John Overton discusses why it’s important for owners to get involved with small biz organizations.
“At the heart of most small business owners is the desire to be the masters of our own destiny—to create and build something of lasting value and make an impact,” says John Overton, owner and CFO of Turn Key Solutions in Baton Rouge.
For Overton and his two business partners and co-founders, Henry Overton and Harold Robinson, that message rang true. While there are countless computer companies in the market, they believed they could provide better service by focusing on the clients’ specific business needs. This focus birthed Turn Key Solutions’ motto: “We make technology work for you!” Turn Key Solutions provides IT solutions for small to medium-sized businesses, specializing in data security, business continuity and network integration solutions that are essential to the healthcare industry.
Turn Key Solutions’ focus on making an impact was also central to their decision to join NFIB.
“As a mature small business, we wanted to help other small businesses with the legislative issues that affect the environment in which we all operate,” Overton says. “As chairman of the NFIB Louisiana Leadership Council, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know many other dynamic, talented small business owners. Their leadership, their passion to serve and their stories inspire me and help me stay focused on the reason why I’m a small business owner in the first place, [which is] to make an impact.”
Overton recommends other small business owners get involved as well, whether through their local Chamber of Commerce or with NFIB.
“Choose at least one [organization] that does more than just networking; advocacy must be an important part of the agenda in order for a small business owner to get the most out of the limited time we have to invest,” he says. “Being a part of an organization like NFIB will open your eyes not only to the legislative threats that could put you out of business, but more importantly give you the tools to stop those threats and take advantage of opportunities. Plus you meet great small business friends along the way.”
In addition to legislative threats, one consistent challenge for Turn Key Solutions is finding employees who share their desire to make an impact through service. As a result, their recruiting model has changed over the years to include a DISC assessment for all top candidates for any position. Turn Key Solutions currently employs 12 workers.
“We can train the technical skills, but for someone to thrive on our team, they have to come in with a passion to serve not only our clients, but fellow team members,” Overton says.
Finding the right team has been an important focus for Turn Key Solutions because Overton and his partners view the company as an extension of themselves.
“Our employees and clients are like family to us, and we feel an intense responsibility to care for them and ensure their success,” Overton says. “The hardest part is when you have either an employee or client that just isn’t a good fit and you come to the point where you realize there is nothing more you can do to make it work. It’s hard to let an employee or client go, and thankfully we haven’t had to do it often, but when we do, it is definitely one of those things that keeps you up at night.”
Off the clock, Overton says he is focused on his family, and he squeezes in high-intensity workouts and competes in high-power rifle matches in his extra time.
