Q 1. Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Ans: NFC Academy is a private online Christian school for students in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade. NFC Academy is fully accredited by: Cognia (formerly AdvancED/SACS), The Middle States Commission on Elementary and Secondary Education (MSA), and the Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (FACCS) Our physical address is in Tallahassee, Florida, but our students and teachers are located throughout the United States as well as many foreign countries.
Q 2. Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Ans: I am the administrator of the school and I have the following degrees:
BA-Bob Jones University, MA -Regent University, and a DRE from the International Seminary. Started Temple Christian School in 1973 and then moved to Chattanooga served as Vice President of Business Affairs at Tennessee Temple University for seven years then moved to Tallahassee to be the Administrator of North Florida Christian School and started NFC Academy. Retired from NFCS and became the lead administrator at NFC Academy nine years ago.
Q 3. What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans: I was the administrator of a “brick & mortar” school, North Florida Christian School and saw an opportunity to help missionary families as well as other families who were looking for options in homeschooling their children.
Q 4. What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans: Know your skills, find others who can help build and value people as the most important asset you can have.
Q 5. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: Value people as noted above, learn from others, and for those of us in Christian work know your greatest resource is your relationship with your God.
Q 6. How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: All that is required to get the job done.
Q 7. To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans: Determination and dedication to seeing things are done with excellence.
Q 8. How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Ans: Internet and referrals of satisfied customers. Without satisfied customers all efforts soon fail.
Q 9. Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: Our corporate structure gave the initial start- up funds and everyone worked initially for much less than they could earn elsewhere. It is just one of those things you do when you are committed to a project.
Q 10. What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: Value people…they determine your long-term success. Nothing else comes close.
Q 11. Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Ans: I will be retired. The business hopefully, will be one of the leaders in distance education.
Q 12. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans: Very Large Company – Amazon because the value the customer and make it easy to handle all aspects of dealing online, especially handling a problem. Pensacola Christian College and Bob Jones University – two very successful Christian ministries who do things with excellence.
Q 13. How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans: Nothing more important than outstanding employees.
Q 14. How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans: I am pretty determined so I usually stick with an idea until I see it come to fruition.
Q 15. What motivates you?
Ans: Doing something with a purpose. Believing the Lord is in it.
Q 16. What are your ideals?
Ans: Deal honorably, truthfully, and with compassion. Treat people right respecting their concerns and what is important to them.
Q 17. How do you generate new ideas?
Ans: Seeing how others do things and apply principles that worked in other areas to a new area. There are few things different today, just making good things fit new ways.
Q 18. How do you define success?
Ans: When you are in any business success must have a financial equation…if you are not successful financially then all other measurements vanish or diminish. With that noted, our primarily goal is not to make money, but to serve families and students with an accredited homeschool program that is done with excellence.
Q 19. How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans: Listening to customers when you are small and give them value in relationships.
Q 20. What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans: See those new ideas for your business meet customer and other employee needs.
Q 21. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans: Seeing students embrace what has been taught when they become adults. Seeing staff be successful in their work.
Q 22. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans: Successful entrepreneurs take complete ownership and deal in solutions. Most who work for others do not look for new solutions. When problems arise that do not fit the policies they are lost.
Q 23. What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Ans: Our culture is one of value for each person-our customer and each other in the organization. We are together in our goal of education for children and all is done to benefit the student as we work together.
Q 24. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Ans: Integrity. My hope is those who know we would use a similar description.
Q 25. If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Ans: Get my education completed earlier. Make people valued more.
Q 26. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans: Both my daughters have similar traits being carried out in significantly different ways, but both are entrepreneurs in their area. My wife makes people highly valued.
Q 27. What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Ans: Not fear, but concern that something is being missed.
Q 28. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: Of course. There must be a need for your product. Then you must pull together others who believe in that need to work with you.
Q 29. If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Ans: I get to talk with my God and Jesus every day as I read His word and pray. Cannot talk with anyone more important. He created this universe that we live in and all that is…cannot talk to anyone more important than that.
Q 30. Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Ans: Several people who invested their time with me to make me better when I was young and could do nothing to make them better.
Q 31. What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
Ans: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and A Plea for More Prayer by Andrew Murray.
Q 32. What are some of the biggest mistakes you have made?
Ans: Younger, thinking I knew more than I did.
Q 33. How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Ans: You cannot prevent all mistakes…to do so you would be paralyzed in decision making. Do the best you can and learn from your mistakes.
Q 34. What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Ans: Reading books including the Bible and going to the gym daily.
Q 35. What makes you happy?
Ans: Having a family that loves me and each other.
Q 36. What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: There is a loneliness that comes with leadership. It costs you relationships and friends at times.
Q 37. If you were conducting this interview, what question would you ask?
Ans: All the questions are important, but the most important is where will you spend eternity?
Our goal is to provide the best distance education possible while realizing that giving students the tools for making wise life decisions is their most valuable resource.
Company Detail:
Company : NFC Academy
Contact : Andrew Guilfoyle
Address : 3000 N. Meridian Road
City : Tallahassee
State : FL
Zip : 32312
Phone : 850-385-7186
Email : nfcacademy@nflchurch.com