The traditional Jewish headgear – the yarmulke – led Jon Kaweblum to The Profit Recipe.
I’ve had quite a journey to becoming an E-volution Community Activator. It all started when I was working as an architect and coaching varsity basketball at a Jewish high school in Boca Raton. The boys wore yarmulkes during games, but the clips they used to secure them were considered dangerous. So, I came up with the idea for yarmulkes with built-in clips and started my own business selling them.
At first, I ran the business on the side while still working as an architect. However, after growing the business and securing Major League Baseball and NBA licensing deals, I realized that I needed to focus on my business full-time. So, I took a leap of faith and quit my architecture job to pursue entrepreneurship.
However, being an entrepreneur without a formal business background presented its challenges. I often felt like I was playing catch-up and making decisions reactively rather than proactively. That’s when I decided to seek guidance from other entrepreneurs through networking events and organizations like EO.
Lessons learned
One of the most valuable lessons I learned was about having clear core values in your business. Implementing this concept completely transformed our team and had the most amazing effect on my business.
When someone does something, we always call out the core value they used, and every week in our meetings, we reward and call out headlines based on them. It’s positive psychology. By reinforcing our core values and recognizing employees who embodied them, we created a positive work culture where collaboration replaced infighting.
The importance of EOS
EOS is important for every entrepreneur because you have to learn on the job. It’s been hard, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. If you don’t have a business background and you didn’t come in contact with EOS early on, you’re just shooting from the hip.
Before EOS, I always felt I was playing from behind, not knowing exactly what my lane was and having no clear definition of where we wanted to go as a company, when to say no, etc. Those were all foreign concepts to me. There was a lack of clarity on where we were going, who we were, and how we would get there.
The decision to become a Coach
I was at a network Profit Recipe event and was just talking to the guys. They were saying, “You love doing this.” I love coaching, and this (being an activator) is something much more meaningful than basketball. I can do it, and it’s something I’ve had experience with, and it’s something that I know and believe.
My positive experiences with EOS led me to become a coach. Helping other entrepreneurs align their goals, clarify their vision, and improve their processes became more meaningful to me than coaching basketball or any other personal pursuits.
With EOS I can genuinely help people going through the same issues I went through. And we give real value. And it’s not just helping businesses. It’s helping non-profits because they could be so much more efficient and serve their stakeholders better if they were just better at their processes, systems and accountability.
Going forward, my goal is to help change the world one business at a time by focusing on non-profit organizations that could benefit from better management practices. Non-profits often struggle with accountability and efficiency due to different budgetary constraints than for-profit businesses. By improving processes within non-profits, we can enhance their operations and better serve stakeholders.
New Role as an E-volution Community Activator
Recently, I took on a new role as an E-volution Community Activator. In this role, I have the opportunity to connect with TPR clients who have already started implementing EOS and share my own experiences to help them advance their journeys from theoretical understanding to real-world practical implementation. This position allows me to address specific, micro-level issues that arise during EOS implementation, providing a different perspective than from the client’s own EOS implementer.
As an Activator, I concentrate on teaching Integrator Roundtables within the E-volution community. Being a visionary and still running my own business gives me a unique perspective, especially regarding the critical visionary/integrator relationship that is key to a company’s success. This nuanced understanding is highly valued by new integrators in the community.
Through this role, I aim to continue empowering as many companies as possible by focusing on strengthening the people that make up those companies. My motivation is rooted in helping individuals become the best version of themselves and operate as effectively as they can.
Overall, my journey showcases how passion for entrepreneurship combined with continuous learning can lead to personal growth and professional success. My commitment to EOS is driven by my desire to positively impact the business world and help others achieve their goals.
