Today we had the pleasure of sitting down with Raleigh, NC native, Antonia Stephenson II to discuss the daily grind of running a business. Antonia has the typical story of not coming from wealth or a family who owns a business, so like many he had to learn from the school of Hard Knocks.

Antonia started his first business in 2016 with only one goal in mind, to make enough money to be able to be present with his family. This was motivated from losing his father and not being in country to spend time with him during his last moments. So, it’s safe to say that family is a big motivator for Antonia. “Not only does my family motivate me but the thought of not being able to be there for them during their worst days because I have a job that doesn’t give me time off is what really drives me. I didn’t have a relationship with my dad until later on in my life and I want to change that with my kids, I want to be there for everything and not have to give them an excuse about why I can’t be there because of work” he says.

As far as his daily schedule of running a business, it may not be exactly what most of our readers was expecting. “One thing that new business owners must understand when launching a business is that they are to become business owners, not employees of their business”, he explains. “I honestly work on myself more than I work on my business because your income will only grow to the extent that you do. So, one of the things that helped me was building out a system and hiring people to run that system. Most business owners need to stop and ask themselves are they working ON their business or working IN their business? Most new business owners are working in their business instead of on it because they lack the system needed to grow so therefore they feel as if they have to do everything” he continues.

One of the things that Antonia says that he has enjoyed most about becoming his own boss is that he now can donate more to his community and also spend more time with the youth, teaching them the things he wishes he was taught as a kid. “The best reward is being able to plan seeds in people and give them access to the things that they wouldn’t normally have access to”.

To keep up with Mr. Stephenson and his business journey, be sure to connect with him on Facebook or Instagram