Very Short Interview No. 1

My interview was with my former boss, Renee Ratliff. She owns her own boutique, which I worked at over the summer. She is a personable leader with a lot of business savvy. She also works as a guidance counselor at a local middle school in my hometown. I am very impressed with how well she balances everything.

Question: What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?

Answer: An entrepreneur to me is someone that takes an idea or a product that others need or want and turns it into not only benefitting others but also themselves. An entrepreneur is not afraid to experiment, works long hard hours, and is not afraid of failure.

Question: What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneurship course?

Answer: I would hope that you would learn how to be a successful entrepreneur! How to meet your goal with enough monetary compensation to not only support yourself but to expand and build on your goal. 

Question: What do you wish you had been taught in school before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur?

Answer: I wish that I had been told about all of the hidden responsibilities of owning your own business! All of the little things that you don't think about! All of the state guidelines and permits and hurdles that you have to jump through. Accounting! How to set up a payroll system!

I really enjoyed interviewing my former boss because I really respect and admire her. One thing I really learned from this interview is that there is a lot of depth to being an entrepreneur. When I usually think about an entrepreneur, my first thought goes directly to the major successes or the terrible failures. I don't generally thinking about all of the stuff in the middle. There is so much behind the scenes work that takes commitment, skills, and experience. When Mrs. Renee was telling me about the state guidelines and permits and all of the hurdles she had to jump through, it really got me thinking about all of the work that the average person isn't even exposed to. I admire her even more for all she does for her business and all she has done for me as a mentor.