Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Baker.
Kevin, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
That depends on how far we want to go back… lol. I’ll keep the early history quick…
I grew up in a two-parent household in Los Angeles, CA where both parents had careers outside of the home. When it came to making a living, my life’s track was already laid out for me. I was to pick a specialty, go to college, find a career, spend “50+ years” working for one company, then retire. That was what the image of success looked like for me.
But, I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I tried to suppress it for the satisfaction of others. Even after I graduated college with an accounting degree, I filled out application after application for entry-level accounting jobs. It only took a few times of hearing that I needed more experience for an entry level position until I got fed up and said, “forget it!”
I would say that my first “run-in” with entrepreneurship was more out of necessity and stubbornness. I considered it an employer’s loss not to hire me. I was going to show everyone that I didn’t need them. I first built In Focus Business Solutions as a bookkeeping business in 2012. It was centered around the food truck industry boom. I created a niche for providing bookkeeping services to the food truck industry in Southern California.
I held different part-time jobs while running my bookkeeping business. My business transitioned into what it is today while sitting in rush hour traffic, heading to a part-time job. I looked around and wondered how many others were just as unhappy as I was with the 9-5 lifestyle. As a result, in 2015, InFocusBiz transitioned into a business services company with the belief that everyone should be in control of their own opportunities through entrepreneurship. By assisting clients with establishing their brand, InFocusBiz seeks to greatly increase the number of successful businesses started by everyday people.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Has this journey been smooth sailing??? Of course not! It’s actually been anything but smooth. In fact, I still go through struggles relating to my business.
If I had to name one, I would have to say I struggle with the constant thought in the back of my head of “what if I’m going down the wrong path?” I have a family of five. The decisions that I make don’t just affect me. All of the financial setbacks involved with starting your own business now affect my wife and three children. So, that constant battle between what I feel I am supposed to do versus what I feel I need to do to provide is one of the hardest struggles to deal with.
Please tell us about InFocusBiz.
In Focus Business Solutions is a business services company that offers business startup services to aspiring entrepreneurs. We at InFocusBiz believe in creating your opportunities. We help our clients experience the freedom of entrepreneurship with services such as Business Formation, Branding, and Website Design.
InFocusBiz is also positioned deeply within the entrepreneur ecosystem in the city of Ft. Worth, Texas. We organize and host yearly entrepreneur events. I also sit on the board of an organization that provides entrepreneurship education and awards certification upon completion.
I would say the thing that I am most proud of at this point is the yearly Ft. Worth Children’s Business Fair that InFocusBiz hosts every August. To be able to provide kids the experience of making real money from something that started as just an idea is very rewarding. These kids come up with their own idea for a business, set up their own booth, and sell to the public mostly by themselves (of course depending on their age).
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Some of my most fond memories are the time I spent as a child in Magnolia, Arkansas. I know you’re probably thinking “where is that?” It’s about two hours from Little Rock, Arkansas. Magnolia is a small country town where my grandparents lived. Every summer, I traveled there from Los Angeles, CA. I think I enjoyed the simple life even at a young age. There wasn’t much going on there, but I didn’t mind. When I was really young, my grandfather had cows and a garden that I use to help him out with. I also learned how to fish there. Spending time in Arkansas, definitely added to my “less is more” and “presence over presents” mentality that I still hold today.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.infocusbiz.com
- Phone: 8886271135
- Email: info@infocusbiz.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infocusbiz/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/infocusbiz
- Other: www.infocusbiz.com/4kevb
Image Credit:
Lane B Photography, Timothy Alexander White Photography
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