Q1: 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: The Scott Harness brand which includes a YouTube channel, products, and a book series was started with the intent to fill a need for change in people’s lives. In working with people over the last 25 years, I have noticed areas where most people struggle in life… identity, marriage, relationships and even just being happy. I hope to help people understand a different way to live and give answers to our common issues and struggles.
Q2: 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: For the past 20 years, Scott has pa stored the church he founded, That.Church. That.Church has become one of the fastest-growing churches in Arkansas. Just over 22,000 people have gone public with their faith at one of the three That.Church physical locations. Scott teaches at the Sherwood location and coaches the pastors of the other two locations. In addition, over 20,000 people tune in to That.Church online as well as Scott’s YouTube channel. Scott’s infectious humor and practical teaching have made his video clips and online messages a viral sensation. As a pastor, Scott has counseled with hundreds of individuals and couples and helped them to discover how wonderful God’s plan is for their lives. His unique humor, perspective, and passion have helped hundreds more who have been a part of his teaching ministry and coaching ministries. Scott has served on the mission field in Peru, East Africa, Bolivia, Palestine, and Israel and loves teaching and preaching God’s Word beyond the typical places Christ is shared. He has taught in nursing homes, schools, prisons, and anywhere someone would listen. He has a heart for children who do not have a forever family. This has led him to be a part of many organizations that support waiting children. Scott believes that God has a heart for His children and we should too.
Q3: 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 inspired to start a YouTube Channel, write books, and come up with my own marketing brand a few years ago. My church does an awesome job of reaching people and helping people but I wanted a more worldwide impact. This would include writing books and producing videos that might live on and have an impact long after I am gone. The Pandemic and the shut down of our physical church for a season forced me to follow through with these original ideas and get them rolling. I desired to reach people where they were with what I could and this was it!
Q4: What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans:Be willing to take a risk. As an entrepreneur, you will make mistakes. Every idea won’t be a great one. But you have to risk it in order for the ones that are great to work.
-Be laser-focused. You can’t do everything well but you can probably do one thing pretty good. Don’t let the distraction of multi-faceted goals through you off. Focus on one thing and do it right.
– Build some teams. You won’t be good at everything you need to so, so bring the vision and surround yourself with people who can do the rest.
Q5: What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: -Have to be a visionary. You need to know your product or service’s purpose, why your customer needs it, and be the most passionate person in the room when speaking about it.
– Have to be a people person. Customers, employees, and the public want to know you care before they trust you to buy your product, work for you on your team or listen to your sales pitch.
-Have to have the want to learn. You will never “arrive” in leadership. You have to be willing to rediscover yourself, business or adventure along the way. Don’t fear change, it could be your best friend.
Q6: How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: 8 to 10 hours average
Q7: To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans: Running after God first and then working hard to make those things He reveals happen. Go till you get a no!
Q8: How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Ans: The most successful form of marketing has been social media and YouTube.
Q9: Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: – Personal connections that are willing to invest in life change for people.
Q10: What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: – The best way we have had to achieve long term success is by setting goals and sticking to them no matter what came our way. We aren’t married to a method because that needs to change over time in order to reach the goals. But we stay steadfast to the end goal.
Q11:Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Ans: -I would love to see a YouTube channel with a million subscribers making a difference in people’s daily lives. Also, I would like to have written and published at least 5 more books and have a product line that meshes with the brand.
Q12: Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans: Walgreens because they narrowed down their scope and have made a successful business out of something that was struggling.
Q13: How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans: Good employees are vital to our success. I am the first to admit I am really bad at some things. Good employees make up for my inadequacies and let me focus on the things I am really good at.
Q14: How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans: I will be the first to admit I move pretty quickly. When I can’t see a good outcome with something, I move on pretty fast to the next method to reach the goal. However, I am super committed to the overall goal that I start with. Once I see a purpose and vision, I am stuck to it. But the methodology to get there may change over and over. I’m not scared of conflict or change as long as it produces growth.
Q15: What motivates you?
Ans: Definitely a passion for Jesus and a need to make a difference in the world and eternity!
Q16: What are your ideals?
Ans: For me, it is definitely the ideal that individuals are the change agents of the planet. I am not focused on macro-scale change. I believe to see society or countries change for the better, with kindness and all the human care we see in the modeled in the life of Jesus, can only happen through individuals being transformed. So I have an ideal, of peaceful and harmonious life, but It is only possible to the extent individuals experience that in themselves, and that transformation then radiates out to influence all relationships. That is why I am a pastor, working for global change in a local community.
Q17: How do you generate new ideas?
Ans: I am a builder. I love to build things. Organizations, businesses, influence, people… you name it! New ideas come naturally to me every. single. day. What isn’t natural for me is the organization and structure to make my ideas come to fruition. That’s why I have worked to learn how to build structure, teams, and employees to make those dreams a reality.
Q18: How do you define success?
Ans: Leading a team to take a dream from concept to reality and it actually affecting others’ lives.
Q19: How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans: Be a people person! Love your product and people and believe with all you have that it changes lives! Be contagious with that. And then do what you say you will do. Always. This earns trust for the future. And the wonderful word of mouth which is still the best marketing you could ever have.
Q20: What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans: Getting to make the ideas God gives me to come to reality and help people.
Q21: What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans: Definitely when I see the life change happening for people and hear their personal stories.
Q22: What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans: Entrepreneurs are owners. They see the problem and look for a solution to fix it. They don’t wait for someone to tell them what to do or to even do something. They don’t manage their own.
Q23: 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: A culture of go till you get a no! Run at something full out! Take chances and risks. Cut bait quickly if it looks like a dead-end and makes the change to make it better. Be an owner. Don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do… you do it. Always make it better. There is always something you can improve. Always be a learner. You never know it all. And if you do no one likes the know it all anyway.
Q24: In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Ans: Passion.
Q25: If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Ans: Be more focused from the beginning.
Q26: How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans: There are no “on” and “off” hours as an entrepreneur. There have been hard seasons where my family suffered. But over the years we have found a rhythm of taking time when you can and making it worth it. We have six kids at all stages of life so it’s hectic. But we try to always eat dinner together, take vacations and retreats together and we always bring our family along with us in our business ventures.
Q27: What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Ans: My greatest fear is not living out the full purpose God has planned for me in my life. Being scared to take hold of the full adventure and therefore missing a piece of what God wants for His kingdom. I manage this by trying to stay focused on the mission and vision He has for me realizing that if He has called me to it He will see me through it.
Q28: How did you decide on the location for your business?
Ans: It was the place where I had the most connections with people.
Q29: Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: For me, the formula has been passion under control. You have to have the motivation that you can be the best in the world at the thing you are trying to get to. Then know that there are steps that you have to take to get there and pursue those steps with all you have.
Q30: What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
Ans: Good to Great by Jim Collins.
Q31: What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Ans: Trying to control things beyond my control. Getting too far down in the weeds of things. Not letting my team members lead.
Q32: How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Ans: Check your motives. Mistakes will happen. There is no way to prevent them all. Typically if you do that you are playing really safe and that doesn’t typically move the needle. When you make a mistake, clean up the mess, find a different way up the hill and move on … quickly.
Q33: What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Ans: Again I love to build things, people, businesses. Everything I do in my off time has a building element to it. I like the adventure of hunting, building cars, adventuring to new cities and towns with my family. Building things is where I feel my creative liberty calm into play and I find freedom in that.
Q34: What makes you happy?
Ans: Happiness is overrated because it’s circumstantial but I find true joy when I have worked towards a goal that changes people’s lives and I hear or see the story of that change happening.
Q35: What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: I have had to take lots of risks along the way which some that didn’t pan out has cost me. They have cost me time, money, family involvement, friendships, and sanity at times. But the adventure has been worth every sacrifice. And after 30 years of entrepreneurship, I wouldn’t… couldn’t… change it.
Q36: If you were conducting this interview, what question would you ask?
Ans: Would you ever want to work for someone else? I have definitely had moments where I thought it would just be easier to work for someone else. But the rewards of knowing I was serving God’s specific purpose for my life have been so worth it.
Company Detail:
Company : Scott Harness
Address : 543 TN, doula street NY, New York
Phone : 111 222 333 | 5018334673
Email : info@ScottHarness.com