One Question: How Do You Want to Spend Your Day‪?‬ Class E Podcast

There are important questions we must all ask ourselves. One major question is, “How do I want to spend my day?” In this episode of the Class E Podcast, we talked to Jason Richards '01, the Global Business Director and shareholder of the commercial real estate property management firm, NAI Earle Furman. Richards discusses how his involvement with non-profits led to him to where he is today.  He shares why it's key for entrepreneurs to listen and reflect, and the importance of passion in a career or venture.
Guest: Jason Richards
Host: Mary Sturgill
Producer: Isabella Martinez
Transcript:
MARY: Hi there, everyone. Welcome to this episode of the Class E Podcast. I'm your host, Mary Sturgill. This is the podcast that is brought to you through a partnership between the Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and the Communication Studies Department here at Furman University. And we're so happy to have you with us today. We have a very special guest, Jason Richards is not only a Furman alumni, you… I believe serve on the Board of Trustees. He's on the board of trustees, and he is the Global Business Director and shareholder of the commercial real estate property management firm NAI Earle Furman. That's a mouthful Jason.
 JASON: It is. It doesn't roll off the tongue very easily.
 MARY: No, it doesn’t. I was like alliteration there. No, not at all. Well, welcome to the show.
 JASON: Thank you. It's an honor.
 MARY: So I wanted to have you on because I love your background and you were a political science major here at Furman back in the day when you graduated.
 JASON: Back in the day.
 MARY: Back in the day. And then you went to Duke and got a certificate. Tell us about that certificate.
 JASON: So yes. When I finished Furman, I moved up in Durham and I was working with Habitat for Humanity. I was not building houses. I'm not remotely handy, but I was on the administrative side of the office and Duke, I think they still do have a certificate program in nonprofit management, and I took that. It was probably about a six-month course. It was great, it's a great background, even for small businesses frankly.
 MARY: Yeah, that's what I was going to talk… so talk a little bit about because I believe, just looking at your background, I would think that that would lead you into the small business part. But before we jump into that, though, I want to talk about the nonprofit sector because I think it's so important. I worked for Habitat for Humanity too for a while. You guys are not gonna believe this. I was the construction project coordinator for Habitat for Humanity in Hickory, North Carolina…
 JASON: Okay.
 MARY: …for about a year. I did all of their PR stuff. And then I did all the ordering for the projects and all that stuff. It was a lot of fun.
 JASON: I visited a job site once to work and was not invited.
 MARY: They didn’t give you the build and a hammer?
JASON: They did not. I think they spent more time fixing my mistakes that I spent trying to help.
 MARY: There were a few volunteers like that I would say.
 JASON: Know your limitations.
 MARY: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And accept them. So let's talk about your role in the nonprofit world.
 JASON: Sure.
 MARY: What kinds of things did you do and did you learn that help you now?
 JASON: Well, you know, so when I finished that program, I moved back to Greenville in 2003. And so my wife and I met at Furman. We’re one of those couples, and she finished graduate school. We got married and moved to Greenville and I started working in nonprofits here. And so I worked for two different nonprofits, and a nonprofit’s a small business…
 MARY: Absolutely.
 JASON: And really, I'm so thankful from that point early in my career, because working in the nonprofit…that you have to be hands on in every aspect of the operation. And so I learned, I think a lot more than many of our counterparts that went more traditiona