Ask A Philosopher
As we enter the leap year month of February, startGBC is happy to introduce you to a new venture that revolves around – Philosophy. Ask A Philosopher by Alberto Richards came into being to make philosophy accessible to everyone, in Alberto’s words – ‘to unlock the ivory tower that philosophy has been locked into. Hopefully, you will enjoy philosophy as much as I do.’
At Ask A Philosopher all topics, questions, and discussion are welcome.
Alberto Richards has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in philosophy from York University. He also has a graduate certificate on Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations from George Brown College.
It comes as no surprise that he’s pursuing philosophy beyond educational capacity, because he spent much of his early life studying philosophy with his father as well.
Let’s dive into the specifics of his venture and what led him to entrepreneurship in general.
What made you want to become an entrepreneur?
I was not as interested in entrepreneurship as I was in my own idea. The fact that I would be an entrepreneur was not the goal. The goal was that I had an idea and I wanted to try and make that idea happen.
Thinking about entrepreneurship as the goal may not lead to the kind of success because, I believe, that the most necessary part of being an entrepreneur is passion for your idea, business, or endeavor, regardless of how you make it happen. That is why I am an entrepreneur now, because I believe it to be the best way to make my idea happen.
Why “Ask A Philosopher”?
Ask A Philosopher is an idea I had during my time as an undergraduate. The idea is that using the framework of a session people could come and ask the questions that keep them up at night or bother them about the world.
Just like how one goes to a different professional for a host of reasons, you would come to Ask A Philosopher, because I have done the research into your topic. Much like how there is a difference between going to a physician and only consulting WebMD and Google. Often there are two very different results. This holds true of philosophy as well. Doing your own research is well and good, and I encourage it. But I believe there is a benefit in talking and reasoning with another person, in this case, a philosopher.
A personal success story with entrepreneurship
Ask A Philosopher is a relatively new concept with, as far as I can tell, no equivalent in Toronto. As such, advertisements must both educate and hook. The digital advertising campaign for Ask A Philosopher started on January 6, 2020.
My most optimistic projections indicated that I most likely would not see my first client until mid-February, at the earliest. On January 21, 2020, three weeks and a day from when digital ads started Ask A Philosopher had its first official client. I believe this is due to consistent messaging across all platforms, and a clear and concise website that made the booking process simple.
Any advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
I believe the sentiment people have toward entrepreneurship is often like the sentiment I have heard either in various forms of media (TV, podcasts, books) or in conversation; the sentiment is that of having children. “I don’t think I’m ready” to which the other person will respond, “Are you ever ready?” This was much the same for me, there is always more you can do in terms of preparation, some other part you can work on before “getting started”.
However, like having a child, there are certain tasks that must be done in preparation. It’s important to not get “bogged down” in only doing prep-work. My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to “get started” and have a very strict plan for when you are going to be done preparation and start public operations.
Website and Socials
Check out Askaphilosopher’s website:
https://www.askaphilosopher.ca/
Don’t miss out on your daily dose of philosophy, follow Ask A Philosopher on social media-