Our journey began when Mary and I decided to be performing artists for a living, we let nothing get in our way and we transcended every obstacle in front of us, in fact when we decided to choose our stage name we picked Duo Transcend. We wanted to transcend above and beyond what anyone has ever done before! That’s our mindset and it has stayed that way ever since. Our love and passion for performing continues to grow and we want to inspire others to be passionate about what they do.
What ignited the spark in you to start a new business venture or to make significant changes in an existing business? How did the idea for your business come about?
We got our first taste of performing together in a restaurant in Salt Lake City Utah. We were hired together to be entertainers and our love for performing blossomed, after the restaurant unexpectedly closed we were faced with 2 options,
1. Get a normal job and leave performing behind us or
2. Pursue or passion with the faith we will make a living doing it, we picked the second option of course. We trained hard for months improving our craft, then we came across an audition flyer seeking for acrobats for a show at sea world San Diego. We trained really hard and went to the audition expecting nothing to come of it. To our surprise they show hired us. From then on we knew we belonged in the performing world.
What were the biggest initial hurdles to building your business and how did you overcome them?
Our business is all about networking with others and creating great performances that people would pay to see. So the early struggles were how do we network with others and how do we create amazing performances? The answers were, “do more than what you get paid for” and “don’t be afraid to put yourself out there”. What I meant is go the extra mile and show you work harder than the others even if you aren’t getting paid for it because I promise you if this is your mentality you will eventually get paid. When I say put yourself out there I meant don’t be afraid to show the world who YOU are. In all of our performances we make sure that we express who we are within the performance. People are drawn to those that are true to themselves and don’t try to be something their not. Be real, be confident, be you. We have found so much success in our business as we consistently show the world who we are and never waiver from that.
What books are you currently reading? And your recommendation for entrepreneurs to read?
- I read books that teach me things
I don’t read books that entertain me. I don’t spend any time reading motivational books because diligence and dedication out way motivation, motivation is icing on the cake but you can NOT count on always being motivated to do things. It’s not motivation that gets me up in the morning, it’s not motivation that gets me to the gym everyday, it’s dedication and diligence. Diligently dedicate your self to your craft and don’t let anything stop you from doing it. Search out books that would teach you organization and structure, when you are organized and your business has a strong structure then all that’s left is be diligent and dedicated to upholding that structure. I apologize for not giving specific book titles but there are many book that can teach you how to be organized and structure your business that fits you.
Did you ever deal with contention from your family and friends concerning your entrepreneurial pursuits? How did you handle it? What would you do differently in hindsight?
When we first decided to take the leap into performing we had a lot of contention from family and friends but the fastest way to stop it is don’t procrastinate anything and diligently pursue your ideas, something happens to people’s opinions when they see someone close to them diligently dedicate themselves to something they want. Respect starts to take the place of contention, they will start to respect you for your dedication and the contention dissipates.
What would you say was the single most influential factor in your business success?
Meeting and learning from others. When we seek out and meet people that we respect that have similar dreams like us it’s so exciting! it drives us to succeed more and to try harder. We gain new desire and the fire grows within us. Seek those people out and surround yourself with them.
What do you know today that you wish you would have known when you first got started as an entrepreneur?
The importance of letting others help you with what you aren’t good at. In the beginning I believed that I could do most everything myself but you come to realize that you have many weaknesses and there our other people that their strengths are your weaknesses. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t do everything on your own, consult your ideas with others before you make decisions.
What advice would you give to an upcoming entrepreneur locally and internationally?
What ever industry you are in, find out how to get yourself exposed to as many people as you can. Example, we are performers so we got ourselves on the biggest talent show in the world America’s Got Talent. Now the world knows who we are. Our business exploded! Get yourself in front of people, without people knowing who you are.
