08/08/2005
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Joe Jones |
Joe Jones's grandfather was an entrepreneur, setting up a farm of his own in the 1930s in South Carolina. "My father used to joke, 'We went from a big house with electricity and bathrooms to a shanty with no electricity and no bathrooms,'" Jones says, chronicling the shift to self-employment. "It was kind of like that for me, too," he laughs, "but I knew I wanted to go into business for myself."
Jones bought his public relations, lobbying and association management firm from the business' founder, James McAden, in 1982. McAden had started the firm in 1975 and was ready to retire when Jones came along with an interest in the business.
"I had association management and public relations experience, and had worked in state government for years," he says. "The company was affordable, and the timing was right for Mr. McAden."
More than two decades later, the company is still going strong, having weathered its share of ups and downs and developed into a streamlined organization that offers service and expertise to its clients. It currently operates with a streamlined team of three employees, including Jones' son; and Jones, 59, has no plans to retire.
"As long as I can keep going, I will," he says. "I got into business for myself because I didn't like big business, and I knew I had to do something on a smaller scale. Also, I like calling the shots. Being in small business does have its own stresses, though."
Some of the biggest challenges are legislative. Jones cites taxation and the recently won battle for tort reform as prime examples. Challenges like these are part of the reason he joined NFIB more than 10 years ago.
"NFIB is a proponent of things that I find important in the legislative arena, and it does a good job representing the interests of small business," he says. "I believe very firmly in NFIB and what it's doing."
Jones is a member of NFIB/South Carolina's Leadership Council and its SAFE Trust PAC. "I make regular contributions to both," he notes. He's also active with the South Carolina Society of Association Executives, which honored him recently as its Executive of the Year. "It was a big honor for me. Less than 20 people have been given that award since the organization started in the 1960s. It's given for performance and participation in the organization -- and it's given by your peers, so it means a lot."
Jones concedes that he has often thought he would have been more secure if he had gone into big business or stayed in government. "Many of my contemporaries are retiring now with good packages. I've spent my money keeping the doors open -- that's the downside," he explains. "But I've also made investments that I hope will continue to grow."
