Very Short Interview No. 1

In the past week I had the pleasure of speaking with David Whetstone, an entrepreneur from Homestead, FL. In his lifetime he has had various jobs ranging from sales to aerospace engineering. However, in 2010, he decided that he would create his own business, Species Specific. With nothing but his own investments, he started a blog to share fishing stories, give tips to fellow fishermen and promote the importance of fish conservation. Soon after, the name became more known and he began selling shirts, stickers, hats and fishing equipment with the Species Specific logo. Today, Species Specific has grown to be a recognized logo in South Florida and in other parts of the country where he has travelled. 

Below is a glimpse of my time spent with David and his responses to questions about his experiences with entrepreneurship. 

• Q: What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?
• A: "To me, an entrepreneur is anybody that takes an idea and turns it into something. It can be a huge profitable business or it may be just a small business outside of their home. Either way, something was accomplished that is worthy of being called an entrepreneur."
• Q: What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneurship course?
• A: "I would say that there is never a wrong answer. Even if you hit a dead end or people don't find your ideas appealing, there's always something to be learned. That was the most important lesson I learned myself. Every time you have a set back, it just guides you in a direction that pushes you three steps forward. And of course how to actually execute an idea. Anyone can come up with the best idea but it takes a real entrepreneur to make it happen."
• Q: What do you wish you had been taught in school before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur? 
• A:"That not everything you need to know will be from a textbook or a lecture. Most of what you will learn is from getting out there and talking to people, getting hands-on experience and even making a few mistakes. I think that schools push students to think of life as black and white and that everything can be found on Google or a book, when in reality that's what holds everyone back."

In reflection, I really valued my time talking to David. In regards to his answer about what I should learn in this course, I hadn't thought about it as emotionally as it really is. In school, we are so used to just trying to get assignments in right before deadlines, when in reality it has some personal value if you become invested in them. As an entrepreneur, David showed me that there is no true single definition or scope that all entrepreneurs fit in and that is what I found to be most interesting.