Failure is just part of the process, so I’ve always viewed a setback as an opportunity to learn and grow.
A specialist in mechanical engineering and online business, Mr. Vander Griendt has made J – CAD Inc. an industry leader with a reputation for delivering high-quality work within a brief timeframe.
Where did the idea for J – CAD Inc. come from?
J – CAD Inc. was getting some inquires for 3D renderings as we design products and people needed product renderings for their websites and crowdfunding pages etc. J – CAD Inc. had 3D renderings as a keyword on the site and architectural clients were finding us. I realized that there was a large opportunity to branch this off and make it a separate company and Render3DQuickly Inc. was born.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
Lately I’ve been travelling a lot, visiting 22 countries in the last month so my day involves doing what I need to do before North American business hours. I’ll wake up wherever I am, check emails that came in while I was sleeping and respond. Then do some exploring in the city I’m in or go to the next city, meet up with people I might know in that city and enjoy the day until around 3-4pm local to me which is 9-10am in NYC. Currently I’m typing in a villa I rented for a few weeks at the top of a mountain in Lake Como, Italy. I can see the Swiss Alps on the horizon and the Italian country side in front of me from this terrace. I really like online business for this reason. I can work anywhere!
How do you bring ideas to life?
I’m always thinking of different ways to do things or new business ideas. The best way to bring them to life is to bounce them off of other smart people that understand that they cannot hurt your feelings by saying this is a bad idea. I surround myself with smart people that I can call up and say “hey I have this idea just now, what do you think about….” And let them pick it apart. They will tell me all of the reasons it won’t work or will work and then I can decide better if it’s something to pursue further. If I feel it’s a good idea I’ll test it. Whether it’s a new way to write a quote email or new website idea I’ll quickly build it out and see what happens. You can usually tell immediately if it’s a good idea or not. Testing it is key.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
Virtual Reality is in the very early stages as an industry and I don’t think people realize the full potential of it yet. I describe it to clients this way: in the past, before computers people bought property with black and white plans. Then people wanted 3D renderings to go along with those plans as computers and graphics because mainstream. Next people will want to walk through their property before it is built. This will be the norm. Think of how huge of an industry that will become? Right now it’s not even 1% of it’s potential. In the next few years this trend will take affect and the transition will happen. I feel that Render3DQuickly Inc. is very well positioned to capitalize on that movement. I have been working hard to build a large team that can satisfy this rapid growth in the industry. I’d argue that we have the largest VR team in the world!
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I just get things done. Whether it’s needing to send an email or call someone back or build the biggest VR team in the world. Just do it now. I think a lot of people procrastinate and then forget to do things. “Just do it now Jason” is what I’m always saying to myself. I also think an important mentality to have is “if someone else knows how to do this why can’t I?” We live in a time where you can learn how to do basically anything you want in a few clicks. Whether it’s reading a blog from an expert on a topic you want to learn about, buying a book online, watching a YouTube video. Anything you want to learn is right there. A lot of people think learning something is too difficult without even trying. After you do it a few times it’s clear that learning anything is easy! You just have to do it! I spend $1,000’s/month on learning materials (books, online courses etc.). Do this for months and months and all of that knowledge starts to really pay off.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
An adult video store clerk for 1 day when I was in college (then I quit)
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
Read books a lot sooner. I try to read 2-3 per week but if I started reading 10 years earlier or even 1 year earlier I would have more knowledge today. Something I realized a few years ago is that successful people are successful because they have more knowledge than the average person. That’s all it is. Whether they are more successful in business, have happier relationships, more money etc. it’s because they have more knowledge in those areas and can make better decisions when decisive moments arise. One good decision based on vast knowledge compounded over months and years of good decisions equals success. It’s inevitable. So learn as much as you can.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Let other people make excuses. Be the person that just gets things done. Whether it’s learning something you need to learn, doing something that needs to be done, reaching out to someone you need to reach out to. Just do it NOW! I’m human, my brain makes excuses too when I need to do things but I override that with just do it and relax later. Believe me I have lots of time to relax. I live a very balanced life. Muhammad Ali said “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
Always being available. This day in age especially with online marketing if you’re not available to your customers immediately your customer will just click on the next ad and do business with the one that answers them. I try to answer all phone calls and reply to emails within 5 minutes of getting them. That doesn’t mean I’m typing lengthy emails while I’m in a theater watching a movie but just hitting reply and say “received, will reply shortly” is enough to give that customer the peace of mind to know that someone is looking after them. Smartphones make this incredibly easy and I don’t do business with anyone that doesn’t treat me in the same way.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
Failures are ALWAYS blessings. There is no such thing as failure. I’ve lost $1,000’s in “mistakes” but if I didn’t make those “mistakes” early on I wouldn’t have made 10x or even 100x the cost of the “mistake” from the lesson or outcome of that “mistake”. Sometimes the mistake means I met someone in that process that really helped me later on and without them I would have not succeeded. Other times the lessons I learned in that process turned into a million dollar idea or made it easier to grow my next venture a lot faster than if I didn’t have that knowledge. Again, learn as much as you can so you can make better decisions faster.
Failure is just part of the process, so I’ve always viewed a setback as an opportunity to learn and grow.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
There are millions of opportunities everywhere but you’re not equipped or able to do them all. You have to be passionate about it or the business will not work. How many people had the same idea for an Uber service but why did Uber become the biggest one? Passion. The team working in that company had more passion to succeed than the other companies. I read a blog recently with 20 products that need to be redesigned. For example the umbrella. How long do your umbrellas last on a gusty day? Wouldn’t it be nice if someone invented an entirely new design instead of the weak little arms that snap as soon as a gust of wind blows? There’s an idea for you but you have to be passionate about umbrellas and wanting to make the best umbrella in the world or you won’t succeed.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Books, or a really good meal I recently had in Como, Italy.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
Zoho for our customers, Google docs so that all of my important spreadsheet are online. Dropbox as well so that all of my important company info is online. If someone stole my laptop or it slipped off of the edge of this terrace and smashed into the mountain side I wouldn’t care. There is nothing on it. Everything is in a cloud. I’d walk to a computer store and buy a new laptop and in 5 minutes I’m back in business like nothing happened.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
4 hour work week – Tim Ferris
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
Tai Lopez (I met him last year, very cool!), Tim Ferris, Tony Robbins, Grant Cardone, Jordan Belfort
Key Learnings
- Failure is just part of the process, so I’ve always viewed a setback as an opportunity to learn and grow.
- Let other people make excuses. Be the person that just gets things done.
Connect:
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.