Today, we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Harris.
Hi Jonathan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Entrepreneurship has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. One of my favorite childhood memories was my grandfather taking me to black craft fairs every year to find Christmas gifts for my parents. He wanted me to see that black people could forge their own paths and become entrepreneurs. My mom and grandmother both were vendors at craft shows. My mom designed some amazing things, including earrings made with Scrabble letters and feather earrings, which were a big hit.
My dad ran a car wash business and even employed young men in the neighborhood to give them extra opportunities to earn money. My first-time practicing business came at nine years old when I was appointed as the manager of my elementary school store. Every day, I would get to school earlier than the other students and have all of the supplies set up to be sold. Although I was appointed by the school, I truly took a liking to my responsibility. I would even design flyers in my spare time to market the school store. It was nice to know that you could bring ideas to a business structure and make it even better. Looking back, it is cool that students who needed school supplies could purchase them cheaply from the school.
Since my childhood, I have always loved dreaming big. I remember teachers and family members who felt I was too ambitious. As a kid, nothing felt out of reach for me. If I wanted it, I went after it. That mindset awarded me many great opportunities, including being the weatherman for a day on Fox 5 DC News when I was ten years old.
As an entrepreneur today, I know that my big ideas are going to help improve society. However, in full transparency, I was not always sure what my true calling was. I had an idea of things that interested me, but I went through multiple phases of my thought process, which unfortunately slowed me down. Firstly, I worried about how my passions sounded to others. Oftentimes, if what I shared did not make sense to others, I started questioning it myself. Secondly, I focused on what was profitable. It is no secret that some industries pay better than others, but the truth is that all professions are profitable if you are good at what you do.
What really changed things for me was when I trusted God and wrote my first book. I completely had no idea how to write a book; I just had a desire to help my community. I wrote my first book “Master of Ceremonies: A Male’s Guide for a Successful Life” because I saw how many young men could benefit from some male guidance. My background was not in writing, and I had never run a business before from scratch. However, I put my trust in the Lord that He would help me figure it all out. Before I knew it, nine months later, I had a published book in my hands, and I was officially an entrepreneur.
Through publishing a book, I truly learned about business planning, marketing, public speaking, website design, contract writing, video editing, and so many more skills. Through the high moments like giving a TEDx talk, winning a 40 under 40 Award, being featured on television, and even reading my books at Chick-fil-A and Tropical Smoothie Cafe, I watched how my confidence grew in my craft. Through the low moments, like having opportunities fall apart, including being ghosted by a radio show host when I was supposed to go on a radio show, I got to learn how resilient I was.
I got to where I am today because I never lost sight of who I was and what I wanted. I never felt like I needed to sell my soul for any form of career advancement. I want to be someone that young kids can be proud of and also someone older people could use as a point of reference to motivate their kids. My heart has always been in service, not getting rich. Money is a byproduct of being good at what you do and telling that story well. My primary focus has always been and always will be helping others.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It is easy to stand before you and share that I am a multi-time award-winning published author. It is easy to share that I have given a TEDx talk and worked with big brands like Chick-Fil-A and Tropical Smoothie Café. It is very easy to tell you as a speaker, I have spoken in many states, including Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, New Jersey, New York, and more. What is not as easy to admit are the struggles along the way.
What many people will not talk to you about are the mental hurdles you go through chasing a goal. As an author, I constantly toss around the idea that my books could be better. That may cause you to delay the release of a project sometimes by years because you are continuously adding and adding to your book. Sometimes when you see a review that someone did not enjoy your book, it can hurt your ego. You spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours creating a book, and then someone tells you that it is not good. That can sting even the most experienced of writers.
Speaking of mental hurdles, you have to sometimes withstand hearing the opinions of others close to you. It can be difficult when people want to know when you are going to “get a real job” because some people do not see entrepreneurship as a long-term good thing for you. Those opinions can become even louder during slower seasons in business. You will notice a lot of people will be around you when you are up, but sometimes you may find yourself on the ground alone when things are not so great.
The biggest of all of the mental hurdles in entrepreneurship is staying committed to your plan. There are times when you may get new ideas while you are working on other things. Do you change directions or stay focused on what you are doing right now? Are you being complacent if you do not make adjustments? Are you missing out on money by not going about things in a certain way? Are you being lazy for taking breaks or when you decide to rest versus staying up until 5 a.m. working?
These are real questions that entrepreneurs ask themselves. I remember writing my first book, which is for teenage males, and there were many people who thought my book would have been a great co-ed book. Here, I am proud of my first book, but at the same time, I feel like I missed out on a major opportunity since my book’s target audience was teenage males as opposed to boys and girls.
How I overcame these mental hurdles was to step aside and let God take control of my pathway. Too often, we live based on how we feel. I have surrendered my personal goals in place of the calling God has for me. If it is His idea, how can I fail? I also stopped using people’s opinions for my validation. You will never please 100% of the people 100% of the time so it is a losing battle to try. My rule of thumb is that if what you are doing is not hurting anybody or yourself and you find purpose in doing it, then it is worth a try.
Your mind is the scariest muscle because it has the ability to destroy your entire future before it even happens. Do not let it play tricks on you. You are smart enough. You are capable of figuring it out. You are deserving of great opportunities. You are worthy.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about AuthorJon, JHarris Publishing, B n H Vending, and Million Paths Foundation?
I am the proudest to see eight years in a very tough industry as an entrepreneur. They say many businesses do not see five years so to be in year eight and feel like I am just getting started is a true blessing. My first love will always be speaking. I am proud to have spoken in so many various beautiful parts of the United States.
I love talking about the power of your brand with the goal that my audience will take their reputation more seriously. I often tell the story of how current blessings came from old relationships that I managed well over time. Probably the most fun I ever had during a speaking engagement was when I got to present for the first time on self-care. After losing over 100 pounds, it was an honor to be seen as someone who could offer guidance on taking care of yourself.
I will never forget that experience because the speaking engagement was actually at a rehabilitation facility. It was probably one of my most humbling experiences because speaking at a rehabilitation facility will truly change your understanding of addiction. Many times, when we watch television shows and movies, the media portrays people with an addiction to have a certain look that represents them not taking care of themselves. In reality, many of the people I spoke to looked well-groomed, were very articulate, and were even in a good place financially. There were people of all ages, races, genders, religions, and mobility statuses in the facility. I was extremely nervous because I had never been in a rehabilitation center, so I was worried about not being able to relate to their medical challenge but after breaking the ice and sharing my challenges losing 100 pounds, we were connected. I got great reviews from the audience and that encouraged me to speak more about weight loss/self-care.
One of my speaker goals is to visit some states I have always wanted to see, including Tennessee, Illinois, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, and Hawaii. Eventually, I will be able to say I have spoken in all 50 states. At the same time, I want to take the AuthorJon brand globally so there are some international places I want to speak at including Italy, China, South Africa, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and more.
When I am not preparing for speaking engagements, I enjoy being a business and success coach. The main areas where I provide coaching are as an author and as the co-owner of a vending machine company, B n’ H Vending. After being in the vending machine industry for a few years, my cousin and I help people start their own vending business within 30 days. Vending machines have opened a lot of doors for us so now we are ready to pay it forward to others.
Additionally, I love writing books, so it is an honor to help others create their books. I often say the three best decisions I made in my 20s were getting my prayer life in order, losing over 100 pounds, and writing a book. It truly set me up for success, so I want others to experience the same joy. The biggest thing I cover is confidence. If you do not speak about your book in a way that is interesting, why would anyone buy it? If you do not talk about yourself in a way that expands the conversation, how do you expect to get opportunities? I am proud to share that not only are my clients proud of their books, but some have won awards and have reached best-seller status.
Another love has always been community service. Simply put, I come from a giving family. I took my love for helping and started my own non-profit, Million Paths Foundation, which has gone on to be nominated for an award in under two years of existence. We always just helped. I never saw it as a chore or even an obligation. It is a privilege to even have something to share with others and I thank God for that. There are places always in the world where access to clean water does not exist. Growing up and having so many blessings around me is something I never take for granted.
What sets me apart in all of my business endeavors is that I always look for what is missing in the world, not what the world already has. I remember being a kid and for black history month, researching historical figures that did not get as much recognition. If we had to do a black history month presentation, I spoke about someone like Garrett A. Morgan, who invented the three-light traffic light. Growing up in the 1990s /early 2000s, most people did their black history month reports on pioneers like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Madam C.J. Walker, and Jackie Robinson, who all have earned their place in history as pioneers for positive change.
However, black history was not built on the backs of just those five pioneers I named. I always wanted to know more than just what was directly in front of me. I never wanted to recreate what had been done 1,000 times prior. That desire to always carve my own lane has created some challenges and blessings all at the same time. One of the major blessings is that I have been the inaugural person in some amazing roles including the first-ever Mr. Maryland U.S. United as well as the first-ever Residential Academic Success Coach at my previous job. It was great to make history and leave a trail for someone else to follow one day. It was also wonderful not having a predecessor in some of the things I did so there was no expectation I had to live up to.
The downside to creating your own lane however is that digging out a path to walk in is much harder than following someone else’s. Many times, you are building the plane as you fly it and there is a lot of figuring it out. I am not an envious person by nature, but I often tell my mentees “I wish I had a Jonathan to call the way y’all can call me.” Being the first person among your friends or your family to do something comes with a lot of bumps along the way including extra money, time, mental energy, and even having to scrap certain projects if something has a dead end to it.
Through the high and low moments, I am grateful because it has made me who I am today. I have been blessed to have won over 100 awards in my life before I was 35 years old and I attribute that to an amazing God who makes a way for me every time, a loving family who has done their best to instill a good value system, friends that support me along the way, and an inner fire that pushes me to keep going even when I want to stop.
I am just getting started.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
To my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, thank you for giving me an amazing platform to serve You through my calling and use my message to bring others closer to You.
To my family and mentors, thank you for showing me the way.
To my mentees, students, and younger relatives, thank you for giving me the motivation to keep going.
To my friends, thank you for your listening ears and your supportive hands.
Pricing:
- “Master of Ceremonies” Book- $16
- “Growing Gents” Book- $10
- “Girls With Pearls” Book- $10
- Author Book Coaching- $75 Per Session
- Vending Machine Business Coaching- $97 Per Session
Contact Info:
- Website: www.authorjon.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/authorjon
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorjon
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jonathancharris/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorjon
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MisterJonathanHarris
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@authorjon
Image Credits
Julia Gafney, Hannah Massey, James Baskerville, Tabitha Duncan, and Lamar McMillan
