Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Brian Hayden, Co-Founder of HeatSpring, located in Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

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

HeatSpring is an education platform for renewable energy companies. We help professionals get certified and build careers in solar, geothermal, and other technologies that help address the climate crisis.

Tell us about yourself

I love working in a job where I can be creative, always do the most important thing, and treat people the way they deserve to be treated. Entrepreneurship helped me create that job for myself and others.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

The number of solar jobs has grown 33% per year over the last decade. We've helped to enable that growth, and I'm really proud of that positive environmental and economic impact.

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

When HeatSpring fails - in big or small ways - there's nobody to blame. It's my fault and my responsibility to make it right.

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

  1. Form a 'life advisory board' with a diverse group of people who care about you. Poll them when you have to make a hard decision. But the final decision is all yours.
  2. Be really honest - with yourself, your family, and your business partners - about money.
  3. Start with a great customer and work backward from there. If you have relationships with great customers, listen to them and make them happy, everything will work out great.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

There's transformative power in commitment. When you fully commit, then you are forced to solve the hardest problems. Yes, most projects start as a side-hustle, but you become 100x more powerful when you fully commit.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.heatspring.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heatspring
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatspring/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/heatspring/


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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