Throughout his 30+ year career, John has had success in multiple industries including retail, construction chemicals, automotive coatings, and franchising. With experience in global corporations and start-up enterprises, John draws from a breadth of experience ranging from research & development, marketing, and sales leadership, and has led teams in distribution, strategy, and national sales development.<\/p>\n
John is a graduate of Clarion University of PA and earned an MBA from Kennesaw State University. He is active in his community and enjoys serving others through his church, mentoring young men, going on mission trips, and is a personal coach in Kennesaw State University\u2019s Executive MBA program. Living in the North Georgia mountains, John enjoys spending time with family and friends while spoiling his only grandchild.<\/p>\n<\/div>
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My evolution into entrepreneurship might, by some, be described as a windy road. Indirect, confusing,\u00a0full of detours, or a roundabout way of fulfilling a dream. It\u2019s filled with lots of highs and lows, successes,\u00a0failures, lost jobs, and chance taking. Forging a path to entrepreneurship looks different for everyone, and\u00a0part of my mission is to share my experiences and learnings and help others along the way.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not going to go too deep into my personal background, that\u2019s for a private conversation around a good\u00a0meal and a cold beer. Let\u2019s just suffice it to say that I was an average kid, from a small town, who grew up\u00a0knowing how to pick myself up when I fell, brush off my scraped knees, and get back on the bike. My\u00a0parents taught me how to respect myself, look people in the eye, respect others, and be the kind of person\u00a0whose word means something and could be counted as fiercely loyal.<\/p>\n
I was, however, fiercely competitive. Excelling in sports, I loved (and still do) a good competition and\u00a0especially winning. Whatever challenge was thrown down, I would gladly accept. That trait, along with\u00a0how to be a team player, listen and learn from good coaches, and push through till it hurts, has proven\u00a0valuable life lessons that I\u2019ve taken into my professional career.<\/p>\n
When I graduated from college, it was in the middle of a recession, and no one was hiring. However, I\u00a0had my eyes on a company that I respected and wanted to be a part of regardless of what the economy\u00a0was telling me. I went to work as an assistant manager in a national retail store to make ends meet.\u00a0Together, my wife and I earned $18,000 a year! But I learned about hard work, long hours, scheduling,\u00a0managing a team, and inventory. Each time I was promoted at the store and moved to a new location, I\u00a0typed up a new resume on cream vellum paper along with a matching cover letter and mailed it to the\u00a0hiring manager at the company I wanted to work for most. Three years later I got a call, drove from\u00a0Pittsburgh to Cleveland for a day of interviews, and left with my dream job.<\/p>\n
By dream job I mean a product developer in the Research and Development group of a concrete chemical\u00a0company in Cleveland, OH. I was shoveling stone, sweeping floors, mixing concrete, honing my\u00a0analytical skills, and learning from very smart people. What did that have to do with my marketing\u00a0degree? Nothing. But everything. The foresight of the hiring director to, \u201cHire the right person and teach\u00a0them about the widget later,\u201d was brilliant. And something I do to this day. You can teach a person who is\u00a0open to learning about what you produce and sell. But you can\u2019t teach work ethic, loyalty, values, drive,\u00a0or coachability.<\/p>\n
Three years later I moved from Research and Development where my name is on four patents, to Product\u00a0Marketing and learned how to position and launch new products into a nationwide customer base.\u00a0Combining the technical knowledge with marketing experience set me up to move to a sales position. I\u2019d\u00a0never done sales, but I knew that for me to grow in my career I needed to step outside my comfort zone.\u00a0Well, I certainly did and moved to another region of the country, lost 90% of the current territory to the\u00a0outgoing sales guy who went to a competitor, and didn\u2019t know a soul. I was the new guy in town who\u00a0didn\u2019t have any relationships with clients, but I knew how to connect with people and how to ask\u00a0interesting questions to get people to talk about what they needed and how I could fill that need.<\/p>\n
I probably wasn\u2019t going to break into the old boys club with new products, but how about using the same\u00a0products in new ways, for new applications, that would help their business grow in ways they hadn\u2019t\u00a0thought of? Or sell to clients no one ever thought about before? In three years, the territory had not only\u00a0come back, but doubled and I was awarded national salesperson of the year. That competitive, creative,\u00a0never-give-up way of thinking I learned from sports served me well again.<\/p>\n
I did try the \u201cgrass is greener\u201d move once. I left the division after 15 years. Four months later, I was laid\u00a0off and found myself in a life transition, for lack of a better phrase. Thirteen months without a job, a lousy\u00a0economy, and not many prospects shook me to my core. I had never failed at anything, and I needed to be\u00a0knocked down a bit I suppose. Faith is a central part of my life, and it was being tested like never before. I\u00a0realized that I couldn\u2019t do everything by myself. My family, friends, and network showed me what it\u2019s\u00a0like to have to rely on others, lean on what I know to be true, and that I must allow others to pour into me\u00a0because I just don\u2019t have all the answers. Another life lesson that I continue to practice\u2026surround\u00a0yourself with good people.<\/p>\n
Eventually, I was able to go back into the same global chemical company but in a different division which\u00a0prepared me for the next chapter. In this new division (new widgets), I went into Division Management\u00a0where I led a team of over 40 people. Once again, I didn\u2019t know anything about automotive paint, but I\u00a0knew people, how to listen, develop strategy, and coach to execute. I later moved to a role where I\u00a0managed our largest distribution partners across the US and Canada.<\/p>\n
Twenty-four years with the same global company can teach you some stuff. It teaches you teamwork,\u00a0loyalty, navigating politics, how to build up and make a name for your team, networking, and the\u00a0importance of developing strong relationships at every level in as many areas as possible. You never\u00a0know what bridge you\u2019ll have to cross, people you\u2019ll run into, or experiences you\u2019ll be handed later. Treat\u00a0all of it well and you\u2019ll be treated well in return.<\/p>\n
But sometimes something comes out of left field that will make you scratch your head. And you just have\u00a0to follow your gut and take a chance. For me, I was approached at a two-day onsite client meeting and\u00a0asked, \u201cWhat\u2019s your story?\u201d Never one to shy away from a good beer during a rainstorm, I shared my\u00a0story and developed a new relationship with the client\u2019s Chief Development Officer.<\/p>\n
Six weeks later, I was moving to Charlotte as the new VP of Franchise Development for two iconic\u00a0national franchise brands that needed \u201ca boost.\u201d These two needed to be dusted off and reimagined.\u00a0Remember that first job, hire the right person and teach them the widget later? I had never been in the\u00a0franchising space, but was eager to learn, excited to be a part of a new story, and enjoyed this new\u00a0challenge.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, or fortunately, an unexpected downsize, led to another opportunity. This time with a\u00a0start-up franchise sales organization. Once again, a new opportunity to learn and grow a business. I\u2019d\u00a0always wanted to build something from the ground up and here it was. In 2 \u00bd years, with the help of some\u00a0very good people on my team, we went from 5 employees to 25. I had a really strong team that was\u00a0making an impact on people\u2019s lives and helping them to enter the world of entrepreneurship. The lessons\u00a0learned there have shaped the businesses I\u2019m part of today.<\/p>\n
After all of these experiences, side roads if you will, I found myself both mentally and financially ready to\u00a0take a giant leap of faith into my own entrepreneurship journey. As a result of some soul searching,\u00a0prayer, and good old fashioned courage, I launched my own businesses. New life-shaping widgets. I\u2019m\u00a0digging deeper, working harder, and maybe losing sleep from time to time. But I\u2019m energized, more\u00a0creative, and more passionate about my work than I\u2019ve been in awhile. For me, this windy path through\u00a0corporate America, franchising organizations, and now, my own business, makes perfect sense, and I am\u00a0exactly where I\u2019m meant to be.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m going to sound like \u201cthat guy\u201d now, and there are a few lessons to keep close:<\/p>\n
\n- Respect yourself, keep true to your values, respect others, keep your word, and stay loyal<\/li>\n
- Trust the process, continue learning, and be coachable.<\/li>\n
- Nothing is random. Each experience is useful and important.<\/li>\n
- The road to entrepreneurship, or anything, is rarely straight. It may look like one thing,\u00a0morph into another, then another, and then another\u2026 but it always leads to a destination\u00a0you never imagined.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
![\"John](\"https:\/\/theperfectfranchise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/johngradient-300x300.png\" "\\"John")
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