Jon S. Rennie is the Co-Founder, President & CEO of Peak Demand Inc., a premier manufacturer of distribution components for electrical utilities. He is a former U.S. Navy Nuclear Submarine Officer who made seven deployments during the end of the Cold War. Prior to starting Peak Demand, he led eight manufacturing businesses for three global companies with more 600 employees and $250M in sales. He is the author of the best-selling leadership book, “I Have the Watch: Becoming a Leader Worth Following” and is the host of the Deep Leadership podcast.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
Ed Schweitzer Founder of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
When business started difficulties overcame:
“when you work in a large corporation everything is sort of therefore you. The procedures are there, the lawyers are there, the accountants are there, experts are there. When you start a business you are blank slate, blank piece of paper, nothing. So, everything had to be developed from the ground up. And the other thing is you are working on a tight budget so you don’t have the money to get the best of the best in terms of software systems and whatever. So, we ended up having to do a lot of research to find what would work in our small business”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Book by Angela DuckworthFavourite Quote:
- “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late” Reid Hoffman
Also mentioned:
- “Don’t waste money on swag.” Mark Cuban
Recommended Online Resources:
- Bill.com – Intelligent Bill Payment Platform for Businesses. The intelligent business payments platform Bill com brings smart AP and AR automation and new payment capabilities to your business Use Bill com and harness intelligent technology to help streamline your payments process
- Handshake – The Handpicked Wholesale Marketplace
- Fishbowl – QuickBooks Inventory Management Software. Fishbowl, the 1 inventory management software for QuickBooks, offers multi location tracking, manufacturing, barcoding and more Also runs standalone for asset tracking
- Fishbowl – QuickBooks Inventory Management Software. Fishbowl, the 1 inventory management software for QuickBooks, offers multi location tracking, manufacturing, barcoding and more Also runs standalone for asset tracking
- Levitate, helps small and medium-sized businesses manage their professional relationships to take their business to the next level.
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“plan for the long haul. It’s going to take twice as much cash you think you need, is going to take twice as much time and it’s going to be two times more difficult… Get out there so your product. Make sure you have a viable product idea and make sure you can sell something. Plan for the long haul. Make sure you have enough runway – plenty of runway – you are going to need twice as much as you really think. Be frugal, became forward your resources. Don’t go crazy with the cash that you just got through funding or however you raised your cash. Take your time, be wise with your money. By the way it’s going to take Grit, is going to take long-term passion and perseverance to get to your goals”…[Listen for More]
More About Jon S. Rennie:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“Never mind what others do; do better than yourself, beat your own record from day to day, and you are a success.” William J. H. Boetcker
Other Quotes From the Chat with Jon S. Rennie:
- “Cash is king. That is probably the big thing. The amount of money you spend to start a company is going to be a lot more than you think and the time to get it done is going to be a lot longer than you think… Robbie one thing I would have done differently as be a lot more frugal in the early stages to be able to make sure that runway was extremely long”
- “as an entrepreneur you have to live into different worlds. One world is this optimistic hopeful, encouraging mindset that you put in front of your employees – and we are going to make it, we’ve got this order this is good, this is going to open up this territory. You have got to have a positive message and mindset for the people that are working for you. But the other side of it is you have to be realistic with what you are seeing – this product isn’t working, the margins are too tight, I don’t have any growth in this region of the country, this sales rep is not doing the job. So, you have to be sort of hopeful and realistic at the same time. And so, you have to have both of those mindsets in everything that you approach in business”
- “you want to start a company you have got to have passion for what you do and you better have perseverance through tough times that you are going to have”
- “I believe in the idea of moving fast and fixing along the way”
- “try and outsource and automate as much as you can”
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