"Working from home during this pandemic is such a great privilege."
Alex Shute Tweet
Meet Alex Shute, a family man, a full-time employee and an entrepreneur based in Los Angeles. He is the founder and chief editor of FaithGiant. His goal is to help people live full of faith, hope, and love by connecting people, places, and ideas through digital media.
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Thank you so much for giving us your time! Before we begin, could you introduce yourself to our readers and take us through what exactly your company does and what your vision is for its future?
Alex Shute: My name is Alex Shute and I’m a family man and a full-time employee and an entrepreneur based in Los Angeles. I am the founder and chief editor of FaithGiant.com. FaithGiant started with one simple goal. We set out to make the world of faith easy to understand and empower everyday people living everyday lives with the ability to discover, learn, and grow in their faith journey. My goal is to help connect people, places, and ideas through digital media.
NO child ever says I want to be a CEO/entrepreneur when I grow up. What did you want to be and how did you get where you are today?
Alex Shute: Being an entrepreneur was definitely not part of the plan but because of circumstances, I had to adapt and learn how to improve myself so that I could continue providing for my family.
I and my family moved to Japan so I could teach English since I couldn’t find meaningful work in the US during the recession of 2008/2009. It was a very bold move because we know it’s a different environment. I’m a Business Administration graduate but I transitioned to being an English Teacher when we moved to Japan because I needed to grab the opportunity for my family.
We moved back to the US in 2015. I now work for an international mission organization that focuses on sharing the scriptures with youth around the world.
Tell us something about yourself that others in your organization might be surprised to know.
Alex Shute: Working from home during this pandemic is such a great privilege. I get to help my wife care for our kids and I get to work on my side business as well. But working from home is not a walk in the park if you have kids. While working from home, time can fly by and it can be difficult to stay focused and get work done.
One of the motivational strategies that worked for me is taking a break and going outside. I have found cycling on a road bike is the perfect way to do this. I live in Los Angeles and am fortunate to be able to cycle most of the year. I have found cycling on a road bike the perfect way to exercise and recharge mentally. I live in Los Angeles and am fortunate to be able to cycle most of the year.
When I am able, I like to take my laptop to the park or a coffee shop and work for a few hours each day. This greatly improves my mood and sparks new ideas. My time is free and my mind has been liberated to be my most productive self and this has improved my focus, discipline, and work output.
Many readers may wonder how to become an entrepreneur but what is an entrepreneur? How would you define it?
Alex Shute: A lot of us turned into an entrepreneur when the pandemic started. We all needed to find a way to cope with the situation and some of us even used this as an opportunity to turn our hobbies and interests into successful businesses. But I think we all forget that behind those rising numbers of views and patrons, are the risks and countless rejections we had to receive before getting to where we are now. So to me, being an entrepreneur is a mixture of resilience and consistency.
Being resilient leads to opportunities for growth and self-learning that come with change. I was able to hone my teaching skills and social skills when I transitioned to my past teaching job in Japan. I learned that I’m flexible, can adapt to new and different situations, am optimistic, and ask for help when I needed it. But you also need to be consistent with your efforts, it’s not enough that you can quickly adapt. Being consistent leads to producing quality and genuine output. Stay consistent and recall your vision and goals but also be open to change and adapt when needed.
What is the importance of having a supportive and inclusive culture?
Alex Shute: One of the dark sides of being an entrepreneur who is now working from home is anxiety. As an entrepreneur, you feel a lot of stress and pressure in running your business. You get to wear a lot of hats and this constant gear shifting will inevitably wear you down. The pressure of not making money right away and feeling as though you can’t spend time with family leads to incredible anxiety. The strong desire to achieve will eventually lead to burnout.
To cope up with anxiety, self-care and exercise have been essential for my physical and mental health. It is crucial to find time to recharge mentally. I have found cycling as an excellent way for me to clear my head. I like being outdoors, exercising, and also having some time alone to think and reflect on life. Cycling once or twice a week has made a huge impact on my overall health and my attitude toward work. My goal is to give my best and it is difficult to do this when my own energy is depleted.
The main thing to remember is that it is not selfish to have time alone. Push against these feelings and know that it is best for you and your business if you have time to take care of yourself and your well-being.
How can a leader be disruptive in the post covid world?
Alex Shute: What I learned as a leader during this time of pandemic is to practice participative leadership. Participative leadership is also known as democratic leadership, in which all members of the organization work together to make decisions. It is a style of leadership where everyone works together for the decision-making process and addresses company issues, sometimes employing an internal vote to address problems or challenges.
Participative leadership works best in environments that have lower pressure and are not usually prone to quick turnarounds and need-it-yesterday projects. Additionally, creative environments can benefit from a participative leader, where a group approach to brainstorming can create unique opportunities for problem-solving.
Since I’m managing remote workers, I include my employees in my business by giving them key responsibilities and autonomy to make decisions.
If a 5-year-old asked you to describe your job, what would you tell them?
Alex Shute: I connect and communicate with people through writing so that I could help them find hope, faith, and love.
Share with us one of the most difficult decisions you had to make for your company that benefited your employees or customers. What made this decision so difficult and what were the positive impacts?
Alex Shute: One of the best decisions I’ve made for 2021 was to focus on the 80/20 rule when it comes to my work and time. The 20% of my time and energy that accomplishes 80% of the results in my business is where I focused my attention. I focused on perfecting my current skillset rather than trying to wear every hat in my business.
It was such a good decision because I became a better entrepreneur by being a better manager and knowing what to get off my plate. My vision for my business and for myself in 2021 was so large that I’m only able to accomplish it with the help of other people. I have included more people in my business by giving them key responsibilities and autonomy to make decisions.
Leaders are usually asked about their most useful qualities but let’s change things up a bit. What is your most useless talent?
Alex Shute: Instead of a useless talent, one trait that I wish to improve on is to have and practice longer patience. Working from home during this pandemic has taken a toll on all of us. The pressure of work and staying cooped up at home has shortened my patience and made even small nuances, irritating. It’s not a good trait, especially since I have two kids at home to look after while my wife works. But little by little I can confidently say that I have gotten on top of my anxiety and stress. Cycling and making an effort to go outside for a few minutes have definitely helped me calm myself and take a breather.
Thank you so much for your time but before we finish things off, we do have one more question. If you wrote a book about your life until today, what would the title be?
Alex Shute: “The Long Road Ahead: How being an English teacher in Japan taught me to be the Entrepreneur I am today”
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Alex Shute for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Alex Shute or her company, you can do it through her – Facebook
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