Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Theodore Schiele, Chief Consulting Officer of Schiele Consulting Group, located in San Antonio, TX, USA.

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

We are a Business Consulting and Executive Coaching Firm. Our customers are businesses looking to scale their business to grow and individuals seeking guidance on how to land that next executive-level job. We also offer Marketing for business and a platform for freelance marketers to post their portfolios and seek jobs.

Tell us about yourself

I retired from the Army in 2019 after twenty-six years of service to my country. While serving in the military, I had the privilege and honor to serve some nonprofit organizations and colleges in the area of fundraising, marketing, and business development. While doing so, many of my peers that were soldiers caught wind of what I was doing with my spare time in the volunteering arena and asked me if I could sit down and talk to them about life after retirement from the military, building portfolios, diversifying their income and building a business foundation for self. That was the start of something that would later become my passion. When I retired from the military in 2019, I began to focus solely on assisting Nonprofits, Start Ups, Small Businesses, and those seeking to get some notice with C-Level jobs.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

The biggest accomplishment for me was working with a close friend to scale their start-up and take it from a company making just under 235,000.00 dollars a year to a thriving business that increased the capital growth by 24.7%. I have a passion for taking part in growth and a desire to see things that I am a part of success, so seeing my friend go from a casual seller of wooden signs to a person who now completely understands the Entrepreneurial Operating System with my tutelage.

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

There are so many self-help books and great authors such as Stephen Covey, Robert Kiyosaki, and Napoleon Hill who inspire and teach financial growth in books and lectures, but nothing prepares you for taking that first step like actually doing it. There is an illusion of security that many of us cling to, and many cannot escape that mindset. I think Challenging myself daily not to quit and take the easy route of being an executive in someone elseś company is the biggest challenge. There is a fine line between comfort and success, and many are so afraid to give up comfort to seek success, but in many of the wealthy people I have been around
comfort is the first thing you have to give up to truly be successful.

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

Three tips I have for anyone looking to start their business today would be first to know yourself. There are two types of business minds. Integrators and visionaries. If you do not know who you are, you will spend so much type building your business with unrealistic views. The second recommendation is to only start a business you will enjoy because wealth is not promised in the initial phase of it, so the only thing that will keep you focused is having a passion for what you are actually trying to accomplish. Lastly, my advice is to make no excuses and try really hard to only view things as they are. I have seen many CEOs crumble by mentally painting a picture of the business that is not trusting and not listening to those around, who are typically the first warning signs of delusional leadership.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://s-consultants.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bear.Schiele
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bear_schiele/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bear_Schiele
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoreschiele/

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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