Very Short Interview No. 1

For this interview, I talked with Brian Behan of BB Graphics. Brian has been running BB graphics for over 20 years now out of Ocala, Florida. From this interview, I learned a lot about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Prior to this, my idea of an entrepreneur was essentially just running your own business and setting your own schedule. I never thought about what it would be like to have to manage so many different people and personalities. Along with this, I didn't realize that time management would actually be a difficult thing to do.


What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneurship course?

Time management. You are your own boss. It is very easy for people to take away your time. Whether it be sales people calling on you or even the internet when doing research. It is easy for your time to get taken up. You need to budget your time. You give yourself time to do your books, research competitors, and make time to meet with vendors. Without a set schedule or answering to someone, it is easy to fall off track.


What do you wish you had been taught?

How to manage people. When you are an entrepreneur, you are serious about owning and running this business. With employees, they may not share the same values and mostly don't have money invested in the business. You have to learn to respect that. How to handle and manage people. Their emotions and their personal issues along with their work ethic. Anytime you have employees, you have many different kinds of people. I wish that I learned more about managing people.


Biggest obstacle

The biggest obstacle to running your own business is learning how to say no. Whether it be to a customer, an employee, a vendor, or even a co-owner. So often, people will come at you to ask you to buy advertising, for time off, for donations. Being an entrepreneur is an endless array of people wanting something from you. You have to learn you can't say yes to everybody. There is never enough time to go around, money, or even you. You have to know how to mean it when you say no.


Favorite part of being an entrepreneur


Getting to do things your way. The best part of being your own boss is managing your own time and you get out of it what you put into it. It is very rewarding getting to see your investment become a reality. It is very freeing to be your own boss.