Jake Nelson is the founder and CEO of Nature’s Fury, an active NutriDrink that helps consumers achieve nutritional goals. A former three-sport high school athlete and firefighter, Jake worked in the beverage industry before developing Nature’s Fury to help him keep up his active lifestyle. Jake is passionate about health, wellness, and self-improvement.
What does your typical day look like, and how do you make it productive?
I wake up, get a healthy breakfast, and call my business partner. Then, I check in with my mentor and clear my head before I start to engage with the key members of our team.
I review the top 10 things I want to get accomplished for that day. I try to stay focused on getting those things accomplished. I usually take one to two walks for about 15 to 20 minutes a day to maintain perspective.
How do you bring ideas to life?
When we have an idea, we follow the same process: We identify how and if the idea can move our current business forward, we analyze what tools/skill sets we have internally to implement the idea, and, lastly, we ask how will we measure the success of the idea.
If we cannot get to a definitive answer for each step in the process, we put the idea in a parking lot and assign responsibility to a team member to bring the idea up again. Ideas are the lifeblood of an organization; however, if we are not disciplined in how we implement ideas, we run the risk of becoming an ADD company, just chasing ideas and not driving top-line growth.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
The health and wellness trend. Obviously, this trend positively affects our business, but that is not why I am excited. I believe that when I am healthy and I continually stay active, regardless of the type of activity, I am feeding my mind, my body, and, ultimately, my soul.
I continuously strive to become a better person that will contribute more. I believe we are in a very exciting time; technology is now allowing us to self-monitor our state of wellness.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
If I were to start again, honestly, I would surround myself with people who are smarter than I am earlier in the formation of my company and brand. I admit when I started my venture, I thought I could do it all myself.
However, I found out quickly after a few start and stops that relinquishing some control in the areas I’m not proficient in has allowed me to excel in the areas where I have the most strength. Because of that, the company has grown faster and become healthier by trusting others.
As an entrepreneur, what is one habit you have that you recommend everyone else do?
Find what works for you! The habits that work for me work because they fit with my personality and lifestyle.
I would never be so presumptuous to tell someone else what he or she needs to do, especially not understanding who he or she is. If I’m forced to give an answer, I would say, “Form the habit of staying true to your values.”
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
Learn and connect with others. In my business, the more people I meet, the more I learn and the more doors open. When I started to look at every social situation as an opportunity to learn from others and expand my personal and professional network, things started to click for us. Stay open, and always give more that you get. You will be amazed by the people who want to help you succeed.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I have had to overcome many failures. In fact, I fail every day — that is how I learn. I never want to stop learning, I hope to never stop succeeding, and I hope to never stop failing. I have learned that failure is part of my growing process, and I embrace it.
I believe that if we succeeded at everything we do, we’d never have any breakthrough ideas. The key to failure is to take the successes with the failures and build upon them.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I recently spent $100 on a headset for my phone. I spend a good amount of time on the phone and the headset allows me to walk around my office, down the hall to other offices, etc.
It allows me to be active while I am working. I recently contributed somewhere between $79 to $100 to an Indiegogo campaign for a product called HOVR. HOVR produces unconscious movements that promote healthier living while you’re sitting. I can’t endorse it yet because I haven’t tried the product, but the video was compelling enough for me to contribute to the campaign.
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