Jonathan Cor | Industry Feature

Tell us more about your company and your journey, what led you to this industry, and how you first get started building your business.

I grew up in a construction family and I watched my dad build his painting company. I worked for him during the summers in high school to pay for my school clothes. But if you look at my career, I was supposed to be a musician for the rest of my life. But everything changed in 2018. I was transitioning out of the music world to join the business world. Why? Because I always wanted to build my own business like my father.

Throughout my transition, I had a mentor (who was a construction business owner) help me make the transition. I eventually worked for this mentor as a marketer in his company. I was there for a few years but knew I would eventually venture off into my own business. In May of 2020, I decided to go full-time and start my own business. From there was a lot of learnings, ups and downs, and fear of the unknown. But now, I've built my social media marketing agency helping commercial contractors build their brand online. I'm working with both GCs and subs scattered throughout the states. If you want a more in-depth look into my story, you can watch it here.

If you could go back and do it over again from the beginning, what would you have done differently?

I'm not sure if I would've done anything differently because it's gotten me to where I'm at today. I think the only think I would say is the following: Don't play scared and Swing BIG.

What has been the biggest challenge that you faced and how did you overcome that?

The biggest challenge has been understanding how I want to go about building my business. I realized that I don't want the biggest business in the world. After many executive coaching sessions, I've learned that I love to create. I'm a creator at heart. So, anything that allows me to do more of that is what I want to do with my time.

What do you think are the most important qualities of a successful entrepreneur?

I wouldn't consider myself a "successful" entrepreneur but I'll share what I've learned from others who've done it for longer and better than I have: Be patient with results but impatient with action. Do everything you can to make your business growth a reality knowing it will take time to materialize. Also, humility and grace are important. Because you need the humility to admit you don't know it all and the grace to be okay with that.

What are some of the most important factors for running a successful business?

Have your processes in check. Your processes are what help you scale. Your processes are what keep you on track when you're tired. Your process are there to help remind you of the important aspects of running your business. It takes time to build processes, but they save you TONS of money and time down the road. Pay the price now for building your processes to reap the rewards now and into the future.

How do you feel the use of technology has helped the growth of your business?

I rely on technology SO much. I run a marketing agency so what I do revolves all around tech. I leverage as much as possible to make myself more efficient, fast, and quickly adapt.

What are some helpful tips for first-time and aspiring entrepreneurs in the industry?

Make sure that whatever product or service you offer is the best. If it is and YOU believe it, it will make sales and marketing EASY. If you aren't convinced, figure out why and make the necessary changes to build the confidence in yourself and your business to deliver the best product or service. It took me time to get here but once I did, my business began to grow more and more