James Dooley: Questions to ask entrepreneurs.

There are a lot of people who attend entrepreneurship conferences, networking events and things like that.

If someone is starting out as a business owner or wants to thrive as an entrepreneur, what questions should they come up and ask you to get the most out of yourself?

Craig Campbell: One question we always get is, “Why did you start that business in that niche?”

We spoke about it in a previous podcast.

That is the biggest thing people ask me all the time. What niche should I go into? What should I do?

The marketing part is the easy part for me.

But what business are you going to start?

I am going to throw the question back to you first.

You have got more companies than me. I am not going to say what your companies are because I do not know if you want me to say it publicly.

But the company where I have been in your office, where you have PromoSEO on the top floor and the other company there, what made you start that particular one?

Was it other people’s skills and you using your marketing ability?

James Dooley: That was to do with the who, not the what.

The who was that my business partner’s dad had chopped up truck tyres and invented doing that.

It just so happened to be used on safety surfaces for kids.

It was a profitable market and there were not that many people doing it in the UK.

I saw demand and saw there were not many people doing it, so I knew the profit margin was there.

From that, the domino effect started.

You realise you do a lot of work within schools and colleges, and it leads on to other products and services you can offer.

But I landed lucky by finding the right business partner.

You have some great new ventures now with AI.

You have met amazing people over the years, and now they have come to you with an idea. They are technical geniuses, and you have managed to leverage their skills to take AI to another level through AI growth partnerships.

You have done that through networking and being able to leverage other people’s strengths.

That was the same with me.

Sometimes people ask entrepreneurs questions expecting a magic answer that will reveal the next niche.

The honest answer is the red car theory.

If you ask a member of staff how many red cars they saw on the way to work, they probably will not know.

Then if you ask them to count every red car the next day, they might come in and say they saw 17.

Those red cars are opportunities they missed yesterday but noticed today.

Replace red cars with opportunities.

Opportunities are everywhere.

It could be a billboard, a bus advert, someone walking past, a conversation in a bar or someone quiet in the corner at a networking event.

That quiet person could be your next business partner or investor.

Asking entrepreneurs questions at events is important, but a lot of people are scared to go over and ask.

What would you say to people who lack the confidence to come over and ask you something?

Should they go to the bar, buy you a drink and then ask?

Craig Campbell: Just do not ask basic 101 questions.

Do not ask, “What niche should I go into?”

I do not care what you sell.

You can sell anything. You can market anything, whether it is water, chairs, furniture, surfaces or anything else.

That is the easy part.

The better questions are around who you can leverage, how you can monetise something and what both sides bring to the table.

With your business partners, you saw that they knew what they were doing, there were not many people doing it and there was massive profit in it.

Then your marketing skills made it work.

That is a much better conversation than someone asking me what niche they should get into.

I do not know what you know. I do not know what you do not know.

You need to come with a better conversation.

I can tell you stories about niches I went into, why I went into them and opportunities I found through networking.

The AI opportunity did not come from me sitting there thinking I wanted to launch an AI growth business.

The opportunity came to me because people wanted me involved.

That happened because of networking, putting myself out there and travelling the world.

If you are a blank canvas, you need to create those opportunities or start seeing those opportunities.

When people look for expired domains, for example, they might see an opportunity and think they can turn it into an affiliate website or use it to power up another project.

That is how you need to think.

You need to spot opportunities.

I think the red car theory is spot on.

I am good at spotting opportunities because someone might say something about what they are doing, and my brain starts thinking about how I can apply that in a different way.

It is not about copying their niche.

It is about finding the same pattern in a different market.

It comes down to return on investment, what I bring to the table and what the other person brings to the table.

If both sides bring something valuable, you can build a business from it.

It does not work if you go around asking someone to find you the perfect business partner.

You need to understand what you bring to the table as an entrepreneur.

A lot of entrepreneurs do not even know what they have. They do not know marketing. They do not know how to do the basics.

James Dooley: I have a great question that people can ask entrepreneurs based on exactly what you are saying.

For anyone watching this, I strongly recommend checking out the link because we do a full episode on intrapreneurship versus entrepreneurship.

That is the question I would ask.

If someone is uncertain and wants to ask an entrepreneur something, I would ask, “How would you know whether it is right for me to be an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur?”

When they ask that, the entrepreneur will probably ask several questions about them as a person.

They might ask whether they want security, whether they are willing to take risks, what they want, and what they do not want.

That helps someone understand whether they are actually suited to entrepreneurship.

If they want security and want somebody else to take the risk, they are more likely an intrapreneur.

If they are willing to take risk, build something and back themselves, they are more likely an entrepreneur.

I think asking that question opens up a proper conversation.

Craig Campbell: We actually have a solution for that with the AI business.

We can build someone a website, social media, email, texting, virtual receptionists and everything else.

We can build the business infrastructure.

But are they prepared to put the marketing spend behind it?

That is where you separate the real entrepreneurs from the people who just talk.

We can build and automate almost any business, but the person still has to be willing to put money behind the marketing.

That is why we wanted to go down the growth partner route.

We can build it, but if you have the guts and the money, you need to put the marketing spend up.

Then we take a percentage for building and growing it.

That weeds out the people who are serious from the people who are not.

For me, I would rather invest money to make more money.

Years ago, I did not want to take risks. I wanted everything to land in my lap.

I am still waiting for that to happen.

It does not work like that.

You need to decide what you are.

If you have money, or you are an investor or entrepreneur, we can build almost whatever you want.

The rest is on you.

James Dooley: For anyone watching this, make sure you check out the links about the advantages of entrepreneurship and the disadvantages of entrepreneurship.

Also, if you are an entrepreneur watching this, what is the best question you have ever been asked?

What question put you in an uncomfortable position?

I would love to know in the comments what the best questions are to ask an entrepreneur.

Craig Campbell, it has been an absolute pleasure.

Craig Campbell: Cheers, mate.