He talks about learning and Googling (ah, we didn’t have that during the day, did we folks of a certain age?) and figuring out what he wanted to do.
That’s how we got to talking about the qualities of an entrepreneur. We agreed that you have to be ready to take risks. There is no such thing as a safe entrepreneur. And NO OVERNIGHT SUCCESSES!!!! Despite the thousands of internet links promising to make you one.
“An entrepreneur has to be bold,” Josh says. “You have to be willing to fail.”
I mentioned that one of the hardest things for new entrepreneurs to learn was how to be their own boss.
“Oh yeah,” he answered. “You have to be accountable or have someone who makes you accountable.”
It’s not as easy as the internet makes it look.
And then, finally, we got to Intelligent Conversations, Josh’s podcast.
In true entrepreneurial form, Josh knew his best bet at success with a podcast was just to do one. Real learning comes from doing, he says.
He attributes some of his success to his competitive nature. “It pushes me to be better,” he said.
Josh’s podcast is with people he considers intelligent. You probably got that. But it’s more than that. It’s a way to help listeners learn from people who have had success – and lived with failure – and begin to be inspired to go out and become the person their heart wants them to be.
“School is one option,” Josh says, “I think education is very important. But there are other options, too. My show gives people those other options.”
And by the way, at 22 minutes in, the word Christmas comes up. I can’t help it. It just popped up there.
I was so delighted to have this conversation with Josh. To bring on a young person who is just beginning his journey through life and business and learning how to be on his own.
I know you’ll more than enjoy the conversation. Watch the video when you’ve got time to really listen.
Find Josh’s podcast here Ask to be on the show. He’s open to all voices with a story to tell.
His company, Baker Windows is here
And connect with him on LinkedIn here
As always, subscribe to Smart Conversations’ YouTube channel to get more inspirational, educational, and heart-warming stories about business, entrepreneurships, books, writing, and life in general.
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