This interview is with Sharifah Hardie, Business Consultant, Ask Sharifah.
Sharifah, as a business consultant and founder of Ask Sharifah, Sharifah.AI, and The People’s Chamber of Commerce, what is the central problem you help entrepreneurs solve, and what experience has made you especially equipped to solve it?
The central problem I help entrepreneurs solve is how to go from being an entrepreneur to being a business owner. Often I ask the question, “Are you operating a business or are you operating a hustle?” There is no judgment either way about which one a person has, but they are two separate things. A business operates one way. A hustle operates a completely different way.
So often entrepreneurs believe they have a business, but they haven’t established the business by doing the following:
- incorporating
- creating an EIN
- having a website and online presence
- a business bank account
- a professional email
If an entrepreneur actually wants to grow their business and get funding, they must take their business seriously in order for everyone else to take them seriously.
You began your career in technology during the early commercial-internet era and have continually evolved as an entrepreneur and media professional; how did that path lead you to the consulting work you do today?
The first website I ever built was an online gift store. I still remember it. It was called “Es Rif’s Unique Boutique.” When I started showing my friends my new website, they were excited. They couldn’t believe that I had built it — and, remember, this was the ’90s. Nobody I knew had a website. So my website was even more magical then than having a website is now. People were like, “Oh my God. I want one.” So I started building websites for my friends and family.
Then, of course, I had to market my website. When I started doing marketing for my website, the people I built websites for wanted me to market theirs. Eventually, I became the go-to person for website design, marketing, business funding, grant research, and public relations services. Now, people constantly ask me about AI — the next wave of the technology gold rush.
When a business owner has many ideas but limited time and resources, how do you help them identify the one growth priority that deserves action first?
I don’t believe in limited time or limited resources. Time is a man-made illusion; it’s not real, and it doesn’t exist. There is always more than enough: time, money, and unlimited resources.
I help business owners evaluate what needs their immediate attention and what we should do first. Prioritizing their dreams and turning them into actionable steps is my priority.
You have said that momentum comes from acting rather than waiting for perfect conditions; what practical step can a founder take this week to move an important growth initiative forward?
The majority of founders I meet suffer from analysis paralysis. They are so afraid to make the wrong move that they make no move at all. You must also keep in mind that being a founder is a lonely path. People see the glory, the reward at the end, and the success, but they don’t always see the 30 years of work it takes to get there or the people who have repeatedly told them they are crazy, that they will fail, that they should go get a job, or that they have absolutely no idea what they are doing.
Founders must have great support around them. If they don’t have it organically, they should join groups or be part of organizations that will say, “Yes, you can absolutely be successful.” Otherwise, founders can overthink things and, in the pursuit of perfection, do nothing at all.
So the first step is to find one actionable step you can take forward each day. What can you actually do to bring your dream to life today? Don’t wait for the perfect storm, perfect product, or perfect audience. Put it out there and see what happens. I have learned more from the “haters” of the product at times than from the people who love it. The people who love it say, “Oh, that’s great.” The people who hate it say, “This sucks. I tried to use it and the light kept falling off.” Now, at least I know what the problem is and a problem can be fixed, but if you don’t put it out there for testing, you will never know.
The other benefit is that you can now go back to the person who didn’t like the product and say, “Thank you for your feedback. It’s greatly appreciated. We have resolved the issue with the light and now it’s working correctly.” The person will feel heard and appreciated. They will become your biggest evangelists and most likely one of your most loyal customers.
What does an effective strategic plan look like for a small business that needs a clear direction but cannot afford a lengthy, complicated planning process?
If someone came to me with this approach, I would immediately start to evaluate them as a good fit for a potential client. I always keep an eye out for people who make things harder than they need to be.
With AI and ChatGPT, a founder can even have an extensive, detailed plan developed for them in a matter of minutes. Founders must utilize technology to be successful and competitive.
However, business owners do not need a 40-page plan; they’re not going to read it in order to be successful. I always break things into small bites. The first question I would ask is simply: What are you trying to accomplish overall? What type of business are you interested in creating? What specifically would you like to do? Let’s go from there. I would then create an actionable 30-day plan, a 60-day plan, and a 90-day plan.
From your experience building businesses and media platforms, how can an entrepreneur decide which growth tactics are worth testing before investing significant time or money?
It might sound counterproductive, but I say, “Test them all.”
After 30 years of experience, I can look at a business and basically say, “Based on your product or service, I would recommend Google Ads for your company, public relations, or whatever the appropriate marketing platform is.”
You won’t know until you test it.
That takes trial and error. What works best for one company is not necessarily going to work best for another. There are many factors that come into play; the number one is budget. I would never recommend pay-per-click advertising to a company with an extremely low budget. I would recommend more organic approaches. If a company has a great story, I would recommend public relations services, but you really won’t know until you try it.
I recommend A/B testing. Invest a little money into different areas, allow them to run for a little while, and see what converts best into sales.
What have you learned about building business relationships that create real long-term opportunities rather than one-time transactions?
Your net worth is in your network.
That’s why I founded The People’s Chamber of Commerce. I believe that people do business with people they know, like, and trust.
Long-term relationships build longer-lasting business ties and create the longest-lasting client opportunities.
As the founder of The People’s Chamber of Commerce, what is one networking practice that helps business owners become more memorable and valuable to the people they meet?
The best practice I have learned is to be useful. How can you be useful to the person standing in front of you?
When making introductions, listen to the person in front of you and determine their needs. This person may be able to open doors for you and your business. You may be able to help them in ways that have absolutely nothing to do with your business, your product, or your service, but if you can help them, they will never forget that.
Once they feel heard, they will, in return, be more interested in learning about who you are and what you do and will gladly pass that information along to their network.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
The biggest thing I would add is that I am still learning, still building, and still reinventing myself.
I have been an entrepreneur for nearly 30 years. I started during the dot-com era, when people were still trying to understand what the internet was going to become. Today, I am building Sharifah.AI during another period when we are asking many of those same questions about artificial intelligence.
If there is one lesson I have learned through all of it, it is that you cannot become so comfortable with what worked yesterday that you miss what is happening tomorrow.
I have had successes. I have made mistakes. I have raised millions. I have lost it all except the clothes on my back. I have started businesses, changed directions, taken risks, and had things not work out the way I expected. But I keep moving.
That is probably what I would want another entrepreneur to take away from my story. You do not have to have everything figured out. You just have to be willing to keep learning, keep adapting, and keep going.
Right now, I am particularly excited about Sharifah.AI and exploring what this next generation of technology can make possible for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Nearly 30 years after I first entered technology, I feel like I am standing at the beginning of something again. And that is exciting.