About BungoBox BungoBox is an innovative company that is transforming the traditional moving process. Committed to helping consumers save time and money with an eco-friendly alternative to cardboard boxes, BungoBox serves greater Orlando (Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia) greater Phoenix (Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Scottsdale and Tempe), greater South Florida (Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, St. Lucie) and greater Tampa (Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough and Hernando counties). For more information about BungoBox, visit www.bungobox.com
Tom Cannon, CEO and co-founder
Tom Cannon has served in the United States Navy during the First Gulf war, been instrumental in the launch of three successful companies, held executive-level positions in sales, marketing and management and today is the CEO and co-founder of BungoBox. Heʼs a graduate of the University of Florida, with a degree in advertising, and a graduate of the University of Central Florida, with a degree in history. Tom has traveled extensively but has always made his way back to his birthplace to be with his friends and family in Orlando, Fla. When he’s not rethinking the way Americans move from one location to the next, he is soaking up the Central Florida lifestyle. And that means boating, fishing and enjoying the outdoors. He loves spending time with his wife Heather and three children, hanging out with his friends and, of course, being a part of the Gator Nation.
Q: Do you think the education you’ve invested in helped you on the road to success?
My education has been very useful to me throughout my career. I studied advertising at the University of Florida. This experience taught me an overwhelming amount about how business really works. Specifically, that sales and marketing is the lifeblood of any company, but to be truly successful one has to have a fully integrated plan, not only on the communication (external) side but also on the operations side (internal). Additionally, I gained the most value out of the opportunity to work on a one-on-one basis for about 12 or so credit hours with an awesome professor, who is now the chair of the department, Dr. Sutherland… the man is a genius!
Q: What was the “breaking point” in your career that made you decide to build your own brand?
The fact that you are asking about branding is very interesting. I think that it takes some time for most to learn how valuable a brand actually is, some never do. I learned that fact early, during my advertising education. I always wanted to have my own business and learned very early that if you can capture the magic of a truly unique, powerful and memorable brand, that is something special and rare. I think that we have done that with BungoBox.
Q: What were some of the obstacles that you had to overcome to get to where you are now? How do you overcome failure?
I think that most obstacles — money, family and time limitations — are pretty common among those trying to build a business. It is pretty simple, you have to be willing to do what most others will not do, never fear failure and have a relentless pursuit of your vision. Basically, I feel that failure is simply a lesson (on what not to do again), not the inability to succeed. In other words, I never really fail; I just make mistakes along the way to achieving whatever I set my sights on.
Q: As a young professional, what were some of the mistakes that you made and what did you learn?
The biggest mistakes have been not always being true to my dreams and fighting my nature to build businesses. My mistakes have always been when I choose to work for someone else. I have been successful in those situations, but never truly happy.
Q: How do you measure success?
Early in my career I used to measure success solely on money. Then, when I learned that if I followed my heart and chased my vision and always concentrated on being the best at whatever I did that the money just kind of followed. Therefore, I measure success on my very difficult and unforgiving self-evaluation of my effort and decision making. As long as I feel that I have always given my best and made the best decisions, I feel that I have been a success under my own standards. It has served me well
Q: What is one advice that you can offer to your readers?
If you are starting your own business be prepared to work 10X harder and spend 10X more money than you thought the day you started. However, if you stick to it, the rewards are worth the effort because they are 20X better that you could have dreamed.
Q: What do you do for fun?
I love spending time with my kids and watching Gator football.
Q: What is your favorite 1) gadget(s), 2) software(s), 3) website(s) that makes your life easier and more productive?
I cannot live without my iphone.
I really dig Mashable
RingCentral and DropBox are productivity multipliers. Just awesome.
Ways to Connect with you:
www.BungoBox.com
Twitter: @tommy_cannon
No comments:
Post a Comment