Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1464710
Business Leader of the Year (Nonprofit) Joy Murrieta, Executive director & co-founder, Main IDEA Youth & Arts BEST IDEAS AND KEY PHILOSOPHIES THAT HAVE HELPED ME AND MY GRASSROOTS NONPROFIT SUCCEED 1. Rely on others. You can do so much more as a team than you can as an individual. Listen, delegate, and let others lead alongside you. 2. Learn from others. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you and who have been doing the work longer than you; learn from their mistakes and victories. 3. Respect each other. Respect for the rights, dignity and integrity of others is essential for the well-being of the community. 4. Work hard, play hard. Pace yourself and make boundaries; it's easy to get carried away when you're excited and there's a lot of work to do, but remember you're human, not a robot, and consequently need things like rest and sleep and food and play. 5. Always be flexible and open to change. Circumstances often change without notice; the ability to adapt quickly to embrace new expectations and dreams is vital to thrive. 6. Stay Connected to Yourself. When the going gets tough, remember and find ways to connect to what drove you to start in the first place. 7. Stay Organized. Prioritize implementing frameworks that allow you to track, understand, and provide further capacity for growth. 8. Clearly Communicate. Take the time to listen and understand the needs of those around you; be honest and forthright about what you need to succeed. 9. Community is an Ecosystem. No person is an island, so stay humble; the work you do is one part of the ecosystem that so many others are already contributing to. 10. Take Heart. Leading takes a lot of courage and self- assurance, it is not for the faint of heart. Forgive and be gracious with yourself as you make mistakes, and let your passion push you onward into the unknown. Business Leader of the Year (Innovative) Bo Menkiti, Founder & CEO, The Menkiti Group Our Success Formula Being successful in business really comes down to the 3 P's: persistence, passion, and people. • Purpose: It's hard to be successful without also being passionate about what you're doing and when you have something that you believe in deeply, success comes more naturally. That intrinsic drive, motivation, and connection to the work is what keeps us at The Menkiti Group motivated and helps drive our success. • Persistence: The one thing that's clear in life is that you'll get knocked down and you have to have the passion and purpose that allows you to have the persistence to get up and go forward because those that go forward are the ones that ultimately succeed. • People: Finally, the people who you surround yourself with truly matters. Choosing wisely about the people who you choose to be in partnership with and surround yourself with makes a tremendous impact on who you are and who you become. Our Investment Philosophy We believe that great cities are made up of great neighborhoods and that great neighborhoods have mixed income housing, thriving commercial corridors, and vibrant culture. One of our guiding principles has been a desire to identify cities with strong macroeconomics and demographic trends and invest in neighborhoods within those cities that are on the other side of perception. By investing in communities that have historically been overlooked and understood and who have had their underlying potential passed over, we are able to reverse the impacts of historic disinvestment and make investments that highlight the existing assets and capacities that exist in the community and that create pathways to opportunity for residents and small businesses who call that neighborhood home.