Episode 35: Growing & Scaling Businesses with Kevin Urrutia - Part 2

 

On this episode of The Friday Habit, successful entrepreneur Kevin Urrutia continues his conversation with Mark and Ben from the previous episode, so go back and listen to that episode if you missed it! Kevin describes the thought process that led him to get into e-commerce after the cleaning company he was running got to a certain sustainable point and he wanted to gain some new experience in a different field. He started out selling outdoor gear but realized that the barriers to entry were so low that he was facing a lot of competition, so he recruited the help of his architect brother to design a luggage line called Chester Travels. This business had a much higher barrier to entry and requires more capital to be tied up in inventory, but he has found that the profit margin is higher than his cleaning company which only requires payment when there is a job but relies entirely on people, who are unpredictable.

Kevin and his friend Wilson have worked on business ideas together for their whole adult life, but Voy Media was their first partnership. They launched it to connect with other founders and open up conversations about all of their combined knowledge and experience to package up content that people would want. They are still working out the details of how to make this an educational company that will provide value to current and aspiring founders. 

Kevin says that one of the biggest pitfalls that leaders fall into is wanting everyone around them to be like them, when there is incredible value in surrounding yourself with team members that bring different perspectives and strengths to the table. So rather than looking for people who think and act like he does, Kevin focuses on hiring people with raw intelligence and good problem-solving skills because if they have both of these skills, they will be able to handle anything thrown their way. He emphasizes the importance of curiosity in all of life, having that drive to figure out what you don’t know or don’t know how to do yet. Finally, he encourages entrepreneurs to remember that your passion for the end result should drive you and that you don’t have to love everything you do as long as you have that passion.

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