Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tyler Herron, Co-Founder, and CEO of Eclipse Interpreter Scheduling, located in New York, NY, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Eclipse is the first IDEA-focused service management platform developed exclusively for language service providers and disability accommodation service companies to meet the needs of their historically underserved consumers. Eclipse provides the industry’s first service management platform designed for interpreting and accommodation services by career-professional interpreters. Our end-to-end platform empowers service agencies, providers, and organizations to effectively manage their interpreting and accommodation services with a renewed focus on the positive outcomes of the service consumer.

Tell us about yourself

Prior to starting Eclipse Scheduling, LLC, I was working full-time with Inclusive Communication Services, Inc. (www.InclusiveASL.com), New York’s first consumer-focused accommodations agency for the Deaf, Deaf-blind, and hard-of-hearing. In my time working with ICS, I recognized how limiting and debilitating the industry’s current service management platforms are. Much worse, these platforms prioritized profitability over the outcomes of service consumers, resulting in service companies routinely pairing the lowest cost and least qualified resources for their service requests. From being denied employment to receiving poor legal advice, underqualified service pairings have severe repercussions on already marginalized and underserved populations. In an effort to reform the industry, we developed Eclipse Scheduling. Empowered with nuanced features and consumer-focused pairing functionality, Eclipse allows service companies to optimize their operations while better meeting the needs of their consumers.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My proudest accomplishment as a business owner has been starting two community-focused companies (Inclusive Communication Services, Inc. and Eclipse Scheduling, LLC) that have tangibly changed the lives of everyday people with disabilities and language barriers. With ICS, I have seen a significant improvement in New York’s inclusion, diversity, and accessibility as we make for-profit, nonprofit, and arts organizations accessible for the first time to the Deaf, Deaf-blind, hard of hearing, and limited English proficient (LEP) in their communities. With Eclipse Scheduling, we’re making this vision possible on a larger scale as we provide the tools for other service agencies to similarly return their focus to the success and inclusion of their service consumers.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the hardest aspects of being a business owner is that you rarely - if ever - have an opportunity to “unplug” and step away from the business. You are always on-call, and especially during your formative years, you are often the first point of contact. However, as demanding as being a business owner can be, when you are passionate about what your business does and can see the real-world impact of your efforts, you find that it doesn’t feel like “work.”

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Starting a business does not always mean doing what you love. - This came as an especially hard lesson for me. When we started Inclusive Communication Services, I dreamed of being able to interpret full-time for my own company - doing the work I truly loved. Similarly-minded business owners may dream of baking in their bakery all day. The truth is that a successful business requires A LOT of work behind the scenes. During your formative years, you likely will be in the office doing the dirty work rather than the work that initially inspired you to launch the business.
  2. Don’t Do It Alone! - I can attest to how much a business partner helps! I have seen many aspiring entrepreneurs get stuck in the “idea” or “hobby” stage because they don’t have a partner for support. Choosing one or more strategic business partners can significantly impact the scale of your business’ growth.
  3. Eventually, You Have to Dive ALL IN! - My first year as a business owner was split between continuing my freelance work nearly full-time. While the work provided supplemental income for the business and a fallback plan for if the business did not work out, eventually, juggling the two became more of a barrier to my growth than an aid. I recognized that if my business was ever going to succeed, I needed to be in my office and dedicated to it full-time, which meant stepping away from other work commitments. Of course, this decision came with extensive and careful consideration of my financial situation and business projections.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Perhaps it’s cliche, but it’s worth remembering - if everyone could do it, everyone would do it! Being a business owner is not easy or glamorous. You work long hours, are often the last person to be paid, and experience a lot of failure and mistakes along the way. However, if you’re passionate about what your business does and you can communicate that passion to others, then you may be one of the lucky few who emerge as a successful business owner. Good luck!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://interpreterscheduling.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EclipseScheduling/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eclipsescheduling/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EclipseSched
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eclipse-scheduling/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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