Calvin Mills Jr. was recently awarded the National Small Business Association’s 2019 Lewis Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year award. Along with operating two businesses, Mills is board chairman of the Research Park Corporation. The award annually honors small business owners who go above and beyond to advocate for policies to improve America’s small business community.
Business Report recently talked with Mills about his work for the Executive Spotlight Q&A. Read the full Q&A with Mills, here’s a sample of what you’ll find:
In your book, “No Secrets to Elevation: An Entrepreneur’s Story of Persistence,” you say: “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. Never fear failing at something because there’s something you have to learn.” What are some of the greatest challenges and failures you’ve had in business and life, and what are the greatest lessons you’ve learned from them?
“The greatest challenge I’ve faced has been building and growing my companies without the help of banks. I’ve been told “no” so many times that I’ve learned to become my own bank and just take it one customer at a time. The greatest failure I’ve had was being at the top of my industry and not preparing for downtimes, only to lose everything during the great recession and moving into my office and sleeping on an air mattress for over a year and a half. The greatest lesson has been to never give up and believe in myself. Realizing that I was the only obstacle in the way of my success—and never losing faith in God!”
