Summary: Discover the positives and negatives of Joel and Neil's entrepreneurial journey. Joel & Neil are the creators of Help Start My Small Business. Click on the podcast link above to hear the story of how they created several of their own small businesses. Want to read the show transcript instead? Or read on to get the high-points. Purpose of Help Start My Small Business We started this site and podcast series as a way to reach out and help others who have just started, or want to start a small business. Starting your own small business can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. Seeing your business grow from just an idea to something that fulfills your personal, professional and financial goals will lead to a well-deserved sense of pride and accomplishment. But it’s not all roses. Our small business life has been filled with setbacks, pitfalls and road blocks. It’s our goal to keep you from making these same energy zapping, time sucking mistakes. Discover how to get your business up and making money, quickly and legally with Help Start My Small Business. Neil & Joel's Background Our father has been self-employed ever since we can remember. He taught us that having a J-O-B is not for everyone. He also taught us not to be afraid of work. We have worked from a very young age (Neil can remember his first paid job at the age of three) to create a lifestyle that works for us and makes us independent of anyone else. Growing up we both had many jobs, several of which were self-created. We mowed lawns, sold lemonade, sold hot dogs, did handyman work, you name it we probably tried it. Joel went on get a degree in Architecture and after graduation got a job as a commercial architect. Neil got his degree in entrepreneurial management. After graduation he got a job working as a purchasing agent at a lumberyard. Several years later neither one of us was happy with our current position. It was then that we came together to start our own residential remodeling company. Construction was something we had both been involved with most of our lives and we were extremely comfortable with the 'hands-on' part of the business. However, the business side of the company was new experience for both of us. Even though Neil had a degree in business, real life was quite different than book learning. The first few years we really struggled to make an income equal to what we had as full-time employees. Through a lot of learning and 'hard' lessons we managed to improve our company and make more money than either of us had thought possible in our 'work-a-day' lives. But it wasn't easy. We spent five years and thousands of dollars educating ourselves and learning how to run a profitable small business. We read books, scoured the internet, attended numerous seminars and joined several high-level mastermind groups, all in an effort to improve ourselves and our company. Why Did We Create Help Start My Small Business? During our journey we were lucky to benefit from the wisdom of those entrepreneurs that went before us. Many small business owners shared with us their stories of "when I first started." These stories and lessons shared were a huge part of education we received in our first few years in business. It is our hope to use Help Start My Small Business to do the same for others. We want to help first time small business owners get started on the right foot and make their business a success in two years instead of five. We both get excited when we see someone step out and try their own unique business idea. Many times when attending a chamber meeting or other networking event, we will meet a budding entrepreneur. We are energized by their stories and ideas. We are also quick to share our experience and lend a hand. It's what we love to do. But, let's face it, helping out in a local chamber of commerce doesn't introduce to many people. We want to be able to share our knowledge and hard-life lessons with a larger audience.
