We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marcus Styles. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marcus below.
Marcus, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I’ve always been a confident person, but beginning my journey as a business owner was challenging because I tended to compare myself to others who had much more experience than I did. At some point I realized I was operating from a fear-based mindset, like it was me against everyone else, and I recognized that wasn’t healthy for me. It took some effort but I shifted my mindset, stopped putting things out that I didn’t like and instead began to create things that bring me joy. People responded positively, and this helped me build my confidence. With time, it became much easier to put myself out there and talk about my business.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am the co-founder of Heyven, an online directory of Minnesota’s local businesses. We started this business because we feel our local business community tends to be disconnected and we wanted to create a platform to bring people together. We were inspired by other great platforms like Yelp and the Yellow Pages.
The most exciting thing is how much our concept has expanded. Heyven started as just a website directory, and so many ideas have come organically from that. We love bringing people together and helping them get excited about their businesses.We introduced our Networking Hangouts last month, which are our way to bring people together and create new connections in a low-key, relaxed environment—our answer to the more traditional, stuffy and intimidating networking events we’ve attended. We’ve loved helping make connections in the community and were proud to be nominated for Best Networking Group in our first year by Twin Cities Collective’s Best Of Awards.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Creativity has been a huge part of my life. I feel I’ve been able to normalize being creative due to my background going to a performing arts high school and later earning my fine arts degree. I’ve met many people who would love to pursue creative work but don’t feel like it’s a viable career path for them, often because they were discouraged from doing so by people in their lives. I want to say to them: This is entirely possible if you take it seriously and work hard for it.
I’ve also learned that perseverance is one of the keys to success. Drive and determination will take you far and open the door to new opportunities. I am results-driven and I don’t like to settle. There were many times where something didn’t work right away and that made me want to give up, walk away and do something easier. I had to learn that what is most worth pursuing often takes time and patience.
I have also worked hard to develop my organizational skills. I do not function well when things are messy and disorganized, and through trial and error I’ve created my own systems and procedures to help me overcome this. My advice here is take some time to build systems that make sense for you and stick to them. You’ll end up reclaiming lots of time and reducing your overall level of stress.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
I am fortunate to have a great support system and community. My parents, business besties, and business partner have all been my cheerleaders through many challenges and successes. They’ve helped me get this far, and I think it’s essential that we all have people we can confide in. It’s too hard to run a business by yourself, and you shouldn’t have to do it all alone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.heyven.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyvenmn
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heyvenmn
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/heyven
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/heyvenmn
Image Credits
Clarke Sanders (only for the two brand photos)
