Why I Love Entrepreneurship
Why I Love Entrepreneurship : It was very sad to hear about the passing of Jonathan Pfahl, Founder and CEO of The Rockstar Group from another good entrepreneur friend of ours Daniel Priestley.
He was as Dan says a man passionate about entrepreneurship and mentoring who inspired and motivated a lot of people to be “a little bit more rockstar”
Tragically he leaves behind a young family but his kids will grow up hearing many stories about how their dad impacted many people. That was his legacy.
We will remember him for his kindness and help as one of our first business mentors and who encouraged us to take our existing skill set and turn it into something that would help others. The idea was born and is our business to this very day.
We hope we’ve done him proud so far and will continue to do so
Very touching to see this video of Jon and how he answers the question about how he would like to be remembered
Why I Love Entrepreneurship by Jonathan Pfahl
Because the video doesn’t have captions we sent it to REV and had it transcribed so that you can read what he has to say in his “Why I Love Entrepreneurship” Interview
The Best Thing About Being An Entrepreneur
I think the best thing about being an entrepreneur is the freedom, being your own boss. I have been what I call unemployable for a long time now and it’s because when you are an entrepreneur and you’ve been in it for, you know, we’re in our seventh year now at Rockstar. During the recession we had a really tough time in one of those years and one of the biggest things that compelled me to go forward was, ‘my CV doesn’t exist anymore’. It’d be very difficult to get a job and I love that. So, that’s one of the main things, the freedom.
The Best Book On Entrepreneurship
The best book I’ve ever read on entrepreneurship is called How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis. Biggest thing, I love Felix Dennis, Dennis Publishing, who tragically died only a few months ago. The biggest thing about that guy is what he’s talking about is ownership and a really, really good book and very well written as well.
My favourite quote
“You only live once, go out and do what you want to do”.
My Biggest Mistake
Biggest mistake I’ve made, when I first started Rockstar : having the strategy of trying to do big brand advertising, I spent far too much money trying to get the brand in front of as many millions of people as possible hoping that someone was interested. It cost me a fortune and everything we now do is about targeting specifically who we know are going to be interested. So, that was my biggest mistake.
My Hero Entrepreneur
My hero, Jon BonJovi. The company’s called Rockstar. He is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. He’s got a billion dollar company. You think he’s a rock star and he’s just in a band, he owns the band. Everyone in the band is an employee, he owns the tour company, he writes all the songs, he’s a very smart, hardworking, driven entrepreneur who also happens to be one of the biggest rock stars in the world. So I love him, love him.
My Proudest Moment (In Business)
I think proudest moment, other than the birth of my first child, there was a time last year when we had our first big award ceremony showcasing our youngest best start-up, it was up in Liverpool and there were 300 of us at a black-tie gala dinner and I walked in and I had to pinch myself to actually think, Oh my God, this is a Rockstar black-tie award ceremony with 300 people and the Mayor of Liverpool opening it up. That was my proudest moment in business, only last year.
The Future In 2020
In 2020? That’s a really good question. All I can say is from a business perspective, I think technology will continue to develop, it’ll continue to grow, it will continue to advance our lives, but as a business person, if you’re new and you’re starting out in business, I still believe in 2020 people will want to buy from people as they’ll always still have that human element because technology will continue to grow, but don’t forget that you’re selling to other human beings.
My Best Achievement
That I created something that genuinely helped and allowed people to grow their businesses at the same time building a brand that really resonates around that, that’s what I’d love.
My Biggest Start Up Advice
The biggest point I would give to any start-up starting today, is before you start spending silly money on everything that you think you need to get started, go out and firstly prove to yourself through real market research that you’ve got something and you’re building something that people actually want. Spend the time doing that first, it costs you nothing, and it will give you real evidence that you’re doing something that once you’ve spent the money, you’ve got people who are ready to buy it.
We hope you found this valuable and it inspires you to start, continue and grow your business at whatever stage you are.
“You only live once, go out and do what you want to do”.
Entrepreneurship is the future of the world economy we believe
Who Are We
We’re former accountants of a certain age with 5 great kids, 4 grandchildren and a cat called Vincent. We love skiing, the mountains and traveling the world and have achieved a fabulous life helping others to start and build successful businesses online and now speak on international stages following our passion. Our business is centered on online marketing, financial and business education for those in or approaching retirement. You can find out more and ways to work with us here
Authors : The Mindset Shift The Mindset Shift Goal Setting Secrets Retire Inspire
