Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mike Rucker, Ph.D., Founder of The Fun Habit, located in Greensboro, NC, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I work as a consultant. My customers are generally anyone trying to improve a circumstance by making it more enjoyable through deliberate design (i.e., organizations looking to improve employee morale, organizations or researchers looking to improve upon a behavioral intervention, etc.).
Tell us about yourself
I’m Mike Rucker. In no particular order: Author. Father. Husband. Organizational psychologist and behavioral scientist. Recovering entrepreneur. Fitness enthusiast with mechanical parts. VW Bus aficionado. Seeker. Traveler. Future astronaut.
The story about myself that I tell in my upcoming book, The Fun Habit, starts in 2016 when the tools that I had built as a student of positive psychology suddenly failed me during one of my life’s most difficult stretches. Finding myself unhappy, a bit lonely, and burnt out, I began to critically evaluate modern approaches to happiness. I quickly realized how much misinformation is out there. Years of research coalesced as The Fun Habit. The Fun Habit is an action-based approach that helps anyone critically examine their pursuit of happiness and make adjustments using evidence-based practices to invite more fun and joy in their life. If you’re looking for a better way toward happiness, I invite you to preorder my book.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Hands down, helping people enjoy their life more. I'm driven by serving others and making sure I leave this world a little more fun than how I found it.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Managing your operating budget. For that, to all entrepreneurs, I highly recommend Mike Michalowicz's book Profit First.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Validate your idea first, especially if you plan to bootstrap. As the director of an incubator, I've seen countless great ideas that I knew would never find product-market fit (yet the entrepreneurs soldiered on only to learn the hard way). A great idea is not enough to start a business. You need people willing to buy. Validate your idea in the real world before you lose too much time and money as a sunk cost.
- If you're going to bring on partners, do it with the utmost care. You'll likely be more attached to these people than your partner, in both the sense of time and fiduciary responsibility. Getting this right up front is always undervalued. Get it right.
- You got to have fun along the way, or you won't survive. Make sure you are enjoying the process and having fun along the way.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://michaelrucker.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mike.rucker.phd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewonderoffun/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/performbetter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrucker/
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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