Very Short Interview No. 1 - Week 3

Mr. Montgomery is a co-founder of a company called Phoenix Realty Group, which is an independently owned and operated commercial real-estate development business.  He started the business in 1993 after working for Coldwell Banker Commercial Realty.  He has a B.S. in marketing and sales and has won numerous awards for his work including NAIOP “Industrial Broker of the Year”.

Here are his answers to some of my entrepreneurial questions:

What do you wish you had been taught in school before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur? 

I wish school would have taught me more practical business skills. How to file for government paperwork, what forms are required, where to find basic business startup information daily work stuff that no one teaches you.

What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?

Being an entrepreneur means having dreams and having the guts (or stupidity) to follow your dreams to reality.

What do you think has made you successful as an entrepreneur?

Being a successful entrepreneur requires persistence and strong drive with the ability to adapt.

I think what surprised me the most when conducting this interview was the idea that “you are probably destined to fail” if you stop fearing what could happen to your entrepreneurial venture.  It is important to realize that no matter how successful you become as an entrepreneur, you must never become complacent with your business, otherwise it will begin to stagnate and possibly decline.  The adaptability aspect Mr. Montgomery mentioned is also something I believe is very important because as society changes, a business must change with it to stay in demand.  business?