Interview with Entrepreneur Essay

1. Why did you start your bear avocation?Curt has endlessly had a passion for engineering. When he was younger he work as a mechanical engineer by dint of AMP. Then changed to metal engineering besides go downd he was devolve of working for corporate office after 7 years and pursed his avocation into a c arer. Curt has always enjoyed boating and severe seafood. For years originally his founded business, he would enjoy being on the boat and catching good seafood which is when he wanted to bring crisp seafood to central Pennsylvania. 2. Is running your own business as hard as every matchless says that it is? Yes and no. Hes states that there are pros and cons to all situation especially in the business world. He views his pros would be to be able to set your own schedule and to him, he sees his work not so much as work only something that he enjoys and looks forward to waking up every day to. ab prohibited of the cons he listed were that its hard to have parting time away from his business. He solely owns 2 local businesses one located on Eisenhower Blvd., Harrisburg and the other on the Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg, and an online business.The online range (www.ilovecrabs.com) is ran out of his Carlisle pike location where fed ex comes daily to deliver conterminous day shipment to anyone within the 50 states. His business has been very thriving. 3. Do you believe the efforts and rewards for owning your own business are worth the sacrifices? Yes, Curt believes that he is very happy with the outcome of where his business is today. He says that he aptitude change a few things looking bum alone nothing excessively serious. He says the business world is about risk and sometimes things work very considerably and sometimes they fail precisely its always good to whap when to back out and when to leap towards something. 4. Did you always see yourself as an entrepreneur, or that you would in time, owning your own business? To a certain extent h e has always wanted more. Between 16-17 years old, he seemed to be great at stealing and selling assorted things. Even working as an engineer for 7 years, he would buy and sell anything really that he could make a profit on.5. How did you pay your initial startup costs for your olive-sized business? He saved some money working hardly he in any case went to the curse forpart of it. His mother, Sharon Engle, helps with organizing his finances every Tuesday. 6. How do you market or communicate? What seems to have the most positive effect in rescue in profitable customers? Curt used to do the advertising himself but he has hired someone to do that for him to help conduct some subvert off. Most advertising is through their internet retail website (www.ilovecrabs.com), but their both local retail condescends work with clipper magazine, or you could sign up with their crabsavers news allowter and save $10 off your first order and play either text messages and or emails with coupons and special deals weekly.They used to advertise with the newspaper and yellow pages but he claims its becoming a death trade. He uses organic advertising online with google now too. He also states the tuner is a way to have local customers aware that he is bringing this fresh seafood in daily but not so much for sales and promotions, he captures to his coupons and surplus sales.Teaming up with Obryckis from Maryland, Harbour kinsperson crabs now provides the Obrycks famous seasoning along with their person-to-person blends of seasonings.7. Whats your greatest entrepreneurial achievement?That the business is still well-off after 15 years since being founded. His first retail shop boomed to the online business after about his first 2-3 years of opening. It became such a hit that in 2009 he opened his second retail shop and moved his online shop to process through the second shop repayable to size and area. 8. How do you identify business opportunities and what measures do you take to decide whether to invest into this opportunity? He says usually he will stick with his gut feeling but sometimes its a infinitesimal more in depth then that he explains. After successfully launching his second store for 1 years, he decided to teammate up with Captain Bobs eatery. Unfortunately, it became a little too much to handle with the ordering of their products vs. what his small retail shop has to offer. So after 1 year, he gave back his part of the fraternity to the possessor of Captain Bobs and still sells fresh crabs to the restaurant as they have always done sooner.9. Whats the toughest feedback youve ever veritable and how did you learn or improve from it? There will always be customers that you wont be able to pander no result how much you try to do for them in fixing the situation. He tell the first few negative comments he received was through his onlinewebsite and was taken personally. Curt had taken this hard because he wasnt able to satis fy the customers, which is his companys main goal when providing this fresh food. 10. What makes your business patronise out from your competitors? We stand out in lineament and customer suffice.He says, We green goddesst control mother nature and there are certain variables that cause things to be difficult at times but when something happens, our team is encouraged to kill the customer with kindness but also with that have a strong backbone for the company, dont let someone spirit all over you but be kind.11. How galore(postnominal) hours do you work daily? How has this effected your personal or family flavor? Do you take time out to have fun? swell up because Curt doesnt have a partner, his phone is on him 24/7 and will answer from the time he wakes up until 10pm. He does have a home office and bases all his finances, strategies, and more at his home so its difficult sometimes to have to start the two. He enjoys it to be near his family more but then once more he walks a way from a lot to take a business call. 12. What kind of culture exists in your organization?The culture that goes with my products are anyone who enjoys fresh seafood, someone or even a group wanting to establish together to crack open some crabs and enjoy quality food with quality time given. Bringing friends and families together. 13. In one word, remember your life as an entrepreneur. Challenging.14. Who has been your greatest inspiration and wherefore?His grandfather because in 1934 during the great depression era, his grandfather opened up a small business selling Engle equipment, originally type-writers. The business took off so well that Curts father and uncle took it over when his grandfather passed. Eventually Toshiba bought the company out and still sells equipment today 15. Describe how you built a successful profitable customer base? Curt believes finding a service or product that the customers want or demand is the first step he took, then backing that up with custo mer service has what do this so successful. 16. Whats the best advice youve been given?never give up? Curt explains to me that he tells his kids for example thatwhen they say something like I cant, he will in return respond Never say I cant, thats giving up before even trying, and you should at least always try whether you win or lose. 17. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire most and why? Is it a product or service that draws you in? Amazon. He loves not only the products that are so easily obtained but he loves their unfluctuating and reliable service provided. 18. Knowing what you know now, is there anything that you would do differently? I would. There were a few investments Curt had but they werent worth the trouble. Its still an experience, he says but its good to know when to leave.19. If I were to want to open up a small business tomorrow, what would be the top priority on my folie list? He suggests to write a business plan and take it to the business administration building so they can review it and honor your idea. It takes a lot of research to find all that you need but its the foundation of the whole project. He also says that looking back at his first business plan, its accurate but at the same time off from what it really was from his planning. 20. Do you have an move strategy?Currently Mr. Engle is looking for an exit strategy because he didnt really have one at the time of presenting his plan. He did but not what he is really planning now. Ironically as I asked Curt this question, he asked me about taking over the business but I also did work for him from 2005-2013 so I do know a lot about running the stores. I denied though because I have other plans.