I would like to share my journey from being stuck in a corporate job to becoming an entrepreneur. I spent thirty years commuting in harsh winters, feeling unfulfilled, and like I was making someone else rich. However, my creative side kept me longing for something new. In this journey, I am now helping micro-businesses, non-profits, and other smaller organizations succeed.
I know what it feels like to be lost and unfulfilled in a corporate job. It was a terrible experience for me. After spending years commuting in Minnesota’s harsh winters and feeling like I was making someone else rich, I knew I had to try something new. I had always wanted to explore my creative side, and so I took the leap and became an entrepreneur.
Three and a half years ago, I was able to finance my transition to entrepreneurship through my community. Today, I help small businesses and entrepreneurs who often get overlooked by big consulting firms. I have experience in non-profit leadership, and my five podcasts have given me the skills and knowledge to help these businesses succeed. Additionally, I am also involved in a scholarship program for people with disabilities, teaching them internet and digital marketing skills so they can work from home and be hired remotely.
My passion for podcasting began with a simple love for fishing. I used to fish a lot with my kids, but they lost interest in it as they grew older. I wanted to stay connected with them and searched for ways to connect with my kids. I talked to my buddies, and we had an idea to play Texas Poker. We got together with the 13 of us, played for a quarter for the whole night, and had fun. I fell in love with the game and started a podcast towards recreational players who just wanted to play home games. I grew my podcast, which became a top 10 Poker podcast and eventually became a membership site.
My whole goal was to create a vibrant and encouraging poker learning community where recreational players could have fun and learn the game together. Many people who play poker are afraid to go to the casino because if they make a mistake, someone will make fun of them or get mad at them. I wanted to create a community where it was safe to play with kids and learn the game together.
My passion for podcasting didn’t end there. My son got into disc golf, and I began to play it too. I started a podcast about it, just like I did with poker, and found it to be a great way to learn the game, connect with others in the industry, and have fun.
My journey started with a desire to make a difference in the AIDS epidemic in Africa, but it soon led me to transform my own community in central Minnesota and beyond. My love for micro-business was born out of my time in Rwanda, where I saw firsthand the impact of poverty and the importance of building economic stability. I and a couple of like-minded individuals formed a project that focused on uniting people in central Minnesota to respond to global poverty and doing humanitarian work in Rwanda.
For twelve years, my team and I did all kinds of things to unite people, from water walks and concerts to sewing things and building medical kits. We also organized big events, such as the annual celebrations, where the message was clear: for the sake of the kids in Africa, let’s set our differences aside and be one.
The money we raised went towards making a significant impact in Rwanda. We took four different teams of people over there and spent seven to ten days doing humanitarian work. We were involved in everything from clean water to education to disease prevention, soil erosion, and micro-financing. But we didn’t do the work ourselves. The work was all done by the local people there because that’s the model that’s sustainable.
About The Author
Steve Fredlund is The Safari Dude. As a professional actuary in human resources analytics, he uncovered surprising factors that enhance employee engagement, and work enjoyment; key elements for effectiveness, enhanced retention, productivity, and organizational success.
Minnesota to Rwanda, nonprofit to corporate, start-ups to Fortune 500 companies he brings to your event thirty years of leadership success. Steve’s personal safari mission is to help great leaders and their teams enjoy an epic safari by getting the right peeps in their jeeps and in the right seats.
