Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Podge Thomas, founder of Small Business Co-Pilot, located in Williamsburg, MA, USA.

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

My business, Small Business Co-Pilot, provides technical support and coaching for small business owners who want to be better bosses and leaders. My clients are progressive and radical women-business owners who want to align their team practices with the same values they use to operate their businesses. I take on a handful of 1:1 clients each year, but Small Business Co-Pilot's core offer is the Management Hub, a toolkit for creating systems and practices that support employees from hiring to off-boarding.

Tell us about yourself

From the age of 16, when I began to work until I took time off in 2017, every business culture I've ever worked in was so toxic and unhealthy that my stress and anxiety continued to build and build without me really noticing. For a long time, I thought it was normal because the message I got from a young age was that work was terrible. I watched all the grown-ups around me come from work tired and stressed out. They complained about their bosses, their bosses, their insolent employees, and the long hours they had to work. While I was never a good student, and I couldn't wait to finish school, I wasn't exactly gunning for the workforce either.

In 2017, I'd finally had enough and quit my job. At the time, I thought I was just experiencing burnout, but two weeks after I left, I got stress-related Bell's palsy, and I've since come to believe that burnout is really trauma. After taking some time off, I decided to take all my experience in toxic workplaces that were built on outdated management practices and start my own business. I began by providing general business strategy, but I quickly realized that I was most adept at helping business owners learn how to manage more ethically. The results have been incredible. It's astonishing how many entrepreneurs had been poorly trained as managers while also being traumatized by the same antiquated approaches to management and leadership. Knowing that I can show my clients a better way of managing keeps me excited about the work I do.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Developing what is now my core offer, the Management Hub, is what I am most proud of. The Management Hub is a toolkit that helps business owners craft an intentional employee journey that includes all the processes and structure needed to make the workplace practical AND enjoyable.

The first version of the Management Hub was created using a combination of Trello and Google Workspace and tailored for a non-profit organization that was too small for an HR department but had enough employees to warrant systems and procedures for hiring, onboarding, supporting, and transitioning employees. Using a project management tool like Trello was key because I wanted my client to have a bird's eye view of their HR system while also being able to manage and track the details.

I created the second version in Notion, which can accommodate a more connected and flexible system for managing people, documenting the process, and tracking data along the way. The Management Hub launched in January 2022, and I'm already working on a new and improved version.

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

I'm a tactile learner, and I have ADHD, so simply staying focused, especially on reading or writing, is my biggest internal challenge. My biggest external challenge is the social media noise; every entrepreneur is talking about everything everywhere, and so finding a way for my message to be seen and heard continues to baffle and challenge me.

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

  1. Learn how you learn. Understanding how your brain works, how you comprehend things, and how you absorb information will help you get better at running and growing your business.
  2. Offer your knowledge and skills to other entrepreneurs when called to. Lots of other business owners will help you along your journey, so give back when you can. It's also a great way of reinforcing your own understanding of how you run your business.
  3. Take time to just think. There's a strong pull to do stuff like answering emails and posting to social media but thinking also counts as work. I like to think while I'm doing something like walking the dog, but I also carve out times during the day to just sit and think.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I'm a multi-racial, multi-cultural, queer, woman-identified business owner. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't remember that the freedom I enjoy today is not the freedom my matrilineal predecessors had. I am fueled by their experiences, and I never forget to be grateful for my right to make choices today.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.smallbusinesscopilot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sbcopilot
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/podgethomas/

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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