Jon Cruz is a serial entrepreneur who served in the United States Air Force for more than 11 years. He also runs a video production company called Creative by Jon Cruz, an Amazon FBA business and a dropshipping company.
It all started when he first joined the military. Jon was living from paycheck-to-paycheck when he decided he wanted more. He knew that deep down what he wanted was to make more money, work less, become his own boss and achieve financial freedom. At that time, Jon had a military-humor clothing brand and hired a videographer to share his story and brand with the world. Then he discovered all the benefits of content creation, how much fun it was and how much it helped brands get known so he was motivated to learn video production himself to save money.
What Jon did not know is that this decision would change his life and his career. He soon realized that he loved creating content and that he was good at it.
“I did not realize I would love it so much that I would begin to create content for others and start charging. From one video to the next friends would see my content and hire me to help them grow their brand. That is how I got started with my video production business. I also do Amazon FBA and dropshipping for passive income and the ability to make money from a laptop anywhere”, Jon shares.
His passion for traveling also inspired him to take the entrepreneurial path. The ecommerce industry offers the possibility to work anywhere in the world from a laptop and an internet connection and Jon decided to make the most of this. In fact, he now lives in Prague and works remotely. Traveling while making money was one of his goals and he figured out how to do it with content creation and his dropshipping business.
He also runs a verified YouTube channel and podcast, “VETS TO CEOS” where he has interviewed dozens of high level entrepreneurs to teach others how to become their own boss and escape the 9-5 grind. But that ‘s not all. Jon has also created multiple digital courses where he shares his knowledge and experience. These courses teach how to become your own boss and how to transition out of the military and successfully into the civilian sector. In addition, he shares travel hacks that have allowed him to see over 25+ countries while earning income from a laptop.
Jon manages to stand out from other similar businesses because of his military background, his charisma, his team-building skills, his networking abilities and his leadership, qualities that are very necessary to grow a business and be successful in today’s world.
What’s more, he has supervised, led and mentored hundreds of Airmen during his 11+ years serving in the United States Air Force. His unique experience has given him the opportunity to lead others and in turn help others become better leaders. From Italy, to Turkey, to Germany. Jon Cruz has led teams in multiple international environments and today uses his previous military experiences to help business leaders and men become better leaders and warriors.
Of course not everything has been easy on Jon’s journey. As an entrepreneur he has faced many challenges, such as not being disciplined and trusting so much in people. He has also dealt with the obsession with social media and the constant comparison with people who are already “successful”. The boom that the digital world has had in these times has resulted in various entrepreneurs and users continuously comparing how they are doing in business and in life with the selected feed that others publish online. But the truth is that this continual comparison does not bring anything good.
For Jon it is also very important to give back to people. He loves working with non profit organizations such as American Legion, Best Defense Foundation and 42 Mike Mike, veteran organizations that give back to veterans and help military members who are presently serving. He also knows the importance of having a give back mission and using your money for good.
The right mindset has also played a key role in his success story. “If you do not have a winning mindset and a determination to continue moving forward no matter how hard things get you will quit. Being an entrepreneur requires a lot of hours, sacrifice, loneliness, depression, and feeling like what you’re doing is going to work but you have to keep doing it and have faith that it is going to work. Mindset is so crucial as an entrepreneur and it is your biggest weapon to achieve success”, Jon adds.
He also advises all entrepreneurs who want to start their own business to truly understand what they’re passionate about, who their audience is, what problems they are solving and what value they bring to the marketplace. In the business world, knowledge is power, and that will help entrepreneurs to succeed in their field.
Jon’s future plans include scaling his dropshipping and Amazon FBA business so he can focus all his energy on high income-generating tasks or creative assignments such as creating content, which he loves.
To learn more about Jon and scale your business to the next level, check out his website here.