Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in media & advertising but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Garret Hunt, Co-Founder & CEO of Live in Everett, located in Everett, WA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My business is a hyper-local media company called Live in Everett (www.LiveinEverett.com), which is dedicated to sharing about good things happening in Everett, Washington. My customer is a bit of a split between our Live in Everett Members and advertisers who support us financially and our readers who help us both attract our Members and advertisers, and some of our readers also donate to us via Patreon. We love our Patrons and Members all the same!
Tell us about yourself
I've been creating content consistently since I first got into skateboarding in 1996. I love it. I've always enjoyed experimenting with media and leveraging it as a way to curate stories. In my 20's, I got into selling real estate, and my friend, Tyler Chism, pitched me on teaming up to create Live in Everett. I've always enjoyed writing and had many false starts on blogs that gained no traction in the past, so it was cool to hone in on creating this project with my friend with such a specific audience and purpose in mind. When we launched the website in 2015, we didn't even intend for it to become a business, but we got so much positive feedback from the community it really evolved into something. It seemed to resonate with people. It has evolved a fair amount since 2015, but the community support motivates me. And small business is hard, you know? Being an artist. A musician. Whatever you're trying to do in the community, putting yourself out there and gaining traction isn't easy, so it's cool to get to help shine a spotlight on what cool stuff people are doing.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
People will randomly stop me on the street and tell me, "hey, thanks for what you do. Your website was a big part of my decision to move here from across the country." And I'm just like, "whoa, really?" Everett has battled negative perceptions for as long as the city has existed. So it feels like an accomplishment to be a small part of reframing the narrative of what I think is a spectacular city.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Being a small community-based business generating revenue is one of the hardest things. A lot of small businesses don't have much money for advertising and those sorts of things. So generating enough revenue is a challenge, especially with how hard small businesses were hit by COVID. Living in Everett is really a labor of love, though.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Think things through so you know exactly what target you're aiming at.
- Align with your heart.
- Don't overthink it. The worst that can happen is failure, and failure is a successful teacher.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.liveineverett.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiveInEverett
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liveineverett/
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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