Johnny Jones, who goes by Mr. JJ, is a serial entrepreneur and a poster child for turning your life around.
It was 1986, and he was living in Compton, California. One night, he and two friends carried out an armed robbery.
The act landed the teen a 12-year prison sentence.
Today, he is a veteran, retired police officer, and founder of four companies, including Forever Young Bath Body and Skincare.
Money Hacking Mama recently spoke with Mr. JJ about his inspirational journey, from facing 12 years in prison to forging a path as an entrepreneur.
Join or Die
“In Compton, where I was at, they tell you either hook up or book up,” he explains. Meaning, “If you don’t hook up with them [and join their gang], they’re going to gun you down.”
That was the only area his family could afford at the time. The other option was to move out of Compton, but they couldn’t afford to leave the projects, so he joined the gang.
“My mom didn’t have the money to move… it was what it was,” he says.
Unfortunately, situations like these are common. According to the US Department of Justice, “Many youth view gang membership as an inevitable part of life and believe there are no other options but to join a gang.”
4 years in the military or 12 years in prison
He was in the gang for about a year. They would send him on missions and tell him what to do, but eventually, he got caught during an armed robbery and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
At 17, while serving time in juvenile hall before he was old enough to be sent to prison, his counselor reviewed his file and informed him that he could join the military for 4 years instead of serving the full 12-year term in prison.
His peers in “juvy” told him he was weak if he went into the military, but he decided to go. At 17, he joined the Marines as a ward of the state and went to San Diego, California, for boot camp.
“[After boot camp], I was stationed in 29 Palms, California,” he says “I stayed there for two years, and then they sent me to Okinawa, Japan, and then I went back to 29 Palms.”
Choosing to stay in the military
He only had to stay in the military for 4 years, but he decided to reenlist multiple times. “If I do something, I’m going to do it to the fullest,” he says. “I wanted the retirement, and I wasn’t ready to get out. The highest they would let me go was E8, master sergeant.”
According to the official website of the United States Marines Corps, master sergeants provide “technical leadership as occupational specialists” and are responsible for the welfare, morale, discipline, and efficiency of Marines in their charge. As a master sergeant, Mr. JJ was responsible for 6,000 people.
Becoming a police officer
After the military, it was easy for Mr. JJ to find a law enforcement job, so that’s what he did. But after 5 years, he got burned out. “I didn’t want to deal with homelessness, domestic violence, robberies, and homicides,” he says. “That’s all my calls were.”
So one day, he gave his two weeks’ notice. Between the military and being a police officer, he had served 30 years in law enforcement and could collect a pension.
However, rather than relaxing and enjoying his hard-earned pension, he decided to go all in on becoming a serial entrepreneur by starting a business he had started while he was in the military.
A childhood passion come to life
In 2000, while still in the military, Mr. JJ started experimenting with making soap and other bath and body products. He started making them for himself and eventually started selling them at swap meets during his off time.
This passion and interest were born in childhood. “When I was a little kid, I used to always play with lotions and stuff and try to be a formulator,” he says. As an adult, he learned, listened, studied, and read everything he could about bath products.
He even traveled to Africa to continue learning about how to improve his products using natural ingredients.
His products are years of research come to life, and he hasn’t slowed down. “I sit back there all day long, I put stuff together, and I think,” he explains.
Choosing a business idea
When asked why he chose a soap company, he initially says, “I like smells,” but when pressed, he shares, “You have to read and see what people need. Put yourself in people’s shoes.”
Data backs up his natural ability to spot opportunities. According to Fortune Business Insights, the soap market is projected to be a $55.29 billion industry by 2027, with bath and body soaps accounting for 76% of the industry.
As a serial entrepreneur, he also owns a moving and junk-hauling business. He shares, “When I was in the military, we always moved around a lot, and people always have junk they want removed. I called a junk removal place, and they told me I had to wait two weeks to get on a list.”
He saw that there was high demand and low supply, so he jumped on the opportunity and took action by buying a truck and marketing his new business.
The habits of a serial entrepreneur
Mr. JJ has a lot going on between owning four businesses, having 100 employees, 4 children, and a beautiful wife, Junita. When asked about his habits, he shares, “I go to bed at about eight. I get up at two o’clock in the morning, and I make a little fruit drink. I drink that, and then I run 12 miles.” Then, he goes to the gym for three hours. Once that routine is done, he showers, gets dressed, and starts working.
Mr. JJ is a self-identifying extremist, but habits like these aren’t uncommon in successful entrepreneurs. According to Hatak and Zhou (2019), entrepreneurs’ mental and physical health is an important dimension of human capital that drives entrepreneurial success.
He’s also an avid reader. He reads all of the top business books. “I mainly look online to see who the top business people are and how they got started,” he says, “and I think, you know what, if they can do it, I can do it.”
Having grit
One of Mr. JJ’s biggest contracts is with Wal-Mart. It took him three years to get that deal. He says, “It’s not easy, but I’m an extremist, I don’t give up. If I put my mind to it, I’m gonna get it. Always been like that. And I’m gonna stay like that.”
Mr. JJ’s passion and perseverance for achieving long-term goals is a psychological concept known as grit. Grit comes from both nature and nurture, not one or the other.
While some people may be gritter than others, everyone can develop and improve their grit. A great way to start improving your grit is to take on tasks you know are challenging and push through even when things get hard.
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Want to learn more about developing confidence and achieving more without feeling overwhelmed? Check out my free webinar.
Dealing with challenges
Mr. JJ had a rough start in life, and things haven’t always been easy in business, either. “A lot of people told me I wasn’t going to be successful,” Mr. JJ explains.
Also, when he first leased his office, the neighboring businesses thought he was making bombs.
“There was a lot of chaos,” Mr. JJ explains.
He didn’t give up or get angry. Instead, he invited his neighbors in; he opened his doors and allowed them to see for themselves what he was doing.
He shares, “My life is a whole open door.”
Learn more:
Want to know if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Check out the optimizer quiz and find out.
Giving back
Now, he’s been a serial entrepreneur for 15 years. He has 100 employees, with 50% of his employees having criminal records and 5% being veterans. He also mentors many of his employees to help them start their own businesses. “Showing them the ropes,” he says, is one of the fondest memories he has from being a serial entrepreneur.
Additionally, he gives back to the community by sharing his story with at-risk youth.
“I like to put people to work,” he says. “I like to give back.”
