Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Steven Horwich, owner of Steps Curriculum, located in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We provide a full K-12 non-religious homeschool curriculum covering all subjects except mathematics. Steps is far more rigorous than "Common Core" requirements and more detailed in academics. Having all of it authored by one person, it's highly cohesive and coherent. It provides the equivalent of a two-year college education (or better) upon completion.
Our customers have been home educators looking for a secular, comprehensive educational experience and some private schools.
Tell us about yourself
In 2001, my first wife passed from cancer. My two children were ages 9 and 13 at the time and went to private schools their whole lives to that point, which I paid for by teaching at those schools and creating performing arts and writing programs. I'd been very concerned with the low quality of academic materials in the school they were in at the time, and I finally pulled them out and started homeschooling. In looking for a structured, complete, secular curriculum for them oriented toward homeschool use, I discovered there simply wasn't one. I started writing one, having already created a technique in the process of generating a creative writing program for Middle School aged students.
I spent the next 14 years, 8-10 hours a day, writing the curriculum. Everyone who looked at the courses I authored absolutely loved them, so within two weeks of starting to write, I had ten students every day in our house using courses and two trained teachers guiding them through the use of the courses. (NOT teaching - the courses do the teaching, that's the whole idea.) When a student ran into a brick wall, I'd look at the issue and rewrite the course involved to make it work better. This continued for several years, so courses were vetted, lesson plan by lesson plan. I sold my house to continue the work. We moved in with my very generous brother. It was a tough road. We started selling courses over the Internet, at first print versions only. (We currently only do digital downloads.) In my "spare time," when not authoring courses and being with my kids, I took a part-time job and promoted the curriculum. Eventually, it started to sell, largely on the basis of word of mouth.
What motivated me to do this for 14 years was 1) my own children and their needs and 2) The fact that the available curriculum was just not great and was nearly always religiously based. Then, as more and more people started having success using Steps (at first called "Connect The Thoughts"), I was motivated by the idea that the curriculum was contributing to many, many children actually receiving a challenging, student-centric education.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Going from zero to over 20,000 students worldwide who have used Steps at one time or another, largely on word of mouth, with no marketing budget at all.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Staying motivated. As you can imagine, I was nearly a one-man band.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Make certain you believe in what you want to do to the extent that you'd allow (nay, desire) it to take over your life for at least five years.
- Don't do it just for yourself. Do it to benefit others, at least your family, and know how it will benefit them.
- Do research before starting, don't replicate what's been done or reinvent the wheel.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: http://www.stepsed.com/
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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