Paul Jarvis interview

Paul Jarvis is not your typical entrepreneur. Similar to Jason Fried, Founder of Basecamp, and Joel Gascoigne, Co-founder of Buffer, he advocates for an atypical approach to running a business. In his new book, Company of One, he posits that growing a company for growth’s sake has significant downsides and remaining a company of one is better for your health and profitability.

I was particularly drawn to his book because I became burned out after running my own company for over a decade. I sold it in 2017 and have never looked back. Since then, I haven’t lost my entrepreneurial drive, but the idea of having employees and business partners again makes me cringe. After reading Paul’s book, not only did a company of one seem doable, it seemed ideal.

The interview I had with him was insightful and full of wisdom. The main topics we discussed were:

• Why he decided to move from the city to a remote town on an island
• What inspired him to write Company of One
• Why pursuing growth is an easy way to both solve and create more problems
• How staying small can make you healthier and more profitable
• How you can still be a company of one within a larger company
• Why it’s important to gain experience before blindly following your passion
• How focusing on the individual customer instead of growth will help you make a better product or service, and increase loyalty
• How much is enough and could you be chasing someone else’s idea of success

I owe a special thank you to my friend Kaleigh Moore, a freelance writer and writing coach, for connecting me with Paul. Together, they run Creative Class, an online course designed to help freelancers learn how to run their business better.

I hope you enjoy my interview with Paul as much I enjoyed talking with him.

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Jon Henshaw

Jon is the founder of Coywolf and the EIC and the primary author reporting for Coywolf News. He is an industry veteran with over 25 years of digital marketing and internet technologies experience. Follow @henshaw