Aron Levinson

Aron is an accomplished startup to mid-cap executive with a proven Sales, Marketing, Operations, and turnarounds track record. Aron recently founded b goodly, all-inclusive corporate volunteer field trips in Los Angeles. He created a turnkey service, as easy as just getting on the bus, for co-workers to build meaningful relationships with each other while positively impacting the community and getting more people to volunteer more often.

Throughout his career, Aron brings authentic and invigorating leadership while developing high-performing teams. He is known for maximizing value creation across diversified industries through revenue generation, M&A, organic growth, and accelerated profitability.

Aron holds a Bachelor’s in Journalism and a Minor in Spanish from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Additionally, Aron studied Spanish and lived with host families in Cuernavaca and Guadalajara, Mexico.

Aron resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Dr. Christine Levinson; they have two children: a freshman in college and a high school senior. He enjoys playing baseball and golf, humanitarian efforts in Cuba, serving on the Board of Directors for Creamos, a non-profit in Guatemala, guest lecturing at San Diego State University, mentoring college students in career path development, speaking Spanish, and positively impacting the world.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

I’m up at 7:20 am, and press start on the coffee maker (always prepped the night before), say good morning to our toy poodle, Ruby Churro, and head out to the back patio to welcome the new day. I tend to sit, take a few deep breaths, and read non-fiction for 30 minutes before I jump into my day, which includes planning upcoming corporate volunteer field trips, outbound sales, exploring new places for group volunteering, website tweaks, and an afternoon walk and talk with my wife. I tend to make lists, follow up on outbound emails that haven’t been responded to within the past five days, and try to meet someone new a few times per week.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I’m methodical and tackle it like I’m building a puzzle. I genuinely enjoy talking to people who could see value or poke holes in the idea. I’ll speak with a diverse group, take notes, look for trends in the feedback, ask for referrals to continue learning, and build the strategy to bring that idea to life.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I find the growing number of golf swings not happening on a golf course exciting and interesting. The indoor simulator space, like GolfShac, and golf entertainment, like TopGolf, have value for all sorts of folx looking to improve their game, play when the weather isn’t cooperating, have fun with friends and co-workers, or get granular in the data from launch monitors like Foresight Sports or Trackman.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

Sleep. A good night’s sleep of 7 to 8 hours makes me feel refreshed, motivated, positive, and ready to take on the day. I used to supplement my lack of sleep with caffeine, and it didn’t create the calmness or creativity I needed to remain productive during the day.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Be kind to myself. In my 20s and 30s, I was my worst critic and put immense pressure on myself to perform at home and work. I over-delivered and never let anyone down. I was enough.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.

Playing baseball (as a visitor) at San Quentin State Prison is a good idea. I took a baseball team inside San Quentin State Prison for ten years to play a weekend doubleheader. It was competitive, humbling, and rewarding for guys on both sides of the diamond.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

I genuinely connect with new people each week, offering to help and get advice, information, and a referral if willing, and I earned their trust.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

I go for bike rides along the beach, head to the golf driving range to work on my game, chip, and putt, or do something creative like writing or shooting a video for my golf Instagram, @bogey2putt.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

Genuinely caring about the team’s personal and career success while focused on achieving agreed-upon goals and objectives.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

At 30, I was a first-time sales manager and was deservingly fired. I hired a career coach and did the work to understand where I went wrong, what motivated me, what triggered my frustrations, and how to handle difficult situations. The biggest lesson was not finding a mentor when I hit the wall. At that time, I was a professionally trained salesperson but didn’t have the tools to succeed in sales management. I was vulnerable and did the work.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Remember that MTV show “Pimp My Ride” with Xzibit? Take an old ice cream truck and allow a talented team to restore and customize it, making it an attention grabber at parks, schools, public pools, etc. Eye-catching, Tik Tok viral-ness, and the best ice cream in town. De nada. 🙂

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

Trello has become my new best friend. It helps me see a dashboard of things to do, capture conversations, and prioritize. The best part is dragging accomplished tasks to the “done” column.

What is the best $100 you recently spent?

I took my ten-year-old nephew, Ryan, on his first commercial flight from LAX to LAS. He loves airplanes, plays simulators, and wants to be a pilot. He sat by the wing to see and hear the engine fire up, watched the wing operate, and listened to the landing gear go up and down. After we landed, he spent 20 minutes in the cockpit, getting a tour from the pilot and flipping switches. I loved seeing his excitement and his dreams come true. He could have cared less about being in the Admiral’s Club with all the snacks, and at one point, he left the club to see the planes on the runway.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?

Brian Grazer’s, A Curious Mind. Brian’s storytelling, curiosity, hustle, and practicality resonated and motivated me. By politely asking and being persistent, he’s interviewed some of the best minds in the world. He’s encouraged me to do the same with people inside and outside my network.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

La Casa del Papel (Money Heist) on Netflix is about eight criminals, led by a mastermind, who orchestrates a heist at the Royal Mint of Spain. They take hostages and secure themselves within the mint’s walls while manipulating law enforcement to execute their plan. Talk about drama and film-quality action with surprises around every corner.

Key learnings:

• Take time to develop ideas, talking to people smarter and more experienced than you, and those ideas will come to fruition.
• Failure is a strong word that cuts deep unless you reframe it, as it’s only a failure if you don’t learn from it.
• Vulnerable storytelling is empowering, and if it influences just one person to create positive change in their life or society, it is worth it.
• Some think golf is a waste of land and water, and now realize it’s essential to mental and physical health.
• Becoming a regular reader allows you to be inspired by others, add value to yourself and others, and be a good role model to your children.