Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ryan and Erin Davenport, Founders of What's Next Advising, located in Austin, TX, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
What’s Next Advising offers on-demand college admissions consulting programs and services unique to each high school student and their family’s needs. Our program helps students create a future they are excited about, starting with college admissions, and to help them identify and tune into their true talents and unique skills in preparation for college and major. High School students in our program have access to our admissions program directly from our mobile app and have access to on-demand college admissions 1-on-1 consulting as needed!
We support them every step of the way, from building their school list to keeping them on track with calendar reminders of each application step. Each lesson and session completed means students are 1 step closer to completing and submitting the strongest college application possible without all the stress that typically comes with applying to college.
Tell us about yourself
We’re Ryan & Erin! We are a husband-and-wife team who both grew up as the oldest siblings in our households, which meant there was no one in our families that we could turn to with questions about how to best apply to college. We were completely lost on how to approach the process. Now, we are both Cornell University graduates with over 2 decades of combined experience with college admissions mentorship and advising. After spending years working in the college admissions consulting industry, and because of our own personal admissions experiences, we created What’s Next Advising to facilitate successful college applications for high school students. We love to empower young people and provide them with the tools to make the best decisions for their future.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Taking action on an idea! While this may sound simple, we are proud of ourselves for getting past the self-doubt and the unknown of starting a new business and the initial investment in yourself that it takes to get it off the ground. Embracing the “just get started” attitude and not worrying that we don’t have all the answers yet has made all the difference.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Maintaining the confidence that our input, in terms of effort and passion, will eventually correlate with the resulting output is often difficult. This is why believing in your product and service and constantly remembering your “why” for starting the business in the first place is essential.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Learn to embrace learning vs. having the right answer. Don’t stop yourself from starting something you’re passionate about just because you don’t have all the answers right away. There’s no better time to start than now. The less you know, the more you will learn along the way.
- Outsource. Fiverr & Upwork are great resources for finding talented people to complete the work you are not as good at. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day for you to do everything in your business.
- It’s about your customers, not you. Especially in a digital business, when you put yourself out there and feel self-conscious or worried, remember that it’s not about you; it’s about adding value to your current and potential customers. This takes the pressure off! Knowing this also helps you create better content and enjoy putting it out into the world.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.whatsnextadvising.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhatsNextAdvising
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatsnextadvising/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@whatsnext.advising
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/whatsnextadvising/
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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