Customer Portrait: Joel Marshall explains how simplicity is the key to success
Ever wonder how other FreshBooks customers run a business and do what they love? Customer portraits connect you with your fellow FreshBooks peers to share guidance and inspire you.
We recently sat down with longtime FreshBooks customer, Joel Marshall. It turned out to be a little bit of a catch-up since we last talked with Joel in 2007. Joel is a comedian and actor, which he finds time for by running his own business and having his own schedule. Joel took us through how he runs a successful Podcast Fat Free Film, keeps his IT business as simple as possible (great advice!), and much to the amusement of his clients, how he gets paid faster by using their computer to print invoices.
How did you start your business?
I have a business called “Supportus Maximus” and I’ve been in business for about six years. I was working for a law firm doing tech support and realized that a lot of people were asking me to work in their homes or for their small businesses after work, and also on the weekends. From there, it just grew into a business of its own so I was able to leave the law firm and make the switch to start my own company. I get to learn a lot. I’m a custom training and tech support person. I am often in a mixed environment with Macs and PCs and I come in there and help unify it all.
You are also an actor and a comedian, did having your own business help you?
Having my own business made it a lot easier to find the extra time to take on jobs that I might not have been able to take if I were working for another company. Often they’re independent film jobs or gigs where I had to go out of state. Actually, I’m in an independent film that’s coming out where I have a good scene with Eric Stoltz. It’s called “Fort McCoy” and please look for it in your theaters.
will send an invoice and a dolphin will swim the length of a 
