Category Archives: Entrepreneur Written Interviews

Darrell Camby is one of the founders of Camby Mobile Home Movers.  Based out of McDowell County, North Carolina, Camby Mobile Home Movers served both mobile home dealerships and individuals in the transportation and setting of mobile homes.  The company is no longer active since his dad, the other founder of the business, retired.

The reason for starting their own business, Darrell said, was freedom.  “Saying when I can go on vacation, what kind of money I can make,” are some examples he gives of this freedom.  His dad was already in the field and had knowledge and experience in the business, so it only made sense to get into mobile home moving and setting.  The challenge of starting a business also seemed appealing as well.  The two of them were the only full time employees of the business, but they would occasionally hire short-term help for certain jobs.

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Our primary tasks for the ENT600 course were to read the E-Myth Mastery and also to interview at least 6 entrepreneurs. By combining the two tasks, we can see that The E-Myth Mastery allows us to view entrepreneurs from different vantage points. Is the entrepreneur we’re examining a technician, a manager or an entrepreneur? For clarification’s sake, an entrepreneur is someone who has the passion to create and build an organization, with all the inherent risks and potential awards. The manager organizes and structures the business so that it can grow and succeed, as well as gather information to analyze and improve processes. The technician is the expert in whatever product or service the business is offering. In Gerber’s estimation, a world-class business requires all three elements.

For my entrepreneurial interviews, all seven interviewees were asked the same questions. The first question asked them why they had started their business. This provided information on their motivation, which based on academic literature, is categorized at the macro level as either necessity or opportunity; that is, the business was a necessity as the individual needed to earn money, or the individual had located an opportunity, and the entrepreneur took the opportunity and developed a business. While this question is quite simplistic, it does provide a starting ground for further disucssions which delved into their goals and motivations further. Additionally, this question along with the next one began the process of identifying them as a technician, a manager or an entrepreneur.
The second question asked them what their goals or vision was for their business. The answer again provided information on whether a job was being created or a business. It also highlighted whether there was (or is) a long-term goal associated with the business.
The last question asked what they knew now that they wished they knew when they began their business. This question aimed to see which elements, if any, the entrepreneurs felt that they had lacked when they began their business. It has been noted that entrepreneurs tend not to look in the rear-view window as they are focused on the future. This question aimed to see if they were able to look back and see what they missed on the way to creating their business.

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