Welcome to the Business Boot-Up Edition of The Dreamers and Doers Podcast! We believe you are never too young to start a business. We’re bringing you live interviews from Loveworks Leadership in Norman, OK. Each episode will feature one of our student-run businesses where they will be sharing what they’ve learned by starting a business to encourage you to start yours too!

Powered by the Norman Chamber of Commerce and Sponsored by First United Bank.

Jared Deck: Professional Musician

Jared is an award-winning musician, business owner, and work-at-home dad.

While earning a BA in Music Performance at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Jared worked at a factory to pay the bills and pursue his passion for music. He went on to own a retail cell phone dealership and was a partner in an independent insurance agency. In 2016, Jared won the Woody Guthrie Songwriting Contest and was named to Rolling Stone’s Top 10 New Artists You Need To Know.

Today, Jared is a professional musician and an active member of our community. He is a member of Local American Federation of Musicians and currently serves on the boards for several local organizations, including Variety Care, Moore Norman Technology Center, ACLU of Oklahoma, and SWOSU Alumni Association. He is also a member of the Sooner Rotary Satellite Club.

Malachi Crawfurd with Malachi’s Workshop

Malachi, age 12, has been building and making things since he was young. At age 4, he took the training wheels off a bike, grabbed a board and tried to make a skateboard with them. He started Malachi’s Workshop when he was 8. He learned about the Children’s Business Fair in Oklahoma City and came up with the idea to make and sell birdhouses and it has grown from there. He enjoys running, playing his violin, basketball and has dairy goats.  He dreams of owning his own ranch someday. He wants to be a carpenter (he already is!) and plans to study mechanical engineering in college.

Key Takeaways

• Staying true to yourself when your values do not match those around you
• Adjusting your expectation as you go through life
• Your worth is not based on others opinions of your work
• Don’t focus on building a business, focus on building a community
• Business takes courage and planning
• How you present yourself tells the story of your business