Persistence. There are a number of ways to bring an idea to fruition, but it all has to do with being persistent and maintaining great resolve.
Jason Levesque founded Argo Marketing Group in 2003 after 8 successful years in the U.S. Army as an Infantryman and Drill Sergeant. With his entrepreneurial spirit, a lot of hard work that challenged his sanity, and a vision to fulfill the growing need for third-party call center management, Jason built Argo Marketing into a full-service customer engagement center with three Maine-based locations and over four hundred employees. He attributes much of his success to his team. Jason has garnered a reputation as a businessman of high integrity and professional ethics, earning him the respect of leaders across multiple industries and sectors, both private and public. Politically astute and active in local politics, Jason was elected to be the Republican nominee for Congress for Maine’s second Congressional District in 2010. He maintains close relationships with officials on the local, state, and federal level and regularly visits Capitol Hill where he advocates for the interests of our industry. As a veteran, Jason is also committed to veteran affairs and giving back to the local community. When he’s not at the office, Jason enjoys aggravating his wife Tracey and spending time with his three children.
Where did the idea for Argo Marketing come from?
I was working inside of a call center and after a few years of talking to clients, I realized marketers required an advocate. They needed help navigating the myriad issues plaguing contact centers instead of muddling through themselves.
What does your typical day look like?
I’m up at 6:00am and out the door by 7:30am. I have breakfast with the normal crew of lawyers and locals at the nearby dive, and then continue with meetings at the office at 9:00am. The rest of the day I catch up on e-mails and phone calls, walk the call center floors, look at financial reviews (I’m hyper-focused on numbers), and talk with clients. Somewhere in there I try to squeeze in a nap.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Persistence. There are a number of ways to bring an idea to fruition, but it all has to do with being persistent and maintaining great resolve.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
The rush to bring contact centers and customer service in general back to the United States from offshores is exciting. We’ve always been proud to operate domestic-based contact centers.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I give myself time to think and daydream every day. This is where key ideas come from.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
I would have to say rebuilding commercial swimming pools was the worst job I’ve ever had. I did learn from it though: something might look like a piece of crap, but if you jackhammer it long enough it’ll eventually look nice.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
I’m very happy with the progress we’ve made in the big picture. There are a thousand little things I would’ve handled differently of course. Hindsight is 20/20.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Think big thoughts.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
Not being afraid and taking risks has helped me grow my business. I live by the motto go big or go home. I hope that will appear on my tombstone.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
When I ran for congress, I didn’t run my political campaign like I did my business. I didn’t go with my gut instincts and instead took my advisors’ advice, which ultimately failed. To overcome it, I licked wounds and got back to work.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Gutter cleaning. A lot of areas are completely devoid of any company that cleans gutters and there’s potential for a lot of revenue there.
Tell us something about you that very few people know.
Speaking of gutter cleaning…I’m afraid of heights!
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
Salesforce because I can manage the business from anywhere in the country, and Quickbooks because it’s all about the numbers.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Dangerous Book for Boys. It makes you realize that the little things in life, like building paper airplanes and learning how to build a tree house, brings joy to one’s life.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
Ronald Regan because he could communicate across boundaries. He articulated concepts to folks regardless of their thought process or pre-existing mindset.
Connect:
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Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.