Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Rob Volpe, Founder of Ignite 360, located in San Francisco, CA, USA.

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

Ignite 360 is an insight, strategy, and training firm that helps the world's leading brands find the one big idea that will move their business forward. We do that through qualitative and quantitative research with customers and consumers in order to build empathy and use dynamic storytelling to inspire clients to take action. Our clients span categories from tech to retail, food and beverage, CPG to alcohol, healthcare to financial services, travel, and more. We are experts at understanding human behavior, so it's less about the vertical but about the person engaging with the category or brand.

From that work, we found a need to help people better understand how to build empathy. That led us to develop the 5 Steps to Empathy which we coach and train to help clients be better at the skills they use and need to excel at their jobs.

I then wrote a book that brings to life the 5 Steps to Empathy through my own adventures, going into strangers' homes and struggling to reach a place of empathy with people different from myself. The book is called Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time.

Tell us about yourself

I believe everyone has a story to tell, and I enjoy hearing those stories and using them to solve problems for my clients. I'm endlessly curious, so the opportunity to find out what makes people tick - what prompts their love of a brand or make a purchase decision or where opportunities exist to grow a business is really interesting. And now, seeing the empathy crisis that exists in our society, I'm grateful for the opportunity to help people better understand empathy and how to utilize it to make their lives better.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

In January 2023, we are celebrating 12 years in business. To have made it that long is an accomplishment I'm proud of. I'm also really proud of the work we've done to push our industry forward in terms of understanding and using empathy as well as storytelling. And then the successes we've enabled our clients to achieve have been really gratifying. It can take years, but to learn that a new product we provided the foundational insights is generating $300M+ in sales is really cool.

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

It has to be the finances. In our industry, we have very short lead times, so we only have an outlook on our business for 2-3 months. It makes it very hard to forecast, and then there are always the curveballs that catch you off guard. You just have to learn to get comfortable with the roller coaster.

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

  1. Be flexible - you have to adapt to changing market conditions and business hiccups quickly. It's not for the faint of heart.
  2. Hire for your weaknesses - my first hires were to cover the gaps in my strengths. Bookkeeping and invoicing? Not for me. But some people actually enjoy it. Hire them so you can focus your time doing what you need to be doing.
  3. Grow sustainably - we hit a big revenue number within six months of launching, it was exciting, and we wondered if we could double that before the end of the year. My bookkeeper drew a thermometer on the whiteboard in the office and kept track of how it progressed. I started making decisions to hit the number rather than do what was right for clients, employees, and the business. We got out over our skis and had some QC issues that we had to make amends for. It taught a valuable lesson, and I see it with many start-ups. Pushing into new territories or growing for growth's sake. If you don't have investors or Wall Street pushing you to hit a number, why chase it? Go for sustained growth for the win.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.ignite-360.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmpathyActivist/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empathy_activist/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmvolpe
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmvolpe/

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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