Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Perez.
Hi Joseph, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story began as an overseas student in Bavaria, Germany. I am not sure how to describe it, but I was always drawn to business. At the age of six, I would go to each of my neighbor’s houses and offer to take out the trash and recycle to the common receptacle area down the street for .50 cents.
I would go to every door, even if I didn’t speak the same language. As I got older, I found more ways that I could earn and did some of the same things in college until I graduated from my undergraduate degree and became an active duty soldier, a second lieutenant, in the United States Army.
The Army brought me to a lot of incredible places (roughly 40 countries) and taught me a lot about different cultures and the importance of respecting these values and traditions. This truly taught me about understanding others’ values which transitioned into business well. You’re not going to sell sand in the desert but if you provide something unique that can give people value, for example, ice cold water in the desert, candy and snacks that aren’t available, and understand what people like and care about, you can get a better idea of what services to offer.
When I was working 7 days a week in Germany, I worked for a 1-star general and briefed the senior European Commander weekly. I had to understand each person’s priorities and values to know what was most important to brief in those sessions. When I was working every day overseas in Afghanistan with Afghan Commandos, and Afghan Police, and defending voting centers for citizens to vote in the first democratic election for the country, I had to understand their policies and regulations to ensure I could be an asset and how to best employ and provide tactical support.
When I was overseas in Korea during the North Korean Peace Talks, I worked as a delegate to the South Korean Army, this was of the utmost importance to ensure the United States and South Korean Army (Republic of Korea / ROK) were in a peaceful and diplomatic relationship.
In business, it’s not as different as many people will think. Understanding what people want (today, convenience, affordability, value) will greatly help in business. While I’m not working in diplomatic relations, I still have to understand what people want. If it’s coffee, I should provide a good location, a drive-thru, and value coffee to keep customers coming back.
If I have the best cup of coffee in the world but it’s five miles from the freeway, most people will not go out of their way because there is a lack of convenience there. These principles helped me how to understand business and led me to write my first published book (Angels in Afghanistan) and my first invention (Warm Hands). I also learned a lot while being in school and studying the academics of business.
I earned my MBA (Grand Canyon University) in 2017 and just completed my doctorate from Liberty School of Business in September 2022. Conducting field research, analysis, and academic application to business principles has significantly increased my understanding of business. My primary focus now is to use my book and invention and find the right target audience to help as many people as I can, every day learning and working to grow.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest struggle was working to understand what documents were needed, starting and getting a business account set up, and the proper documentation to be legally able to operate as an LLC. Eventually, I hired an accountant who worked through all of this with me and I’m about to open another LLC account for book sales to ensure I’m not co-mingling funds.
I wanted to start a small business earlier but in the military, you have to get permission to have another job or another business, and starting a business was something I knew I had to do outside of the military. The biggest help was seeking out mentors, talking to business owners, and learning as much as I possibly could. I have worked with the Chamber of Commerce and gone out to support local business owners just to see how I could help and ask them for advice. Everyone has been incredibly supportive.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I think what sets me apart from others is my dynamic background and Christian values. Growing up in Germany I had a very different perspective on culture and love that there are a million different ways to approach one problem. Someone from Spain, Argentina, Greece, or another country may all be presented with the same issue and solve it completely differently, and no answer is wrong.
That has taught me to be objective and look for others’ input which has helped me along the way. A lot of people have noted that this helped because instead of me having to learn things the hard way I present to people my plans or thoughts and they can give their insight to avoid making the same mistake twice.
Being active duty military funnily enough taught me to respect and treat people the best possible; primarily because I was treated so poorly. I always worked very hard and I believe this caused a lot of jealousy. I never worked for ribbons or attention but a lot of other people would try to put me down publicly and would get very upset if I beat them in training events or received more nominations for awards.
I never worked for awards or decorations and to this day wouldn’t wear an award unless my commander mandated it. This was always a reminder to treat everyone with the utmost respect and showed me that the ones that are treating others badly are truly the ones with the problem.
Once I was out of the military, this pushed me to chase my dream, and that is when I opened my LLC (real estate management), wrote my first book, and patented my first invention. I’m now working on translating my book into Spanish and turning the book into a screenplay/movie script. I just completed my doctorate as well and planning for vacation soon, Lord willing!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Always follow your dreams. I have been down to my last dollar and that’s when I truly prioritized everything and began to chase it. Don’t worry about what others say, follow your dreams, anything is possible!
Pricing:
- Kindle – $6
- Paperback – $11
- Audiobook – Various Prices
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amazon.com/Angels-Afghanistan-Joseph-Perez-Jr-ebook/dp/B0B241TQKR
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jocolorado_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joey.perez.167/
