Local Entrepreneurs Conversations with Successful Entrepreneurs

Nick Carter

How did you get started with entrepreneurship?

I started as an entrepreneur when I was 16; I was in high school and needed to make extra money and I figured out that I could dream up new ways of bringing in revenue. I finally realized that that was going to be who I became, my career path, when I was about 22. I had been working corporate sales for three years and really didn’t like having a boss. It came down to a matter of independence, the ability to exercise my own creative ideas. It wasn’t that I thought the owners of the companies were bad, or that they didn’t know what they were doing, it was simply that I wanted the opportunity to exercise my own ideas and to see my own ideas either stand or fall, so I went for it.

What drives you?

I enjoy the creative aspect and like seeing my own ideas flushed out. If I succeed it’s something I can say I did, and if I fail then I have no one else to blame but myself. Also, the opportunity gives me the ability to be independent with my schedule, and opens up opportunities for the future to do other things I’m passionate about, such as service and ministry.

What prompted AddressTwo?

It actually fell into my lap. I wish I could say it was through a grand scheme where I sat down, strategized, and dreamed it all up.

When I started Carter and Company, a marketing firm, about three and a half years ago, I learned in about six months that it wasn’t the business model I wanted to be in. The amount of money I made was directly tied to how much time I put in. I wanted to think of a different revenue model and before AddressTwo, I had tried several different online businesses that would have recurring revenue, be a product that could be sold, be scalable, and not just depend on my own time put into it. However, none of them did well.

AddressTwo came about through a project that I did, for fee, for a client who asked us to create a database system for them. Once I had developed a base code and the database, it dawned on me that now I had a product that I could quickly spin out and sell. Within about a month I had productized it, given it a name, put it out on its own, and created a PayPal signup and lo and behold, people signed up for it. It’s the accidental business, but has worked really well.

With so much to do, how do you manage your time?

I learned a great expression from Tony Scelzo, which was: “Eat the frog.” First thing in the morning, do the things you want to get out of the way, that you might ordinarily wait till the end of the day to get done. This way, if it’s four o’clock, five o’clock and I’m really pushing to go home and spend some time with my wife and call it quits for the day, it’s not the most important tasks that get cut off. We can really convince ourselves that everything has to get done today. I have to win that mental battle of convincing myself that I can go home and that if it doesn’t get done, it’ll be there tomorrow and business isn’t going to crash. I have to be able to look at it that way and hold it in balance with other things that are important to me in my life.

Who has been and/or are the largest influences in your success?

My wife has been one of the biggest ones, not because of any business savvy of hers, but because she is encouraging.

I also have an accountability partner that I meet with weekly, we do bible study together, we pray together, and discuss business (he is an entrepreneur). Before starting Carter and Company, as my first business I incorporated the name because I was getting ready to buy the business he was selling. He’s really helped by giving me pointers and showing me what it looks like to be an entrepreneur, how that life looks, and how he balances his life with his wife and family.

And my own dad, he was a farmer, not an entrepreneur in the normal sense of the word, but I learned what hard work looked like.

What are your goals for the coming months?

I have two goals which tie together.

I’d like to host a large event this fall, circled around AddressTwo but also business networking. I want to put at least 100 people in a room with a key note speaker, offer some basic sales training and break outs/workshops, and also offer free product training on AddressTwo.

And with that, the launch of a new feature inside AddressTwo.

How can everyone stay up-to-date on your ventures?

There is a blog at www.addresstwo.com and I also post twitter updates on what I’m working on (http://twitter.com/addresstwo).