EnTrends [ahn-trends]

Taking a Look at How Modern Entrepreneurs Work & Live!

In terms of negative experiences that Bonnet has faced as an entrepreneur, he says one of his biggest regrets was missing his sister's wedding.

"She decided to move up her wedding to Valentine's Day. We had just let a manger go here at the restaurant and I couldn't lock the doors and turn away all of our expected customers. I called her and said, 'If you never talk to me again I will understand, but I have a situation here that I just can't get away from.' She understood."

Bonnet credits his father as one of the people who has been instrumental to his success, saying,

"He is a person who got married when he was 17 and worked two or three jobs in the beginning. He just retired from thirty-two years with John Deere. To see someone work that hard for so long is really inspirational. Now he works with me and he loves it. I'm trying show him that he's helped me, and now it's my turn to help him."

When asked what he likes the most about being an entrepreneur, Bonnet says, "It has to be the flexibility. I don't have a schedule that says I have to be here nine to five Monday through Friday. Sometimes I take a

weekend or four days to go somewhere, or I play golf in the middle of the day and come back to work at night." Bonnet also does some substitute teaching at a community college and teaches a wine class as well.

Bonnet says that, while he likes to travel, owns a home and drives a nice car, he does not measure his success by those things. "One of the best things I did was take my entire staff to Cancun for seven days. That type of thing is important to me. We had a great time at the beach and it really pulled the team together. Sure, I could have taken that money and gone out and bought a boat or something, but I get more satisfaction out of seeing my employees enjoy their jobs and want to come to work each day."

In giving advice to other entrepreneurs, Bonnet says, "You have to understand that it takes a couple of years before you're able to pull money from your business. If you keep putting money back in, it will take care of you in the long run. Constantly upgrade and maintain it."