The Basics: Name: Jessica and Derek Balsley Age: 30 and 32 Business: The Art of Education • www.theartofed.com Years in Business: 4 Tell us about the “leap” moment. When/how did you decide to jump in and become your own boss? The process was very gradual. The idea started as Jessica’s blog for art teachers, and we quickly realized we could provide more value if we offered additional products and services which all fulfill the same mission: To provide “ridiculously relevant professional development to art educators.” Derek’s background in entrepreneurship, marketing and business propelled the small venture into something scaleable. For us, starting a business was something we did in the evenings and weekends while both working full time jobs. We hoped it would one day allow us to move back home to Osage, which it did! We enjoy working on our business, and it’s truly a family affair. Within two years, we had both quit our day jobs to do this full-time and now have a team of 26 people who work satellite for us. What’s the best thing about being your own boss? The freedom and flexibility for our family is really great. Some weeks we might put in 60+ hours and work all weekend long, but we can also quit working on the next Monday at 2 pm and go out on the boat if we want. As a mom, I enjoy picking up my child and not ever missing her events because of work. There is no ‘normal’ day, but it all seems normal to us.
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We also enjoy the fast pace in which we can accomplish things working as our own boss. We don’t have to wait for long approval processes and policies that stifle us. If we decide to do something, we can hit the ground running immediately and live or die on our own intuition. This fast pace and accountability is important to any startup and has really impacted our success. (Continued on next page)
iloveinspired.com \ Fall 2015
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