Teddy Nuttall

I was born and raised Cobb County, Georgia just a few minutes north of Atlanta. When I was 5 I saw a Disney movie with a character who owned a movie theater and got to watch any film he wanted. I immediately fell in love with the idea of owning my own business. I went around my neighborhood pool selling lemonade out of a Ryder wagon, and quickly moved on to door to door yard work, and then moving material for small construction company. I worked hard and tried every thing I could. I asked every adult I met about their jobs and their passions, and was lucky enough to grow up around some incredible people. One of the biggest changes for me was meeting Ralph De La Vega. At the time he was the CEO of AT&T, but he was humble enough to teach a class to a group of Boy Scouts about personal management, finance, and business. He told us his story from arriving in the United States alone at age 10 from Cuba via Operation Pedro Pan, to reuniting with his family years later, and climbing the ranks in corporate America. I took those lessons to heart, and a challenged myself. I applied to restaurants and stores that were just opening to learn about starting a business or opening a new location. I started my own businesses. And after two semesters of college I left mechanical engineering school to pursue my real passion. I took an internship at a local record label with its own studio, and tried to start a band, and then an independent record label with my friends. I met hundreds of artists, and worked hard enough to get promoted to studio director within 2 years mostly by teaching our clients how to protect themselves and grow their businesses as musicians. I did everything from helping them write business plans and file their LLCs to making them music videos, social content, and websites. I even started my own business just consulting with people and volunteered with two 501c3 charities.  It was hard. At one point I was living in my car, because I had two young employees with kids, and was faced with the decision of paying them or myself, and I have never regretted that choice. I made a lot of mistakes, but through it all I found not just success, but satisfaction. Musicians used to tell me all the time “I’m an ARTIST, not a business person,” but to me business is an art. It is the art of helping and working with people to satisfy their wants and needs. The greatest success in business comes with determination, self-awareness, and empathy. I believe that those qualities paired with a dedication to making people FEEL understood can bring customer’s through anyone’s door, and I started this project to help other business owners do just that.