EO recently sat down with EO Dallas member Tony Hartl, CEO and Founder of Planet Tan, and author of Selling Sunshine, a new book that offers invaluable insights on how to become a better entrepreneur. In this interview, Tony discusses the genesis of his book, the impact EO has on him and the importance of giving back to your community.
EO: What was the genesis behind this book, and what do you hope to accomplish?
TH: “I wrote Selling Sunshine out of a desire to give back. I believe the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in America, and I want to help smooth potholes in the road for entrepreneurs just getting started on their own journeys. My hope is that Selling Sunshine will inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs, and I believe that this book and others like it can serve as guideposts for aspiring business owners as they begin making the thousands of small decisions that ultimately will lead them to success. I want to encourage young and ambitious people of all ages to continue learning and improving.”
EO: What do you want EO members and other business leaders to take away from this book?
TH: “EO members, in particular, should know that they've made a great decision! My own membership in EO has been not only rewarding, but vital, and the eight local business leaders who comprise my Forum have been of incalculable value to my own decision-making process.”
EO: Proceeds of your book sales are being donated back into the community. Why is social entrepreneurship important to you?
TH: “Good businesses are good for communities as a matter of course, providing jobs and valuable services. But social entrepreneurship is important—and hits closer to home—because of its intentionality. Searching for problems in a community and using creative solutions to right social ills are admirable goals, and with a great deal of sweat and perseverance on the part of a social entrepreneur, they can benefit us all. That's why I‘m donating 100 percent of the proceeds from Selling Sunshine to the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, a national organization that helps young people from low-income communities build their business skills and unlock their entrepreneurial creativity.”
EO: How has EO helped you along your entrepreneurial journey and with the development of this book?
TH: “I recommend EO membership to anyone who owns or operates a business. The value of good mentors cannot be overstated, and I've been part of an EO group for six years. I consider them my personal board of directors, and their input and perspective is priceless as objective observers and wise friends with experience spanning industries.”
EO: What inspired you to have the forward of your book written by your Apex Forum?
TH: “I decided to have Apex Forum write the forward to Selling Sunshine for two reasons: First, it was a way for me to ‘say thank you’ to a group of bright, driven entrepreneurs who acted as a sounding board and provided guidance for me in times of uncertainty. Second, I wanted to highly emphasize the importance of peer groups which meet regularly; this system can contribute to making anyone a better leader through peer accountability.”
EO: Do you recall one tip or piece of advice that helped you become a “wildly successful” entrepreneur?
TH: “About six years, after I began running Planet Tan and offers began coming in for me to sell the company, a wise friend said, ‘run your business like you'll run it forever.’ For years afterward, this great advice kept me thinking like an owner. A seller may forsake opportunities to grow and hurt his overall business by cutting away at customer service in order to improve how the business looks on paper. In the long run, running my business as if I would run it forever made all the difference and gave me a sense of satisfaction I never would have had otherwise, and my business grew several orders of magnitude as a result!”
EO: Is there anything else you’d like to share?
TH: “You can do it. If you're willing to metaphorically ‘bring a blanket’ to sleep in the office when you have to, and work hard over the long haul, you can do whatever you set out to accomplish. It may not be easy, but if you do what you love and love what you do, you cannot fail to find happiness and prosperity.”