Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with James Pogue, president and CEO of JP Enterprises, located in Dallas, TX, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
At JP Enterprises, we build inclusive leaders and teams from the inside out by utilizing our Inclusive Leadership Assessment, Executive Coaching, and customized online solutions to ensure leaders increase their ability to communicate and lead regardless of the diversity-related challenge in front of them. We have successfully worked with large multi-national publicly traded organizations and small associations and non-profits.
Our success is grounded in a few guiding principles. We will help you raise your Diversity Acumen (TM) - your ability to lead across the entirety of the diversity spectrum. We recognize the Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) space can be crowded and confusing; thus, we apply the straightforward DIBs Model(TM) that allows leaders to see clearly how each step in our Inclusive Leadership Assessment connects to the solutions we provide. We do not blame. We do ask you to take ownership. We will poke and guide and instigate, all in an effort to keep you "The RIGHT Kind of Uncomfortable." Change doesn't happen unless leaders drive it; sometimes, leaders just need a little help. That's JP Enterprises...a little help (well, sometimes a lot).
Tell us about yourself
I'm an academic, an intellectual, a nerd, an egghead, and quite proud of it. I am also compassionate, empathetic, and a work in progress. I have always been deeply concerned about who is being left out and why. Whether it is the young boy who is not picked for the team or the professional who feels shut out of a promotion opportunity. Beginning with college-going students, I wondered why some students graduated while others did not. Many of us know bright young people who were unsuccessful in college. Conversely, those whose academic and family resumes suggested they would not be successful yet flourished in the academic environment.
I wanted to know why. Invariably the reasons are one part individual, one part organizational, and one part environmental. My work is to help leaders in various industries see all three parts and develop the best possible solutions to help them drive the organizational changes they want to see. In today's marketplace, the words have shifted, but the challenge remains the same. How can organizations attract, recruit, retain, promote, and engage the best possible talent across the diversity spectrum? The solutions to labor challenges come from an organization's ability to develop a right now and a long-term set of deeply rooted initiatives driven from the highest possible level. I am certain that most people, most of the time, want to do the right thing for themselves, their teams, and their communities. Sometimes they just need a little help and guidance along the way. That's where JP Enterprises comes in. We help guide you towards a solution to your labor challenges. It won't be easy but accomplishing big things never is.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I have the privilege and responsibility of leading a team of bright and dedicated folks who want to do their part to make the world a better place. Each day I wake up driving towards this, and each day I go to bed exhausted, hoping that the people I lead are proud of the company we have built and the work we do. That's all I could ask for.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Decision-making is critical. Knowing when to change a decision or not can be extremely difficult. Here are a few examples. Pivoting from what you think is a great idea or initiative because smart people around you tell you it's the better thing to do. Similarly, staying the course when you have made a decision, supported by evidence that flies in the face of a critical component of your team's thinking. Lastly, making a call when 50% of your team wants to go left and 50% wants to go right.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
You must have a clear vision and pressure tested by other passionate, smart people who sometimes disagree with you. You need at least one mentor, and they need access to everything from finances, to personal, to organizational history. Continue to seek a balance between humility and confidence; it makes it easier to get up after you fail. Because getting up is one thing but how you approach the world when you do, matters a great deal.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Building a business often begins as a labor of love driven by passion and purpose. To be a successful entrepreneur, you must leverage blood, sweat, tears...and time. The last of these, time, is the most critical. Time away from other critical aspects of life, at times. You may miss family or a friend's events or not be fully present. But there is something inside you that drives, pushes, and requires that you do this work to develop this business and become successful.
This fire that is inside you can be called inspiration. Guard it with care. Because after the passion, purpose, and drive come the finances and planning and processes and procedures. These may not be as fun, but they are just as critical to 'winning.' Yes, you will have to wear multiple hats, and yes, some will not fit but keep driving. Ask for help but keep moving. Fall but keep going. Success is one great piece of advice, a great idea, commitment, drive, passion, and about 10,000 hours of work. The work is the easy part. Good luck!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.jamespogue.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesPoguePhD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamespoguephd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamesPoguePhD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjamespogue/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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