Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Rhoades.
Jason, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My story is really centered on Georgia. When I think about how much the city and state have provided me, I am extremely grateful. There’s been a lot of changes in my life, but the common thread has been this city and the amazing people in it.
I love this town. I was born and raised in the Atlanta suburbs, went to UGA to study art and design, met my wife at school, started my business in Atlanta.
Somewhere on this path, I went from being a doodling art kid to running a thriving technology business for 14 years called Toolbox No. 9 (toolbox9.com). We’re currently located in the O4W and have a large team of brilliant and creative people who all live in Atlanta.
Here are my stats:
40+ years in Atlanta, Georgia.
30 years designing and developing interactive experiences.
14 years as President of Toolbox No. 9 (toolbox9.com)
Visited seven continents and over 50 countries.
Two years on the Board for the Woodruff Art Center’s Alliance Theater.
4.5 years at UGA (Go Dawgs!)
Can deadlift 435 pounds and bench press 290.
Snowboarding for 20 years.
Married one super cool wife and raised 1 Boston Terrier.
Once Bowled 10 strikes in a row.
Own over 1200 Pez dispensers.
Ran one marathon.
Was stabbed with a knife two times (once was my own fault).
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth? Of course not. I think my biggest challenge was completely changing into the mentality of being a business owner – specifically, taking on responsibility for others and putting most of your passions aside for the greater good.
Being a leader puts all of your strengths and weaknesses on display. You wear them on the outside of your shirt every day. So you have to be comfortable in that shirt.
I don’t believe anyone is a natural leader or businessperson, so it is a lot of acquired knowledge. You may have been born with drive, but it is unlikely you are born with the requisite skills to effectively lead a company: people skills, financial know-how, salesmanship, coaching abilities, creative aptitude, inspirational motivation, public speaking, and the myriad of industry knowledge and skill sets you need to succeed.
That being said, over the years I’ve had some phenomenal coaches in my life: my parents, my wife, my co-workers who have been extremely supportive in helping me improve and filling in the gaps where I fall short.
Owning Toolbox has been a wonderful and difficult life challenge, but I’m extremely happy with what we’ve built.
Toolbox No. 9 – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Toolbox No. 9 is a Design and Development Agency. We make websites and applications better by improving the User Experience. We do it by studying user behavior and businesses, generating strategy, designing beautiful interfaces, and finally building the applications for our customers.
The most engaging part of the job is we really get to know many people and industries deeply. We have to understand what is driving the user and the success of the businesses we serve.
Though we may be a technology company, UX is truly at the core of what we do, and we’re constantly seeking ways to maximize our client’s investment by making applications that users actually want to use and drive results for the people who pay us.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
As an adult, I never think about myself as lucky or unlucky. I believe I am responsible for whatever happens in my life and how it affects me. I’ve also learned that it is not possible to determine what events in your life are good or bad until all of the cards are played. When you join Entrepreneurs Organization (http://eoatlanta.com), one of the first things you do is map out your “Lifeline” — documenting the major events in your life on a piece of paper with good events on top and the bad events below. It ends up looking like a cardiogram. I have found that all good events in my life were predicated on something that I considered bad at the time. Some perceived struggle or misfortune.
However, when I compare the opportunities I had as a child that most of the world does not have, I was extremely lucky. Born at the right time and place, to the right parents. I met the right people along my path who helped me get to where I am. I’ve lived in downtown Atlanta for 16 years now, and many of my neighbors certainly haven’t been provided the opportunities I had. It’s made me appreciate my origin.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.t00lbox9.com
- Phone: 404-437-7429
- Email: info@toolbox9.com
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